University of Colorado system leaders are predicting significant funding cuts amid the economic upheaval brought on by coronavirus, which could lead to layoffs or furloughs.

In a remote meeting Thursday, the Board of Regents decided to not vote on the system’s 2020-21 budget — including student tuition and fees and employee pay — until May or June to get “a clearer picture of revenue from the state, federal stimulus/relief funds and enrollment,” President Mark Kennedy wrote in a letter to campuses.

Current forecasts predict the state budget will see a $2 billion shortfall, though it’s not yet clear how that will impact the University of Colorado system.

System Chief Financial Officer Todd Saliman gave outlooks for 10% and 20% state funding reductions at each campus. At CU Boulder, a 10% reduction would equal a $9 million funding cut.

Even if higher education funding held steady next year, the university system would take a financial hit because of increased costs associated with the pandemic and predicted decline in enrollment, Kennedy told the board Thursday.

Campuses have pledged to continue paying hourly and student workers for the remainder of the semester, even if they cannot work remotely. That will cost CU Boulder $34 million.

If there’s a 1% decline in enrollment next year, CU Boulder would take a $7.5 million hit, according to Saliman.

“The key question is how long is (the pandemic) going to last, and that’s something no one has the answer to. It will impact state revenues, it will impact our enrollments, it will impact everything we’re dealing with and it’s something we don’t know the answer to,” Saliman said.

System leaders are not planning to give any pay raises next year, Saliman said.

Each campus is also looking at “budget-balancing options,” Saliman said. At CU Boulder, that could mean furloughs, layoffs, early retirement, tenure delays, hiring freezes and funding cuts for technology, maintenance and programs.

Chancellor Phil DiStefano praised the cooperation between CU campuses and the hard work by CU Boulder staff members, faculty members and students during the pandemic.

Campus leaders have been forced to make quick decisions in recent weeks, DiStefano said, which is a contrast to the often slow pace of higher education bureaucracy.

“No matter what happens, when we’re back on campus and we get back to ‘normal,’ it’s going to be a new normal,” DiStefano said. “We learned we had to make decisions very quickly and they’ve worked out so far, and that starts to change the culture of how we work with faculty and staff moving forward. We’re looking at opportunities for this to make us better in the future.”