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To: All faculty and staff
November 18, 2024
Dear Campus Community,
We write today to inform you of potential adjustments in the state budget and other financial pressures that will directly affect our campus over the course of the next few years and to outline the measures we'll need to enact together to support the long-term fiscal sustainability of our campus.
This fall the campus will begin working on a 5% budget reduction exercise to initiate a multi-year effort toward fiscal sustainability. Our campus’ lingering structural expenses, investments related to growth, and increasing costs of personnel, goods and services continue to rise. The Governor’s budget is projecting a 7.95% decrease in funding to the University of California next year. In FY27 our Memorandum of Understanding with the Office of the President will expire, along with significant one-time funding we are receiving from UCOP. These factors necessitate a multi-year plan toward fiscal sustainability launching in fiscal year 2026 (starting July 1, 2025). The goal of enhanced fiscal sustainability requires a transition toward a state in which our revenues and expenditures are further aligned. As a first step toward that goal, the Provost and other Vice Chancellors will prepare tentative plans to reduce their FY26 budgets by 5%. The budget reduction exercise applies to all state allocation (19900) and tuition (14000) funds. Special state appropriations (199XX), auxiliary and student-based fees are exempt from consideration. The Provost and other Vice Chancellors will submit their draft budget reductions for full campus review and reaction in March 2025.
The campus’ Three Es to promote fiscal sustainability will help support our financial decision making as we move forward. We are all responsible for promoting and practicing fiscal sustainability in our respective areas. As discussed in the recent Financial Transparency Town Hall, the Three Es (Evaluation, Efficiency and Enrollment) are reminders of ways that each of us can contribute to the campus’ fiscal sustainability. We can evaluate whether local resources are aligned with the campus mission. We can look at how efficiently we are using campus resources. We can look at how our individual efforts can contribute to enrollment.
We are confident, as is the Chancellor, that together we can navigate the fiscal challenges we face in the coming years and build a stronger UC Merced for our current and future students, staff and faculty. We look forward to future campus conversations on this effort and appreciate your partnership.
Please submit any questions for DFA here.
Sincerely,
Kurt Schnier
Vice Chancellor for Planning & Budget and Chief Financial Officer
Elizabeth R. Dumont
Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost
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