The weakness of North Carolina's economy during the last several years has led to a continuing series of state funding reductions in NCSU's operating budget. Budget reductions imposed by the state of North Carolina have forced cutbacks in some institutional activities. Although NCSU has been spared the level of cutbacks experienced by some state university systems across the nation, many of NCSU's most pressing challenges are directly connected to budget constraints. A scarcity of resources has sometimes discouraged individual colleges and schools from endorsing development of the entire institution. The NCSU Libraries, a national leader in the application of new information technologies to support teaching, learning, and research, struggles to maintain and develop its basic monograph and periodical collections in the face of rapidly rising costs for journals, especially in scientific and technical fields.
Computing resources range from excellent to less than desirable.
Budget constraints on instructional and research support, coupled with a decline in compensation relative to the compensation of faculty in peer institutions, have taken a toll on the morale of NCSU's faculty. Many NCSU faculty believe that teaching and extension activities need more emphasis in assessing the faculty's professional development. NCSU must develop effective and consistent processes for ongoing review of faculty. NCSU's faculty are seeking a larger role in institutional decision making and a closer connection between effort put into planning and actual outcomes. To ensure broad participation in more effective and streamlined decision making, NCSU must enhance communication within the institution.