University of Puerto Rico president says no campuses will close, urges gov't to avoid more cuts
University of Puerto Rico (UPR) President Jorge Haddock said Thursday that UPR will not close any of its 11 campuses, nor will it engage in the consolidation of administrative offices because such a move would lead to more red tape.
Haddock said during government transition committee hearings that the federal Financial Oversight and Management Board is no longer forcing UPR to close campuses because the university has achieved efficiencies in other areas. Regarding the consolidation of administrative offices that could serve all of the campuses, Haddock said that in practice it would have created another level of bureaucracy.
“Right now, we have a budget model that allows each campus to attract students and funding,” he said.
Despite the decreasing numbers of young people in Puerto Rico, UPR has managed to attract more students. It has received 3,856 applications for new students, a hike of 837 applications from the same period last year. UPR received in the current academic year 13,024 applications from new students despite the global pandemic. Of those, 11,055 were accepted and 8,956 completed registration.
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