This article originally appeared in the Off-Script print issue, in stands November 2025. It has not been updated and some information may be out of date.
Historically, the University of Utah’s budget averages around $6 billion, which can be seen in its 2023 and 2024 financial reports. Administration must determine allocation of funds to its different departments. To do so, it follows a thorough review process.
The annual budget review outlines how the university distributes resources and prioritizes spending. These decisions can affect everything from research funding to student services and staffing across campus.
In the 2024 university financial report, U President Taylor Randall said the funding is used to tackle Utah’s “most pressing” issues. “Our research funding reached $691 million in fiscal year 2024, marking the fifth consecutive year we’ve secured funding levels exceeding $600 million,” he said.
How the budget is created
The university’s budget model starts with a base allocation drawn from previous funding levels, then adjusts amounts for each area based on performance in the past year. Once finalized, the U’s proposed budget must be approved by the state legislature.
The proposal is reviewed by university leadership, the Utah System of Higher Education (USHE) and the State Governor’s Office. This approved budget then goes into effect for the next fiscal year. The university’s current budget cycle runs from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026.
At the center of this process are two offices: Financial Services and the President’s Office. The university’s funding model begins with a base allocation derived from past funding levels and adjusts based on college needs, enrollment trends and strategic priorities.
Kimberly Adamson, associate vice president for finance for the academic enterprise, said that tuition money is collected throughout the year. “Then every year we run a budget process in tandem with how the state runs theirs, collecting requests for new funding and allocating resources at the beginning of our fiscal year,” she said.
How funds are allocated
Much of the U’s funding also comes from state appropriations, federal grants and other sources — each with specific restrictions on how the money can be used. In 2026 the state of Utah mandated the U to reinvest $19.6 million after the budget cuts of the previous year. The reductions reflected in this appropriation include cuts to staff costs, cancer research and medical schools.
Jason Atuaia, associate vice president for budget and finance, said that the university has to be “mindful” of both state and federal stakeholders.
“There’s a federal landscape to consider,” Atuaia said. “As the flagship university for Utah, the state legislature has strong opinions about how to allocate higher education funding, especially in recent years. The largest challenge is meeting the needs of students, the community and stakeholders without compromising one.”
When determining how much funding each college receives, enrollment, program scale and instructional costs are key factors. Colleges with larger student populations or more expensive programs — such as engineering, nursing or medicine — tend to receive more funding due to higher operational costs like laboratory maintenance and specialized equipment.
A portion of the budget is determined by student credit hour enrollment by major and degree completion across different areas. Performance-based funding also plays a role in allocations. Factors such as graduation rates, research output and student outcomes are considered in alignment with the state’s strategic goals, Adamson explained.
“We receive direct funding from the state related to some of those performance metrics,” Adamson said. “We allocate that strategically back to units based on their performance and where we want to grow.”
While most funding decisions are made annually, adjustments can occur off-cycle if unexpected needs arise, though such changes are rare. Each level of the university follows a tiered approval process: departments submit to colleges, colleges to the provost and the provost to the president for final authorization.
Indirect costs like building maintenance, utilities and shared services are handled centrally through a “common good” fund to ensure all colleges benefit from core resources such as libraries, advising and technology infrastructure.
Funding across departments
Maintaining fairness across colleges of varying sizes and disciplines remains one of the university’s biggest challenges, according to Adamson. “It’s difficult to define fairness,” she said. “Some disciplines cost more in terms of market rates than others, and we have to be cognizant of that.”
For the 2024 fiscal year, the U’s Athletics Department reported a $17 million budget deficit, exceeding its $126.3 million allocation. The shortfall stems largely from the university’s move to the Big 12 Conference and the higher costs associated with the transition.
The U has a student scholarship endowment where gifts and donations are used to fund scholarships for students annually. The budget allocation for scholarships is not published.
“It’s a complex financial model. We have many things to balance across the system, and the needs of our students are changing,” Atuaia said. “We just want to make sure we’re nimble and flexible enough to prepare students for their future workforce needs.
Some departments operate outside the U’s central budget and generate their own funding. For example, Commuter Services is supported by revenue from parking permits, parking fees and tickets.
To determine funding for different colleges, the university uses a hybrid model. The Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs (SVPAA) reviews revenue and allocates funds to colleges based on their academic enterprise plans — an operational strategic framework designed to help each college achieve its academic and professional goals.
After the SVPAA reviews and allocates the funds, the total amount is sent to the deans of individual colleges, who then distribute it within their own departments.
Ultimately, the university’s budget process aims to balance financial responsibility with educational access. Across departments, however, the amount of funding allocated — and whether those departments end up spending over or under budget — can vary significantly.
“I think we do a good job at the university level, but the state also sets it up so that we keep students in mind,” Adamson said. “Budget decisions are made carefully with that context, and we understand why we do what we do. It’s a critical part of how we make decisions.”
