Cutbacks.

That’s what Norfolk State and Virginia State universities are facing because of surprisingly steep enrollment drops.

Enrollment at both of the state-funded, historically black institutions peaked in 2012 and then began a sharp decline. Based on current projections, both schools expect to enroll at least 25 percent fewer students in the fall than in 2012.

That means less income and more need to reduce spending on staff and programs.

Norfolk State University is expecting about 5,100 students on campus when classes begin in August. That’s a decline of 1,000 students from the 6,100 who enrolled in the fall last year, and a drop of 2,000 undergraduate and graduate students from 2012, when 7,100 students were reported.

If enrollment falls to 5,100 students, that would represent a decline of 28 percent from 2012 — and result in NSU’s smallest student body in more than 25 years, according to state data.

To try to offset the impact, the NSU board of visitors recently approved an 11 percent increase in tuition and mandatory fees, one of the biggest increases for a Virginia university.

However, interim President Eddie N. Moore Jr. has notified staff and faculty more will need to be done to keep NSU out of the red. He said the university would need to cut spending to avoid a $14 million to $17 million deficit.

President Moore has yet to offer specifics on the roughly 10 percent spending cuts that would go into effect July 1, but he indicated that part-time instructor and non-tenure track professor positions would be in jeopardy of being eliminated.

The budget problem only adds to NSU’s woes. The university also is seeking to remove the stain on its accreditation. NSU has been placed on probation for failing to meet the standards of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools accrediting agency.

By next December, President Moore and his staff must prove that NSU is meeting required standards to maintain its accreditation and, most importantly, access to revenue from federal student grants and loans.

While he is optimistic NSU will be restored to full accreditation, that issue only adds to the stress he is facing to cut spending.

Mr. Moore is the retired president of Virginia State University, and later tried unsuccessfully to help Saint Paul’s College in Lawrenceville remain open.

Meanwhile, Virginia State University interim President Pamela V. Hammond is pushing a conservative budget that basically keeps spending flat.

She presented her spending plan to the VSU board of visitors earlier in April. Her budget was based on a projected enrollment of about 4,600 undergraduate and graduate students — a decline of about 425 students from the 5,025 students enrolled in September 2014.

If that 4,600 student projection proves correct, it would represent a drop of 1,600 students, or 26 percent, from the peak of 6,200 students in the fall of 2012. It also would leave VSU with its smallest student body in 14 years, according to state data.

VSU cut spending more than $18 million last fall to maintain a balanced budget, leading to student protests, and has projected a decline in staff in the fiscal year beginning July 1 to ensure a balanced budget. Specifics are still unavailable.

In a bid to be more attractive to prospective students, Dr. Hammond proposed — and the VSU board approved — an extremely modest 2.8 percent increase in student tuition and mandatory fees, the smallest percentage increase among Virginia’s state-supported, four-year institutions for the 2015-16 school year.

The result: VSU will be the least expensive four-year school in Virginia, which VSU hopes to use to market itself and begin to rebuild its student body.

In-state undergraduate students will pay an extra $112 per semester for tuition and mandatory fees. The cost for two semesters for full-time, in-state students will rise to $8,226, up from $8,002 for the current year.

NSU previously was the least expensive public university in the state, but the 11 percent tuition hike after July 1 will change that.

In its continuing effort to make the school more affordable, VSU’s board also did not raise the cost of student on-campus housing.

“We developed this year’s tuition and fee structure with an emphasis on offering our students an outstanding education at an affordable price,” said Kevin Davenport, VSU’s chief financial officer.

“By keeping the room rates the same next year as this year,” he said, “VSU will offer one of the most affordable living and learning experiences in the country.”