Columbia College Chicago laid off 20 full-time faculty members as part of planned cuts to academic programming, the school announced Tuesday.

School officials had first outlined plans in December to cut 11 undergraduate and graduate academic programs. Nearly two dozen faculty members were already fired in January.

Columbia has been plagued by financial troubles for years, with a budget deficit once expected to surge to nearly $40 million. The school’s cost-cutting initiatives in December reduced the number of undergraduate degrees offered from 58 to 33.

Eighteen of the fired faculty members were tenured and have been offered a year of pay and benefits.

Two teaching-track faculty were offered six months of pay plus benefits, Interim Senior Vice President and Provost Suzanne McBride told faculty and staff in an email.

The affected faculty are in the schools of audio and music, business and entrepreneurship, communication and culture, design and visual arts.

“This was an extremely painful decision to make, and I am deeply grateful for our departing faculty members’ dedicated service to the college and for having enriched the Columbia community in countless ways,” McBride said.

Enrollment for the arts-focused institution has dropped about 36% in the past decade. Columbia currently enrolls roughly 6,000 students.

In April 2024, unionized staff delivered a petition with 150 signatures demanding former President and CEO Kwang-Wu Kim to halt layoffs. Hundreds of adjunct faculty members went on a 49-day strike in late 2023, believed to be one of the longest in higher education history.

Small colleges nationwide have struggled amid demographic shifts, financial challenges and dwindling enrollment.

“Even in the face of these headwinds, our mission remains the same — to deliver a vibrant, future-focused education that prepares students for meaningful and successful creative careers,” McBride said.