The hit was bigger than anyone anticipated.

On Wednesday, the day Gov. Tim Kaine proposed a 15 percent cut in the commonwealth's contribution to Radford University's budget, President Penelope Kyle sent an e-mail to the university community to share what she called "dire economic news" that "exceeds our worst fears." The university lost $2.5 million in state funding in October. Kaine's latest proposal would cut an additional $7.55 million.

Kyle pledged that her administration would work tirelessly to minimize the impact on students, faculty, staff and on the university's long-range goals.

"If there is some consolation," Kyle wrote "it is knowing that today's announcement is only Governor Kaine's recommendation."

The General Assembly, which convenes Jan. 14, will decide what to do with that recommendation. Meantime, Radford administrators are trying to decide what to do if the governor's recommendation is approved. Department heads met for more than three hours Thursday, according to university spokesman Michael Hemphill. They'll work independently over the holidays, Hemphill said, then reconvene in January.

Provost Wil Stanton said Friday, "Our strategic plan, 7-17, will serve as one of our guides as we examine our academic and support programs to determine which we will grow, which we will maintain at current levels, and which we may need to reduce in scope or eliminate altogether."

In October, when the governor last mandated cuts on campus, the process included each university drawing up a plan to accommodate 5 percent, 10 percent and 15 percent cuts. So Radford has considered cuts this deep very recently. Right now, university officials are saying little about how they will make the cuts if they come, but the way they dealt with a previous round of cuts may provide some clues.

In October, Stanton sent an eight-page memo to the university's academic leadership team title: "Responding to Budgetary Constraints." It laid out "guiding principles" and some particulars for budget cutting.

The cuts must not jeopardize Radford's quality, should not make it harder for students to graduate on time and must not threaten the university's mission and long term plans, the memo said.

The list of things considered included the consolidation of departments and programs; the elimination of courses and "concentrations" and restructuring the university's internal governance system. Fewer adjunct faculty will be used. Classes will be larger. Some classes may be taught on line.

At the end of this month, 23 faculty members will retire. Offering them the chance to retire early wasn't about saving money, originally. It was meant to be a way to reconfigure the faculty to accommodate the new core curriculum plan scheduled to take effect next fall.

But in his memo, Stanton made it clear that some savings may be gathered through those and other emptied positions. No one should assume that vacant positions will be filled, the provost wrote.

Stanton also called for "extraordinary fiscal conservatism" for the remainder of this fiscal year so the university can stockpile some residual funds against next year's even smaller budget.

But the budget won't be cut into balance. The university is looking for ways to raise more money, too.

It's almost certain that tuition will increase, but it may increase more for some students than for others. Programs and courses that cost more to offer may have higher tuition and fees. "High demand" programs my have higher tuition. In effect, the tuition may become more market oriented. And there may be increased applicant fees for undefined "certain student populations."

This is all taking place against a backdrop of what Kyle has called "a capital projects investment program totaling more than $211 million which will transform the Radford campus."

The university plans to build new homes for the College of Business and Economics and the College of Science and Technology, new residence halls, a fitness center, a parking deck, an addition to the Hulbert student center, land acquisition and smaller projects. The Douglas and Beatrice Covington Fine Arts Center opened last month and renovations continue on the Dedmon Center as well as Young and Heth halls.

Radford increased its athletics' budget by $1.6 million this year. That was funded by raising student fees. The board of visitors is considering increasing Kyle's deferred payment annual to $200,000. That would mean finding $1 million for Kyle over the course of her contract in addition to her salary, bonus, house and car.