Budget Planning and Projections

Dear UMBC Community, 

 

We write today to provide an update on our budget planning for fiscal year 2026 (FY26) and to share with you a sense of the near-term financial picture for UMBC in light of reductions in state funding and further anticipated reductions in federally supported research and programs. 

 

We reported previously that the recently approved state budget for FY26 includes a 7 percent reduction in UMBC’s operating budget allocation. The University System of Maryland subsequently directed its institutions to prepare budget projections incorporating that cut plus an additional 3 percent for FY26 and an additional 5 percent for FY27. 

 

The projections are in response to increased fiscal pressure, given state and federal funding cuts, anticipated cuts in indirect cost recovery on federal research grants, and a variety of uncertainties related to federal actions that could impact the state’s economy and affect revenues across our institutions. Federal impacts vary by institution, and so, too, will our responses. 

 

For UMBC, the projections result in a bottom-line need to reduce our budget by $14.8 million for FY26. This is a sizable reduction, but we are confident at this time that we can achieve it through thoughtful, strategic reductions in spending across the university and without enacting salary reductions, furloughs, or layoffs. As we develop our final budget for FY26, we will also be looking ahead to FY27, for which we are projecting an additional cut of $10.5 million. 

 

How will we close the $14.8 million gap for FY26? We expect the reductions to affect the entirety of the university, but we do not believe that across-the-board reductions will be the most effective or strategic approach, particularly amid such dynamic conditions. We are thinking carefully about how best to target these reductions, prioritizing our people, our mission, and our values as we do. 

 

The budget office, which shared preliminary budget files with academic and administrative units in April, will soon share updated numbers with all units and support them in developing their detailed budgets over the coming weeks. Unit-level decisions will need to include such actions as reductions in operating expenses and discretionary budgets and considerations of vacant positions. 

 

We extend our gratitude to you in advance for your commitment to this important work. This is a difficult moment for higher education, and UMBC is not immune to the challenges or uncertainty. Yet we are unwavering in our belief in UMBC and its ability to navigate through this moment successfully. 

 

As I shared in the recent conversation about strategic planning and UMBC’s future, we stand at the beginning of UMBC 3.0, building on the university’s history and its remarkable evolution since its founding in 1966. The current moment may cause us to pivot, to adjust timelines, and to adapt, but we will remain true to UMBC 1.0 and 2.0 and true to our values and our vision for 3.0. As I asked that day, can you imagine a UMBC that is not focused on student success? Can you imagine a UMBC that is not rooted in inclusive excellence? We cannot. We will not. We will move forward, with our shared commitment and dedication to who UMBC is and to everything it can be. 

 

Sincerely,