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A letter released Tuesday to Marietta College faculty and administration stated some short-term decisions would need to be made to improve the school's financial health.
"We have decided to be proactive in responding to external forces -- inflationary pressures and the ongoing impact of the pandemic -- and to work together with the planning committee to develop a comprehensive strategic plan that will position us as a college of the future," said President Bill Ruud in the letter.
He said the number one goal was to "enhance the overall student experience and protect the core mission of the college", but tough decisions needed to be made.
"We are in this position because the college has experienced a drop in enrollment due mostly to a worse-than-expected retention rate from semester to semester," Ruud said.
Along with the drop in enrollment has been an increase in expenses, he said. They have identified "significant savings for the final four months of this fiscal year, and even more for fiscal year 2023 that will improve our margins," he said.
He added each cabinet member has "voluntarily agreed to take a 10 percent cut in pay" starting in March.
The letter noted there will be tough conversations in the next 18-24 months.
Although questions sent to Ruud and Tom Perry, vice-president of communication and brand management, weren't directly answered, Ruud replied with a statement.
He said he shared with faculty, staff and students on Tuesday morning the school's "plans for the future, which included an update on our strategic planning process and our current budgetary constraints."
He stated an additional and unplanned financial burden was caused by the pandemic the last two years and as they were "hyper focused" on student safety, they were also "overly optimistic in our projections for improvement in critical areas such as enrollment and tuition revenue."
"We will continue to provide the highest quality education to our students and ensure that their experience at Marietta College prepares them for their future, which means we must make some strategic decisions to improve our financial margins," the statement noted. "There will be some short-term operational cuts that will cover our budget shortfalls for this academic year. Our long-term plan will be developed collaboratively through our strategic planning process so we can ensure that Marietta College thrives for at least another 187 years."