UConn, hoping for bailout, expects ‘substantial’ financial hit from COVID-19

PHOTO | Peter Morenus, UConn An aerial view of UConn's Storrs campus, where the system is staring down lost event revenues and potential refunds for housing and meal plans, amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

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By Matt Pilon

The ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic promises to have a “substantial financial impact on the University of Connecticut system, but trustees are keeping initial estimates secret for now.

As UConn students began their first day of online instruction Monday, Scott Jordan, UConn’s chief financial officer and executive vice president for administration did not publicly disclose his team’s estimates of potential impacts.

"We are continuing to analyze the financial implications,” Jordan said.

UConn’s financial affairs committee went into executive session to discuss preliminary drafts of the school’s fiscal picture. Some figures could soon be available, however, as the full board of trustees is scheduled to meet Wednesday.

Jordan detailed some of revenue-draining decisions the system has or may soon be forced to make.

As UConn prepares to effectively shutter its physical campuses on Tuesday night, all but 1,200 students who live on campus have now gone home or found other arrangements.

At Storrs, that means the potential for having to issue housing and meal plan refunds to the bulk of students who have departed campus. In addition, UConn has canceled all athletic and other events, which will sap additional revenue.

At UConn Health in Farmington there are rising costs related to mobilizing to treat COVID-19 patients, and the campus is also bleeding revenue from now canceled elective and other procedures not deemed urgent or necessary.

Another unknown is to what extent the pandemic could impact fall enrollment, Jordan said.

Jordan said UConn is in close contact with state and federal lawmakers about financial assistance. Colleges have been lobbying for significant help in the U.S. Senate, but Inside Higher Ed reported early Monday that the total nationwide figure being discussed for universities and colleges was under $8 billion, which one lobbyist said was “so far below what is needed” and predicted it would lead to layoffs and school closures.