University System of New Hampshire outlines enrollment, tuition and budget risks to Finance Committee

Chancellor Catherine Provencher of the University System of New Hampshire told the Finance - Division II committee that the system’s enrollment, finances and state support present competing pressures as the Legislature prepares a new budget.

Provencher said the system enrolls about 23,000 students this fall, roughly 83% undergraduates, with the University of New Hampshire accounting for about 69% of the total. She said the system’s fiscal 2024 operating expenses were $928 million, about 20% of which was for research, and that the UNH research enterprise has grown about 75% since fiscal 2019.

The figures matter because state support and student tuition together fund a large share of operating costs and because enrollment declines change the system’s revenue mix. “We graduate about 3,000 folks who enter the New Hampshire workforce every year,” Provencher said, noting a broader figure than the undergraduate-only number the Education Funding Committee previously saw.

Provencher described the system’s FY25 state appropriation as $95 million, of which roughly $81 million goes to buy down in‑state tuition and about $14…