Operating Budget FAQs

The University is advancing a multi-year budgeting approach; the 2026/27 budget represents Year 1. This new approach involves a three-year planning horizon that supports longer-term, coordinated decision-making through Integrated Resource Planning. Past budgets have focused more on shorter-term stabilization.

Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) is a coordinated framework that ensures financial, human, and physical resources are directed toward mission-advancing priorities.

The 2026/27 operating budget anticipates operating revenue of $313.4M and operating expenditures of $320.7M. The three-year planning horizon projects a gradual narrowing of the gap between revenues and expenditures, from $7.4 million in 2026/27 to $5.8 million in 2027/28 and a $1.3 million surplus in 2028/29.

The focus of the multi-year strategy is reducing the structural deficit by strengthening the University’s financial position, and supporting sustainable, mission-aligned growth. In Year 1 – the 2026/27 Operating Budget – plans include careful stewardship, cost reductions, operational changes, and strategic use of one-time MCURES funding. This will help mitigate immediate pressures while laying the groundwork for deeper, structural change.