Athens — Public colleges like the University of Georgia would leave faculty jobs unfilled, slash travel budgets and consider layoffs if forced to cut their budgets by 5 percent, according to documents submitted to the state's Board of Regents.

Chancellor Erroll Davis asked each of the state's 35 public institutions to submit budget reduction plans to trim spending by 5 percent, which goes beyond the governor's order of a 3.5 percent cut for each state agency.

But the suggested changes aren't a done deal until August, when Regents will vote on a systemwide plan to send to state lawmakers, and universities are lobbying hard to stave off such deep cuts.

UGA President Michael Adams said he is "gravely concerned about the impact of losing 100 faculty positions" if the school is forced to cut 5 percent, or around $20 million, from its budget. That level, he said in a letter to the chancellor, "will impede adherence to both the University's and the System's strategic plans."

John Millsaps, the spokesman for the university system, said the regents will recommend a 3.5 percent cut for the 2009 budget and a 4 percent cut for 2010, in accordance with the governor's orders.

Asking institutions to plan for a deeper 5 percent reduction allows system officials some flexibility in what cuts could be made, he said. "That gives us the ability to make strategic decisions."

"We don't know what we're going to have to do at this point," he said. "Our plan is for the system as a whole, it's not institution by institution."

Other colleges are facing the same questions.

"Budget cuts are painful and the amount we've been asked to take is significant given the attention Georgia Tech pays to fiscal efficiency," said Georgia Tech spokesman Jim Fetig.

"However, we are still in the planning process and have not yet determined exactly how the cuts will be taken," Fetig said. "Unfortunately, in spite of a hiring moratorium we have announced internally, we cannot rule out layoffs and hope personnel reductions are a last resort."

Small or large, the cuts will make a difference, said UGA Provost Arnett Mace.

"Even at the 3.5 percent, that it is going to have a significant impact on the quality of programs," he said.

The reduction plans for other colleges will be made available later this week, Millsaps said.