Nearly 100 nontenure faculty at Portland State University received potential layoff notices this week, and dozens more may be on the way. Why it matters: The public college — Portland's largest — continues to struggle with declining enrollment and faces an $18 million budget deficit this year.

About 90 non-tenured faculty received notice of possible layoffs, but the final word won't come until December.

Professors at Portland State University say the college is mishandling its budget, after PSU sent layoff notices to roughly 90 staffers Tuesday, October 15. More than 7 percent of the 1,200 unionized staff from the PSU American Association of University Professors (AAUP) received notice of forthcoming layoffs.

A spokesperson for the university assured that these layoffs are only potential, though, adding that “no final decisions have been made at this time.”

Budget deficits of about $18 million have led both Portland State University & Western Washington University to announce they will begin to lay off scores of staff.