Augusta State University isn't immune to the latest economic downturn.

The university has drafted a plan to cut its operating budget by $1.57 million in response to a request by Gov. Sonny Perdue that every state agency submit plans for reducing their budgets for this fiscal year and the next.

As a result of the request, University System of Georgia Chancellor Errol Davis asked each of the system's 35 members to develop ways to shave 5 percent of their state funding expenditures for each of the two fiscal years. The governor had asked for 3.5 percent for this year and 4 percent for next year.

"Once the money is cut, you never catch up," ASU President William A. Bloodworth Jr. said Wednesday, adding that the university still hasn't fully recovered from cuts made in 2002 and 2003.

Now he and his staff are making decisions he doesn't want to make.

"Unfortunately, we're going to end up using more part-time and temporary instructors this year," Dr. Bloodworth said. "To some extent, students will not have access to the quantity and quality of the faculty they truly deserve."

The instructors, however, will be certified and meet the standards of the university's accrediting agencies, he said.

"I think we've been doing a reasonable, if not superb, job with these faculty members," Dr. Bloodworth said.

Although the cuts are only proposals at this time, the university has frozen some teaching positions and made other moves to prepare for cuts.

Other plans for trimming ASU's budget include reducing campus improvements and renovations, training and professional development and funding for student employment, Dr. Bloodworth said.

"It was somewhat expected," he said. "We knew that state revenue was not meeting expectations."

Mr. Perdue dipped into the state's reserves for $600 million to balance this year's budget, and the chancellor advised colleges to set aside 2 percent to 3 percent as a precaution.

"It's obviously not unlike what people all across the state are feeling," said Bert Brantley, the governor's press secretary, acknowledging there are still some unknowns. "It's impossible to guess what the exact impact will be."

There is no crisis or reason for panic, but finances will force tough decisions, he said.

"We don't think there's a lot of low-hanging fruit," Mr. Brantley said. "There's not a whole lot of excess -- fat to be trimmed, so to speak."

If cuts are made, they will be strategic and not across the board, he said. The governor began cutting the state budget during the past legislative session. After submitting his proposal, he amended it based on newer economic forecasts and cut $245 million.

The deadline is Friday for the 35 members of the university system to submit their proposals, spokesman John Millsaps said. After reviewing them, the chancellor will have until Sept. 2 to submit an overall plan for the system to the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget.

"At this point, it's not a cut," he said. "It's planning."