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Regents briefed on fiscal‑26 scenarios; university aims to present a skeleton budget in May
Summary
WSU finance leaders outlined core funds, tuition assumptions, state-appropriation sensitivity and a timeline that targets a May skeletal budget for regent approval and a full document by June 30, while warning of the compounding effect of federal grant cuts.
Washington State University finance leadership presented a set of fiscal‑26 planning scenarios at the Feb. 17 regents retreat, telling the board the goal remains to bring a skeletal operating budget to regents in May while continuing to refine the details through June 30.
Key parameters: staff used a working assumption of a 3.3 percent tuition rate increase and modeled a conservative 1 percent enrollment decline; the administration also ran sensitivity scenarios for 1, 3, 5 and 10 percent unit reductions and a range of state appropriation outcomes. Leslie Brownelli, the CFO, warned that reductions applied to the state's total appropriation (including earmarked provisos) could force deeper cuts to core general‑fund operations if provisos are protected.
Why it matters: the core funds operating budget (state appropriation, tuition and a piece of indirect-cost recovery) funds teaching, research support and administration. Brownelli noted the university entered fiscal 2025 with higher cash than in 2017 but said continuing uncertainty at both the federal and state levels makes early May budget approval challenging and likely partial.
Timetable and process: the university shifted its unit budget hearings to April (from March) to allow the incoming president and the board to have more up-to-date information from the state legislature and federal developments. Units will be asked to prepare projections and 1/3/5/10 percent reduction scenarios and to identify where cuts would fall and the risks involved.
What regents asked and emphasized: several regents pressed for clearer breakout of carry-forward balances and for unit-level data; they asked for clarity on student-waiver and scholarship practices because net tuition (after waivers) determines revenue. Budget leadership said they will provide detailed unit workbooks and a master parking-lot of follow-up questions established during the retreat.
Ending note: Regents were warned the May submission will likely be a skeleton with the expectation for a complete FY26 budget document by June 30, depending on state action and changes in the federal funding environment.
