Saint Louis University is scrubbing its payroll, planning to eliminate more than 35 open faculty positions and roughly 45 staff vacancies as it wrestles with a sharp enrollment drop. University leaders told faculty the cuts are landing on empty roles rather than triggering mass layoffs, even as SLU adjusts to softer tuition revenue. President Edward Feser warned that earlier cost-saving steps "have not been enough" and said the university now expects to end the fiscal year with a modest deficit.
In an email to campus leaders, SLU laid out the vacancies it intends to cut and said enrollment has fallen by more than 2,000 students, roughly 15%, over the last year, as reported by STLtoday. The announcement came on the heels of a June 23 move by S&P Global Ratings, which kept SLU's bond rating at 'AA-' but shifted the outlook to negative, citing weakened enrollment trends.
SLU enrollment and campus context
Saint Louis University lists total enrollment at 13,307 students in its 2026 commencement materials, a figure that includes its Madrid program and highlights the university's regional footprint, according to Saint Louis University. That headcount, along with SLU's R1 research designation and central role in midtown development, helps explain why a roughly 15% enrollment slide has such quick budget consequences for the campus and the surrounding neighborhood.
Leaders' message and next steps
SLU told faculty it finished the previous fiscal year with an $8.8 million operating surplus but said enrollment and net tuition revenue have since softened, and that "these steps required significant effort, but they have not been enough," President Feser wrote, per STLtoday. The immediate plan centers on scrapping unfilled positions in order to cut payroll costs; officials said they will keep pursuing enrollment and revenue strategies before considering broader personnel moves affecting current employees.
What to watch
Faculty leaders and campus groups have not yet issued formal responses, and SLU has not given a precise timeline for when the vacant roles will be removed. Bond-market signals and the university's fall enrollment numbers are expected to draw close attention from local officials and campus stakeholders in the weeks ahead.
