The University of Nebraska aims to close it’s budget shortfall, keep tuition on track with inflation, and make several academic investments under a proposed 2024-25 operating budget announced today by Interim President Chris Kabourek.
The proposed budget will come before the Board of Regents at its June 20 meeting. One of Kabourek’s highest priorities within the proposal was to eliminate the university’s structural deficit, and provide a “clean slate” as President-Elect Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D., transitions into his new role on July 1.
Interim President Chris Kabourek
“This is a responsible budget that puts us in a strong position for the year ahead,” Kabourek said in a statement. “We will need to be disciplined in prioritizing our spending, but I’m very pleased that we have built a plan that allows us to make investments that will have major impact for students, our workforce and Nebraska’s competitiveness.
Highlights of the proposed $1.1 billion operating budget include:
Tuition
- A tuition increase that amounts to an inflationary contribution for students. The increase equals $135 per semester for a Nebraska student attending UNL, or $1.29 per day. A UNO student would pay $120 more semester, and a UNK student would pay $105 more per semester. There will be no impact for students who receive the Nebraska Promise, NU’s financial aid program that guarantees full tuition coverage for Nebraska students with family incomes of $65,000 or less.
“It was really important for us to keep tuition no higher than inflation,” Kabourek told KLIN News. “Our tuition will continue to be one of the lowest in the Big Ten… and we truly believe students are getting a tremendous value for the money they spend for their education.”
Spending Cuts
- $11.8 million in permanent spending cuts to be identified in the upcoming fiscal year. These cuts, to be allocated across the four campuses and Office of the President, follow $30 million in cuts that have been made over the past two years.
Investments
- $1.5 million to expand the Presidential Scholars Program to an annual cohort of 50 of Nebraska’s best and brightest students. Announced in February, the program provides a full cost of attendance scholarship, plus a $5,000 annual stipend, to Nebraska students who score a perfect 36 on the ACT. Already, 17 students have enrolled as part of the inaugural cohort of Presidential Scholars.
With additional funds, the university intends to create an application process for students who score a 32, 33, 34 or 35 on the ACT to compete for the scholarship, beginning next year. Students who score a 36 will continue to automatically qualify. Details on the application process for additional scholars are still to be determined.
- $1.5 million for other priorities of President-Elect Gold’s choosing.
- $15 million in state funding to support staffing and operations at the Kristensen Rural Health Education Complex on the UNK campus. The complex, whose second building is due for completion next year and occupancy in early 2026, will strengthen the health care workforce pipeline for rural Nebraska.
- A 3 percent merit-based pool for salary increases for non-unionized faculty and staff. The increase will help the university recruit and retain talent in the highly competitive marketplace.
University leadership will continue to engage the Board, faculty, staff, students and all Nebraskans in conversations about the university’s future, Kabourek said.
“There’s still a number of challenging headwinds before us, and those haven’t gone away,” Kabourek also admitted. “So we’re going to have to continue those uncomfortable conversations about our structure, priorities, unnecessary academic program or administrative duplication, the productivity of our faculty and our staff… There’s no doubt in my mind we can achieve our goals to get back into the AAU, make UNO a premier metropolitan university, strengthen UNK’s role in rural Nebraska and maintain a world-class medical center.”
The Board will also consider the 2024-25 operating budget for the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture. The proposed inflationary tuition increase at NCTA amounts to $5 per credit hour.