BREAKING: Rider set to lay off 25% of faculty after university placed on financial probation 

By Grace Bertrand

Rider administrators plan to lay off 25% of its full-time faculty by Dec. 31, after the university was placed on probation because of its financial standing, according to the March to Sustainability Plan announced by Rider President John Loyack on Nov. 10. 

In addition to eliminating 35 to 40 full-time faculty positions, the Plan calls for faculty and staff to make several sacrifices, including a reduction of all employees’ base pay by 14% and an indefinite suspension of Rider’s retirement contribution both beginning Dec. 1, along with a requirement that all faculty teach more classes each semester. 

Faculty’s decades-worth of sacrifices 

Rider was placed on probation by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education on Oct. 30. If Rider loses accreditation from Middle States, its students will no longer be eligible for federal financial aid, putting the institution in dire financial jeopardy.

President of Rider’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors Maria Villalobos-Buehner said “This has been the narrative for the last 10 years… [The university] continues with the same way of saying this is what [faculty] have to do, this is what we want and this is how we want you to do it. Well no, we have a contract.”  

Starting in the 2026-27 academic year, according to Rider’s plan, there will be an end to external faculty tuition remission benefits and reduced paid faculty development benefits, with the university also eliminating priority adjunct’s health benefits beginning January 1, 2026, and eliminating several senior administrative positions, according to the March to Sustainability Plan. 

Justin Burton, professor of music, said that 25% of full-time faculty being laid off was “an alarmingly high number.” He said, “It means we will all either be fired or be working at an institution where close, respected colleagues have been let go.” 

Burton also explained that the layoffs go hand-in-hand with the increase in classes being taught by professors, which makes him worry about the effect it will have on the classroom, stating, “I know our faculty would do their best to continue providing a high quality classroom experience for our students, but at some point, it becomes difficult to do that when everyone is stretched thin.”

In Loyack’s email, he stated that conversations with Rider’s leaders of the AAUP and the American Federation of Teachers about the Plan are ongoing. 

Villalobos-Buehner said that while the AAUP is appreciative of any collaboration with the university, it needs to be done with respect and transparency. She said, “We need collaboration with the facts and with the numbers that we asked for… The Board has approved yet another plan in which the faculty is carrying all the responsibility for things that happened that we were not involved in. ”  

Burton shared the same sentiment, also stating that receiving the email less than 30 minutes after a Nov. 10 campuswide, emergency shelter-in-place was lifted and without any communication from Loyack for the faculty, staff or students’ well-being “demonstrates a disappointing lack of compassion.” 

Rider’s plan to climb out of financial turmoil 

The Board of Trustees approved the Plan on Oct. 30, following discussions on restructuring the university amid its multi-million dollar financial deficit. The Plan, which was voted unanimously by the Board, stated that the approved steps are in an effort for the university to address being placed on probation by Middle States because of Rider’s deep financial distress.

Burton said that if the university’s financial situation was as dire as it says, members of the Board who oversaw past financial decisions should be turned over, saying, “‘Unforseen’ is not the same thing as ‘unforeseeable,’ and it is the job of the Board to see this sort of thing coming and act before we are at the cliff.” 

Following its review of Rider’s financial information provided on Oct. 17, the accreditors became concerned over Rider’s financial viability and that Rider may not be in compliance with Middle States’ financial standards, according to Rider’s March to Sustainability Plan FAQs website page. These standards are stated in Middle States’ Standard VI: Planning, Resources and Institutional Improvement, which requires institutions to demonstrate the appropriate level of financial, human, physical and technical resources, and the funding base and financial development plans necessary to adequately support their educational purposes and programs. 

While under probation, Rider will continue to be accredited and will have the opportunity to be in compliance with Middle States’ financial standards by implementing the steps outlined in the March to Sustainability Plan and a submission of a monitoring report to Middle States by January 12, 2026, according to Loyack’s email. 

Rider is also required to submit a teach-out plan by Dec. 19 to Middle States as part of the probation. The accreditors are scheduled to meet in March to decide the status of Rider’s accreditation, according to the university. 

Loyack stated in the email that he will be meeting with Rider’s Student Government Association on Nov. 14 to discuss the March to Sustainability Plan. A full copy of the Plan will also be released on Nov. 12, Loyack’s email stated. 

He wrote, “I am personally grateful to the many voices we have heard from across the community who have conveyed their ideas, emphatic understanding of the painful choices involved and the importance of Rider’s student experience.”

Villalobos-Buehner explained that Loyack and the Board need to take into consideration how the Plan will “affect the lives of so many colleagues.” 

She said, “Faculty are people. Faculty have lives, livelihoods, families on the line… Faculty are part of that student experience.”    

Look for an updated story with more information in the Nov. 12 edition of The Rider News.