In order to help pay the $2 million owed toward the mid-year $250 million budget lapse, UW-Whitewater has delayed different projects around campus.

The university owes the money for the fiscal year which ends June 30.

The lapse is a one-time cut due to the state needing more funding.

Vice Chancellor of Administrative Affairs Jeff Arnold said the university is trying to prevent taking away from students as much as possible.

“The things that we’ve done to deal with the lapse is to slow down some things like construction-type projects,” Arnold said. “We’ve added some faculty, but we would have added more had it not been [for the budget lapse].”

Arnold said there has not been any talk of lay-offs or removing majors or classes.

Marketing and Media Relations Director Sara Kuhl expressed the university’s desire “to limit the effect on students as much as we possibly can.”

If an institution struggled with maintaining enrollment levels, Arnold said they may struggle with the budget lapse.

“We’re fortunate that our enrollments are strong, so that’s been an advantage for us,” Arnold said.

UW-Whitewater is planning for a possible lapse of $845,000 for the 2012-2013 fiscal year, Arnold said. The lapse could be lowered or remain as anticipated depending on the economy at that time.

If there is a 2012-2013 budget lapse, Arnold said the university plans to once again delay construction projects around campus.

“You can’t predict [a budget lapse] because it’s based on the economy and the state’s revenue collections,” Arnold said. “It’s not fair to say they are a common thing, but they are too frequent in our estimation.”