FY27 Budget Update

Can you give a FY27 budget update?

In late February, UNH leadership issued FY27 preliminary budget guidance to colleges and administrative offices. Units have been asked to build their budgets within defined parameters and to account for known cost increases, including previously announced compensation adjustments and rising benefit expenses.

This planning phase reflects the fiscal context President Chilton outlined in her February State of the University address. While the university has maintained a positive operating margin, expenses continue to outpace revenue growth. Further, state appropriations will decline next year, our graduating classes are replaced by smaller incoming student populations, and final enrollment numbers remain months away as students are committing later in the cycle.

The careful, collective financial management by the UNH community over the past two fiscal years has positioned the university to prioritize targeted adjustments over across-the-board reductions even as student headcounts are smaller.

Colleges and administrative units have been asked to submit projected expenses by the end of March to inform individual budget discussions with Finance in April. Over the coming months, senior leadership will review unit plans and refine assumptions as revenue and cost projections become more clear.

Final allocations will follow Board approval of the FY27 budget in June.