ISU presentations highlight enrollment growth, budget requests and reworked student-success programs

Idaho State University officials told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Jan. 29 that the university is growing enrollment, is making organizational changes aimed at boosting student completion, and has filed several FY2026 budget requests including operational capacity and enrollment-workload adjustments.

Kevin Campbell, a Budget and Policy Analyst with the Legislative Services Office, opened the ISU briefing with statistical and budget details. Campbell said ISU has more than 12,000 students supported by roughly 1,244 full-time-equivalent employees and a base budget of about $171.1 million. He noted a technical error in the tuition-and-fees slide in the committee packet and said he is "tracking down the problem"; he added that a check of State Treasury balances showed ISU had not overdrawn its account.

Campbell provided a breakdown of ISU expenditures and recent budget moves: 74.8% of the university’s expenditures go to personnel, 21.2% to operating expenses and 3.9% to capital outlay. He reviewed adjustments over the last five years, including a two-percent general fund reduction in FY2021, a one-time 5% supplemental rescission, and multiple enrollment-workload adjustments and operational-capacity enhancements (CEC/operational capacity enhancements) in subsequent years.

President Rob Wagner, who marked his first anniversary at ISU during the hearing, said the university is focusing on student completion and workforce alignment. Wagner described several administrative changes: ISU closed a diversity resource center and a gender resource center (effective Nov. 15) and moved two full-time equivalents (one from each center) into student-involvement and the office of equal opportunity/Title IX, which now reports directly to the president. Wagner said the new Bengal Success Center is intended to support all students across ISU’s campuses and to concentrate on academic completion.

Wagner also highlighted ISU’s health-sciences growth and partnerships: he cited expanded health-sciences enrollments (more than 700 students gained over five years), new programs such as a doctor of nurse anesthetist program (initial cohort of 25 seats received over 200 applicants), and a strengthening relationship and a forthcoming memorandum of understanding with the Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine (ICOM) to support research and clinical pathways.

On FY2026 requests, Wagner and the analyst said ISU is requesting $907,300 in operational-capacity enhancement, $233,700 in an endowment adjustment, and $988,100 for the enrollment-workload adjustment. Wagner told the committee the university is on track to present a balanced budget for FY2026 and emphasized the need to use CEC and other funds to make faculty and staff salaries competitive and to retain employees.

Committee members asked about broader federal funding risks and the effect of recent federal directives on university research and student-support grants. Wagner said ISU did an initial estimate and was briefly concerned that a pause in federal funding could put roughly $25 million of expected federal support at risk before a court injunction placed those decisions on hold; he said ISU is working with state and national partners to understand the implications.

Representatives and senators asked for clarifying information about the tuition/fee technical error, the university’s use of CEC funds and the details of program and staff changes. Committee chairs and members asked ISU to follow up with written documentation and to supply additional detail on FY2026 intentions for student-success investments, as well as any requested follow-up on federal funding questions.

Wagner closed by reiterating ISU’s statewide mission, its student demographics (about 92% Idaho residents), and the institution’s focus on creating multiple on- and off-ramps for a range of students—including certificates, associate, bachelor’s and graduate pathways—so graduates can enter and re-enter the workforce with minimal friction.