Highlights: This report consists of forty-six (46) institutional responses, primarily from U.S institutions of higher but also including some governmental agencies and research organizations and foreign institutions of higher education. The survey points out the breadth and severity of the budget cuts that are impacting Unidata University Community members. Although some institutions report no budget cuts, the majority reports cuts are typically in the 5 to 10 percent range. However, some institutions are facing much more severe shortfalls (see University of Arizona, Metropolitan State University, and California State University at Los Angeles).

The impact of the reported budget cuts includes postponed hardware upgrades and acquisitions and the inability to hire new or replace faculty and staff. The most severe example is the proposed elimination of the Department of Atmospheric Science at the University of Arizona. Many departments report that despite cuts and budget shortfalls at the institutional level, they have not yet felt these cuts or have been able to adjust. In most cases responses indicated that networking and Internet connectivity have not yet been affected.

Regarding the pay-per-byte Internet issue, although most institutions report that this approach is not being considered, it should be noted that may institutions have discussed this approach or some variation of it and there is a great deal of concern among the Unidata community institutions that this may be a recurring issue in the near future.

Form of Report: The report consists of a table that gives the reporting institution, yes or no for budget cuts, the percentage cut (if given), the impact of these cuts on departmental programs, yes or no if the institution is considering pay-per-byte, how system administration support is provided. The table also may have a footnote for certain institutions. These notes represent significant comments in the survey response.

Prepared by:

Charlie Murphy, cmurphy@kean.edu