For the past couple of days, the proposed budget cuts for Universities in Georgia has been the topic of conversation. Georgia Southern alone has been asked (in the PROPOSED budget cuts) to cut 14.7 million dollars from their budget. This, plus the original 11 million dollars they were asked to cut, comes to about 30% cuts in the money that is provided from the state.
GSU’s President Keel posted a web cast on the GSU website about the budget cuts.
This post is more about rumors and word of mouth, which can be forms of PR. I encourage everyone at GSU and other Universities that are going through the same thing, to really fully understand what is going on before they spread rumors. The cuts have NOT been made yet and there is still something that every single person can do. A website at GSU has been made to inform students, faculty, staff, and the community about the proposed cuts and what they can do to help.
It is important that people are well informed about the situation before they talk about it to others. President Keel and the GSU staff did a great job (from a PR perspective) by posting his video on the site. This shows that they are all concerned about what is going on and it is a very informative video on the situation at hand.
AllieSchlumper's Blog 
Allie, I really enjoyed reading your post about the budget cuts at GSU. I especially liked how you wanted to make sure that everyone was informed of what is going on rather than everyone just going off what they hear. I also agree with you about how President Keel and his staff handled the situation by posting the video. Hopefully there is something that we can do before we graduate because I would hate to GSU suffer in any way possible.
[…] 6. PR Connections- University Proposed Budget Cuts […]
Facebook is booming with protests and petitions. Everyone is up in arms about something that hasn’t even happened yet. I agree that facts are important. The university is a buzz with fuss over the budget cuts but people seem to have forgotten one small word…proposed. It is our “worst case scenario” not our definite future. Word of mouth is a great thing when spreading truth but it can turn into a terrible thing when the truth is misrepresented. If people are really this angry and upset then write the legislatures. Take a stand and do something to help prevent these budget cuts. Sadly, people would rather fuss and bicker rather than actually doing something. With public relations, I think this is something we need to look at. How can the university get people to take action? How can the university raise awareness about the cuts being “proposed?” How can the university tailor their message to their specific audience?
I really think Georgia Southern University made a smart move with addressing the issue of budget cuts. It’s also cool that they made a website to use to keep students in the know. It’s important with the budget cut, for students to keep up with current information, so they are educated on what they are talking about. GSU made a really smart decision to use the internet to keep students up-to-date, I also think it’s cool that President Keel took the time to do this as well. He seems very student-oriented which is cool! I agree with you completely that they made a very smart Public Relations move, by posting this video!
[…] blogger this week is Allie Schlumper. Below is a blog found directly from Allie’s personal blog. I chose this blog post because will be interesting to all students at Georgia Southern including […]
I am kind of glad all of this is happening after the class of 2010 is set to leave! i know i would have probably fallen victim to the rumors and the petitions and everything else that comes with such terrible news. It was a very good move on the university’s part to actually address everything that is being said just to try to clear up a little bit of the confusion. This was a really great post!
[…] Allie Schlumper: PR Connections-University Proposed Budget Cuts-April, 21, […]
The budget cuts are being felt in every level of education. One of my professors was speaking about furlough days and how it affects them. IT seems as though everyone are taking furlough days – I don’t think the mail has came in two days???
[…] Comment #14 Antonio Says: The budget cuts are being felt in every level of education. One of my professors was speaking about furlough days and how it affects them. IT seems as though everyone are taking furlough days – I don’t think the mail has came in two days??? https://allieschlumper.wordpress.com/2010/03/03/pr-connections-university-proposed-budget-cuts/#comme… […]
I don’t go to Georgia Southern, but Southeastern is going through alot of budget cuts as well. I wish that our school was privileged enough to have a website that talks about it, instead of hearing about it only when another palm tree goes up. I really enjoyed your blog. Thanks!