University of Minnesota to cut $225 million from its budget over next 2 years
The University of Minnesota plans to cut $225 million from its budget over the next two years, President Rebecca Cunningham told the campus community in a letter Thursday, as the school moves to a longer-term budget planning process.
The reduction equals 12% to 15% of the university's allocated operating revenue, according to the letter. Cunningham's letter said final numbers will depend on external factors.
The university is starting this year's budget cycle earlier than usual and shifting from a one-year to a two-year planning view, the letter said, so decisions can be made "strategically and with more foresight, input and deliberation."
Cunningham cited shifting enrollment trends, unpredictable state and federal funding, and rising costs as driving the change.
"This is not a temporary change — this is an institutional inflection point that asks us to think about our work in new and bolder ways," she wrote. "Every unit across all campuses and all locations will be doing this work."
Chancellors, deans and unit leaders will guide decisions specific to their areas, with input from stakeholders and shared governance, and are expected to follow up with more detail for each campus, college, school and unit.
The university's current operating budget, approved in June, totals $5.4 billion.
The university has cut its budget in each of the past two years. The Board of Regents approved a budget in June 2025 that raised tuition by up to 7.5% and cut academic programs by 7%, citing federal research funding threats and anticipated state funding cuts — a plan first proposed that same month. The board approved another budget in June 2026 that raised tuition by up to 4.5% — the sixth consecutive year of increases — and included the sale of part of the university's Les Bolstad Golf Course.
