Idaho State seeks FY2026 operational enhancements and cites enrollment, technical reporting issues

BOISE, Idaho — Idaho State University presented its FY2026 budget request to the Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee on Jan. 29, showing rising enrollment and ongoing requests for operational capacity enhancements while analysts flagged a technical reporting error in tuition fund balances.

Kevin Campbell of the Legislative Services Office told the committee ISU has more than 12,000 students supported by roughly 1,244 full‑time‑equivalent staff and a base budget the analyst summarized from the legislative budget book. Campbell noted a technical error in the tuition and fees slide that misstates beginning fund balances; he said state treasury records show ISU did not overdraw its account and that LSO will update the data if appropriate.

Campbell reviewed multi‑year trends and said personnel comprises the bulk of ISU spending: 74.8% personnel, 21.2% operating and 3.9% capital outlay. He traced recent adjustments including reductions in FY2021 tied to a 2% ongoing general‑fund cut and a supplemental rescission and noted operational capacity enhancement (OCE) and enrollment workload adjustment (EWA) changes in recent years.

For FY2026, Campbell told the committee ISU is requesting operational capacity enhancement dollars and other adjustments; President Wagner later reiterated priorities for student success and workforce programs.

Wagner described university actions to raise completion rates and reorganize student services. He said two campus centers — the Diversity Resource Center and the Gender Resource Center — were closed after a fall review and the university moved the two FTEs into student involvement and the Office of Equal Opportunity/Title IX (reporting to the president). Wagner said the changes culminated in a newly created Bengal Success Center open to students across ISU’s campuses and intended to focus on academic completion.

Wagner also said ISU is engaging with state partners on workforce needs, highlighted LAUNCH participation (he said about 888 ISU students were in LAUNCH), and detailed health‑science program growth that he said supports retention of graduates in Idaho.

Campbell and Wagner both described the mechanics of tuition and fee reappropriation and cautioned that reappropriation is not equivalent to unspent funds because institutions use tuition commitments for multi‑year obligations. Campbell asked the committee to note that the slide showing tuition fund balances captures revenue and expenditures as submitted during the budget process but contains the earlier‑noted technical anomaly.

Why it matters: ISU’s spending mix, enrollment trajectory and requests for OCE and EWA shape the institution’s capacity to expand health‑science programs and workforce pipelines. The committee will review ISU’s FY2026 request in the context of other institutions and state budget priorities.

— Reporting for the Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee hearing, Jan. 29, 2025.