The University of Northern Colorado told staff it will lay off about 50 employees in early November and eliminate roughly 30 vacant positions to close a projected $7 million budget gap for fiscal 2026. CFO Dale Pratt said the cuts will save $8 million to $10 million annually, reducing personnel costs by up to 7.5%. UNC leaders attributed the shortfall to unexpected reductions in state funding, lower enrollment and inflation, noting the campus has more employees per student than most institutions in its state. Between 2018 and 2023, fall headcount at the public university fell by nearly a third, compounding the financial strain. The case underlines an urgent operational question for colleges nationwide: how to scale administrative and academic capacity to a permanently smaller student body while preserving core academic functions and retention efforts.