On June 26, 2024, the Board of Trustees approved a $1.03 billion operating budget for fiscal year 2025 (FY25) which runs from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025. This includes $408.9 million for university and auxiliary operations and $617.6 million for UT Health, and represents a $62.97 million dollar increase from FY24.
The operating budget projects a 2.5% decrease in tuition revenue (from $229.2 to 223.6 million) and a 2.49% decrease in State Share of Instruction (from $115.4 to $112.6 million).
“It’s just like anything that you predict, it’s like medicine that a doctor prescribed to you,” said Vice Provost of Student Affairs and Dean of Students Sammy Spann, regarding budget alignment with university goals. “You don’t know how good it’s working until you’re actually seeing the benefits down the road... Doing nothing is going to cost us. Doing something, it’s kind of up in the air how it’s going to turn out.”
“Obviously, we know that we’re very challenged on the revenue front,” said Sabrina Taylor, associate vice president of budget and planning, when asked about the financial priorities of the university. “Our office, the budget office, we don’t get involved in setting the priorities. Obviously, that comes at a higher level.”
The priorities of the university “depends on who you talk to,” according to Spann. “The goals are multifaceted, but I will tell you the common goal that we all share is to make sure the student experience is a priority,” citing activities, events, and support in the form of
career services and outreach as demonstrations of this priority.
“When you have the right people around the table, then those priorities are what’s best for the institution, what’s best for the students, and what’s best for us collectively as a community,” Spann said.
For FY25, $6 million was transferred from UTHealth to the university budget for mission support. There was an 11.6% increase in compensation for UT Health (from $281.7 to $314.5 million), which includes UT Medical Center and UT Physicians. UT Health made up 60% of both the university’s expenses and revenues, a slight increase from last year when it comprised 58% of revenues and expenses.
There was a less than 1% decrease in compensation for university and auxiliary employees, from $308.5 to $305.6 million. With enrollment on the decline, the university has needed to “rightsize the employee base,” said Taylor, which includes eliminating vacant positions and examining the retirement and resignation trends of staff and faculty.
When the Division of Student Affairs lost staff members, for example, “if it was a role that could be incorporated in other areas, we would incorporate it in other areas, and take that money as a savings and use it to help right size the budget,” Spann said.
For FY25, the General Fee is budgeted to bring in $17.6 million, $8.5 million of which is transferred to indexes in the division of athletics.
UT student athletes receive $4.8 million in scholarships for tuition fees and book costs, as well as $884,808 in stipends. UToledo football accounts for 51% of the stipend budget for athletics.
“Most universities don’t make money off their athletics program,” said Spann. “People know us as the Rockets, the brand of the university is athletics, so it’s kind of like a double-edged sword.”
Stipends are disbursed to full-ride athletes for cost of attendance as a monthly payment. The cost of attendance is based on the overall university’s cost of attendance for all students.
Scholarships cover tuition, books, fees, and room and board, and the stipends are designed to cover any cost-of-attendance expenses that are not covered by scholarships. Stipends are a fixed amount based on a formula calculated by the federal government for financial aid purposes, according to Sabrina Taylor.
UT budgeted $2.2 million for student athletes’ off-campus room and board, with football making up 35% of this budget. Conversely, $439,000 was the budget for on-campus housing for student athletes, with football making up 49% of that budget. UT budgets $219,250 for pre-season room and board.
While all sports budget for off-campus room and board, notably, women’s basketball, women’s swimming, men’s and women’s tennis, volleyball, and men’s track and cross-country teams do not budget for on-campus room and board.
Women’s soccer and women’s track and cross-country receive a $20,000 budget each for on-campus room, but not on-campus board.
Athletics is set to bring in $54,500 from event parking, primarily from other entities, such as local high schools, using UT facilities for sporting events. Some UT sports also build parking into their ticket pricing.
6% of UToledo scholarships, amounting nearly $500,000, according to spokesperson Tyrel Linkhorn, are still on hold due to the federal overturn of affirmative action in June 2023.
“The funds have not gone away,” said Taylor. “They were looking to broaden the scope of how they could award the scholarship dollars. We’ve not given any money back.”
It was further clarified that students who had previously received those scholarships were still being awarded their annual renewals, if applicable. The change impacts only new applicants, according to the office.