University of Hawai'i-Manoa department heads must plan to cut up to 6 percent from their budgets and an unspecified number of UH employees may get pink slips as early as Sept. 1, according to a memo sent out to the campus yesterday from Chancellor Virginia Hinshaw.

The UH system's flagship campus is eyeing about $45 million in cuts this year, including cuts from the state Legislature and restrictions from Gov. Linda Lingle. Hinshaw said the university must immediately cut $14 million, on top of an earlier 4 percent reduction imposed on Manoa programs and $20 million in other reductions in services and staff.

"There is no easy or painless way to achieve such rapid financial cuts, because it certainly involves additional reductions in staff and faculty — we all fully recognize and regret the damaging impact this inflicts on many careers, families and futures," Hinshaw wrote.

CUTS OF 2.5% TO 6%

As part of a plan to manage those cuts immediately, Hinshaw said arts and sciences programs, which include most academic divisions, will be limited to a 2.5 percent cut to their department budgets. All other campus programs will take a 6 percent reduction.

It is too early to know what the effects of those cuts may be, UH-Manoa spokesman Gregg Takayama said. Department heads will be asked to develop individual plans that will be submitted to their respective vice chancellors for review.

Already, the Manoa campus has not renewed about 150 adjunct instructors, nontenured faculty and administrative personnel because of budget reductions. More than 500 class sections are on hold, which could mean increased competition to get into courses because of the reduced number of instructors.

This additional $14 million could potentially be alleviated through the equivalent of one-day-per-month furloughs or 5 percent pay cuts, Hinshaw said. However, the university has not been able to negotiate those terms with the unions.

SPRING STAFF CUTS

Manoa employees could potentially be notified in September of "non-renewal of contracts" for the spring 2010 semester that begins in January, she said.

"If there is a comprehensive labor settlement in the near future, we would be able to significantly lessen these additional losses. However, we simply can't wait any longer at this point in time, because the cuts become more severe if we continue to spend at current levels and then have to compress the cuts into a shorter time frame," she wrote.

Across the system, UH faces a trim of about $76 million from its $470 million annual budget next year. UH also expects $79 million in cuts in fiscal year 2011.

The budget cuts come as the university's campuses are experiencing record enrollment. Enrollment at all 10 campuses is expected to top 60,000 students in the fall, up from 53,500 last year. Only moderate increases in enrollment are expected at Manoa, officials have said.