UA officials say they’ll cut deficit down to a third of previous estimates. Here’s how
Five months into the University of Arizona’s financial crisis, officials say they’re projected to bring the budget shortfall to a fraction of what it once was by 2025 — down to a deficit of $52 million.
While the progress is still a preliminary estimate, leadership points to it as proof their efforts are working after initially projecting a $177 million shortfall. Meanwhile, many students, staff and faculty say they continue to be ignored in the process.
In his presentation to the Arizona Board of Regents on Thursday, Interim Chief Financial Officer John Arnold said that despite budget reductions, the administration has maintained its goals to attract students, push its land grant mission and invest in research. The board was optimistic about what the plan will mean for UA in the coming years.
“This turnaround is a difficult moment,” Regent Fred DuVal said Thursday. “But one that is not going to get in the way of the inevitable return.”
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Cuts fall on administration, health sciences as leaders look for new revenue
The school is preparing for $71 million in cuts and $39 million in added revenue for the next fiscal year. Arnold’s updates come just a few weeks after he shared the school made modest improvements with $15 million shaved off the deficit.
Administration and health sciences budgets will see similar reductions — around 6% for each for savings of $30.1 million and $19.4 million, respectively. Administration includes the offices of the provost, vice provost and president. The president's office is set for a 28% decrease — about $5 million.
The colleges will see $26.1 million in combined cuts.
“We’ve taken a big bite out of the deficit,” Arnold said.
On the other side of the equation, university facilities and safety budgets both saw increases. Facilities and utilities will get an additional $2.9 million and safety an additional $1.3 million. Arnold previously promised he would not enact “across the board” cuts that would affect programs uniformly.
College leaders had proposed cut scenarios ranging from 5% to 15% over the last several months. Those initial budgets will be available next week and could impact staffing decisions for the upcoming year.
How did UA come up with its budget projections?
Arnold described the budgeting process as a series of "projections" that could be subject to change.
"There are still a number of unknowns that we're dealing with," he said. "We have confidence in these numbers, but we're also confident they're going to change."
To build the budget, officials compiled some revenue assumptions over the next several years, including increases in some graduate programs, tuition costs and investment earnings.
On the other side, Arnold planned for a modest decline in on-campus enrollment that will be offset in a rise in online students. He said leaders don't think in-person attendance will dip but wanted to play it safe in estimating the school’s revenue.
Leaders will look for $18 million in new revenue streams, coming from program expansions and the University of Arizona Global Campus — UA's controversial online school.
That budget will continue to be revised as officials gather more information from unit leaders and the consulting firm brought on to analyze the athletics budget and UAGC.
None of the university’s individual colleges will start fiscal year 2025 in the red, said Arnold. The school has also centralized its IT and human resources departments.
UA President Robert Robbins praised the progress in a Thursday morning email sent to the campus community.
“This is the result of concerted efforts by deans and leaders across the University who worked diligently on their budget plans to address spending trends and to significantly reduce the deficit,” Robbins said in a statement.
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Groups call out Robbins, new presidential search committee
Before Thursday’s board meeting, the United Campus Workers of Arizona rallied to bring attention to their demands to increase support for students, staff and faculty at each of Arizona’s public universities. Dozens of signs demanding UA “chop from the top” surrounded the administrative building around 1 p.m..
Rhys Williams, a UA graduate student and union member, said Robbins’ celebratory email shows “the thinking of administrators.”
“They think of resources, programs and people in dollar amounts,” Williams said.
Other union members, several traveling from the state’s two other public universities, spoke out against the newly formed advisory committee for the 23rd UA president search. The 18-person board features one staff member and one student.
While the board touted the committee as a strong example of shared governance representation, many of those groups hit back on Thursday.
Alyssa Sanchez, president of the Associated Students of the University of Arizona, spoke to the board sharing her disappointment that no representatives from her shared governance body are on the committee.
“This is a complete oversight that must be rectified in our involvement in the search committee to bring invaluable insight into the student experience,” Sanchez said.
Leila Husdon, chair of the faculty senate, echoed the same sentiment, saying faculty have expressed “deep disappointment and outrage” over the board’s committee selections. While five professors sit on the committee, faculty senate leaders were not consulted during the selections. The choices raise questions on the board's motives, she said.
“ABOR, our administration, have ignored — in some cases retaliated against — the people who questioned the disastrous policies of the last few years,” Hudson said. "The vetting and hiring of the next president must set our institution on a different path."
Regents approve planned tuition increases
The board unanimously approved scheduled tuition and fee increases for all three universities in part of a process introduced last year. The multi-year tuition structure sets caps for each school to keep education costs consistent. Here are the increases as passed for 2024-25:
Arizona State University
Online students will see 2% increase in tuition, while the increases for students on campus is set to vary.
Undergraduate, Arizona residents: 1.5%
Undergraduate, out-of-state: 3%
Undergraduate, international: 3%
Graduate, Arizona residents: 1.5%
Graduate, out-of-state: 3%
Graduate, international: 4%
ASU also introduced 19 new program fees for graduate students in certain programs.
University of Arizona
Current students under UA’s tuition guarantee program will not see tuition rises for eight semesters. The following increases are for incoming students:
Undergraduate, Arizona resident: 2.5%
Undergraduate, out-of-state: 3%
College of Medicine, resident and out-of-state: 5%
College of Veterinary Medicine, resident and out-of-state: 4%
James E. College of Law JD Program, resident and out-of-state: 3%
There will be a less than 1% increase in the 2024-25 Student Engagement Fee.
Northern Arizona University
NAU added an initial fee for the newly formed College of Nursing and fee increases for the College of the Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences. Some fees for the graduate nursing program and business analytics master’s program will also rise.
Tuition is also set to rise, according to the school's proposed estimates.
Undergraduate, Arizona residents: 3%
Undergraduate, out-of-state: 3.5%
Graduate, Arizona residents: 4%
Graduate, out-of-state: 4.5%
Helen Rummel covers higher education for The Arizona Republic. Reach her at hrummel@azcentral.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @helenrummel.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: UA projecting to cut deficit down by more than $100M
