AKRON, Ohio -- The University of Akron anticipates a $16 million deficit for next fiscal year.

The university has fought a projected deficit since 2015. Then, officials predicted a $60 million dollar shortfall over three years. The deficit led UA to eliminate hundreds of jobs, get rid of the baseball program and cut elsewhere.

The university attributes fiscal problems in part to a decline in enrollment, which is projected to continue at 7 percent for next year.

The cuts will keep coming; the 2018-2019 budget includes a 5-percent decrease in operating funds throughout the campus, including administration, auxiliaries, athletics and academics.

Leaders in each area will decide how to achieve that decrease.

The university is not considering layoffs, according to a press release. In March, 48 faculty and administrators took buyout packages. But staffing positions left vacant will not be replaced.

University leadership has shuffled since budget issues surfaced in 2015. Former president Scott Scarborough resigned in May 2016 after a series of controversial decisions led to a faculty vote of no confidence and protestors at board of trustee meetings. See a full timeline of his tenure here.

Matthew Wilson was appointed interim president for 18 months after Scarborough's resignation. He made strides in balancing the deficit and was named president in October of 2017.

Wilson announced he would return to UA's School of Law in March. The university's board finalized John Green's contract as interim president on Wednesday.

This year's deficit is drastically reduced. The original budget deficit estimate for 2017-2018 was $29 million and is now predicted to be likely less than $5 million. If there's a deficit at the end of the year, the money would need be pulled from UA's reserves, which total about $80 million.

Full details will be available following the close of the fiscal year on June 30, according to the release.