Resource Library

Here, you will find historical data, graphs, and other budget information.

Past Communications

The Chancellor and VC of Administration and Finance (VCAF) provided a budget update, answered questions from attendees, and received feedback from UBAC representatives at a special UBAC meeting held on April 8, 2026.

Watch the recording.

Powerpoint slides coming soon. 

This report summarizes discussions from the Faculty Assembly Budget Committee (FACB) meeting on March 30, 2026, focused on proposed expenditure reductions to achieve a balanced UCCS budget for Fiscal Year 2026–27. It details the Senior Leadership Team’s reduction plan, analyzes impacts across colleges and divisions, and outlines multiple options for closing the remaining budget gap, with FACB and UBAC asked to provide recommendations.

During the Town Hall on April 1st, Chancellor Sobanet and the Senior Leadership Team addressed questions from the campus community. 

Read the Town Hall Recap

Watch the Opening Remarks

Review the Powerpoint Slides

As UCCS advances the Healthy Campus Initiative, we are taking a thoughtful next step in exploring whether a shift from UCCS to CU Colorado Springs could enhance our long-term sustainability and market position.

Read the communication. 

Visit the University Branding Project website.

The University Leadership Team provided a budget update, and answered questions from attendees at the monthly UBAC meeting on March 30th.

Watch the UBAC recording.

Review the powerpoint slides.

Since Fall 2025, the Strategic Enrollment Plan (SEP) Steering Committee has been advancing coordinated, campus-wide work to strengthen enrollment growth, student experience, and persistence. This update highlights key progress and early outcomes.

Read the full communication.

During the Town Hall on March 17th, Chancellor Sobanet and the Executive Leadership Team addressed questions from the campus community. 

Read the Town Hall recap.

Town Hall FAQs.

The UCCS Healthy Campus Efficiency and Effectiveness Executive Summary synthesizes qualitative feedback gathered from faculty, staff, and students from the January 2026 Healthy Campus feedback survey. 

Read the Executive Summary.

Review the survey data.

The first of three campus-wide Town Halls was hosted on March 9th, 2026.

Watch the opening remarks.

Read the Town Hall recap.

Town Hall FAQs.

 

 

During the week of March 2nd, our faculty will vote on the question of censure for members of our executive leadership team (ELT). Their concerns, as outlined in a recent letter, stem from the issues involved with our current budget situation, how we plan to close our existing budget gap and what reinvestments we make to ensure we restore fiscal health to our campus. We share these concerns with the faculty, and we welcome their ongoing partnership – along with that of all other campus community members – as these hard decisions are made.

Read the full response by the Executive Leadership Team.

The FACB Report outlines UCCS’s current financial challenges, driven by rising mandatory costs, limited state funding, declining enrollment, and reliance on one‑time reserves. It explains the multi‑year budget reduction plan, and describes the evaluation process, impacts, and strategies for stabilizing the campus’s long‑term fiscal health.

Read the full FACB Report.

The University Leadership Team provided a budget update, and answered questions from attendees at the monthly UBAC meeting on February 18. 

Watch the UBAC meeting. 

See the UBAC presentation slides. 

On January 29, 2026, The University Leadership Team provided a budget update for building a financially healthy campus. 

Read the January 29 update. 

The University Budget Advisory Committee and ULT hosted a special meeting on January 30, 2026 to further discuss the updates announced the day prior. 

Watch the UBAC meeting. 

See the UBAC PowerPoint presentation. 

This past fall, we invited the campus community to participate in a budget process survey to share feedback on how we communicate and make decisions related to creating a financially healthy campus at UCCS. The feedback we received highlighted six key priorities for improving how we approach budget planning and decision-making.

Read the budget update from January 20, 2026.

The Budget Process Survey was conducted to gather perspectives from faculty, staff, and students on what has worked well in past budgeting processes, what should be avoided, how trust can be strengthened, which values should guide decisions, and any additional concerns or insights. The goal was to inform a more transparent, effective, and values-aligned budgeting process at UCCS. The report was shared on December 16, 2025.

View the Budget Process Survey Report.

FAQ

Current State and Historical Data

Our campus is in a place of challenge. We have real and ongoing budget issues that require our immediate attention and sustained work. The signs of financial distress outlined by the National Association of College and University Budget Officers (NACUBO) mirror issues on our own campus.

  • Declining or unstable enrollment relative to expense base
  • Repeated use of reserves to cover structural deficits
  • Deferred maintenance or capital reinvestment delays that hurt the institution’s ability to deliver a quality experience for students and a supportive environment for academics
  • Diminishing auxiliary margins that keep the institution locked in the status quo or worse
  • Unclear financial practices at college and division level creating an unclear financial picture

Specifically, our campus has experienced eight consecutive years of budget reductions and reallocations. Even with that work, we continue to experience revenue growth at only 2.62 percent which outpaces our expense growth at 3.34 percent.

We aren’t alone. Many institutions of higher education have experienced the same issues related to shrinking state support, growing competition, declining student enrollment, expanding expectations for enhanced student experiences and growing regulatory expenses.   

Historic context

Historical Context: Revenue growth is outpaced by expense growth from 2018 through the present. Inflation continues to rise and state support continues to decline. 

budget historical context

growth campus

At UCCS, we add to these challenges, the assumptions we made that we would continue to be the “Growth Campus.”  When enrollment started to decline after our peak in FY 2017-18 at 12,500, we continued to fund new positions with one-time funds because we continued to believe we would grow our way into funding them with ongoing funds. This was a natural reaction to our past but did not correspond with our present and what became our future. 

historical context

Historical Context: Historic student headcount trends from 2017 to 2025 showing a more than 12 percent decrease in both student enrollment as well as student credit hours during that timeframe. 

budget historical context 2

Our Path Forward

screenshot of budget

Right now, our gap is $27.7 million, which we will tackle over a five-year period. It is important to note that this number could change over the next few years as we implement our revenue and reallocation strategies. In the coming year, we will begin our budget initiative and reduce spending by $11.7 million while we continue to focus on raising revenue. The size and scope of expense reductions in additional years will depend on the success of our strategies to increase revenue and ability to follow disciplined financial guideposts. Addressing our structural budget deficit and closing the gap means we must simultaneously raise revenue, reduce our spending, and reallocate resources in ways that will support our mission.

More details on our path forward will be coming soon.