Last month the University of Minnesota said it would cut $225 million over the next 2 years. That figure is now just the low end. Under the reduction targets the university has posted for every campus, college and unit, the cuts could reach as high as $261.9 million.
University leadership announced the cuts in a joint message on Sept. 24. On Oct. 13 it described the total as a range of $225 million to $260 million, which works out to 12% to 15% of allocated operating revenue across fiscal years 2028 and 2029. The university is also moving from 1-year to 2-year budget planning. Leadership said "every campus, college and unit has a vital role to play" in reaching the target.
The targets list totals from $230.3 million to $261.9 million. On the Twin Cities campus, the College of Liberal Arts has the biggest share, at $25 million to $26.5 million over 2 years. Next come the College of Science and Engineering at $18.5 million to $21.3 million and the Medical School at $17.2 million to $19.1 million. The Carlson School's target is $11.4 million to $12.8 million. Central offices are on the list too: Facilities Management could lose up to $14.48 million and Information Technology up to $13.85 million. Duluth's campus-wide target is $17.33 million to $19 million.
The university says the problem isn't new. It has run an annual budget gap of about $100 million to $115 million for several years. Individual departments face reduction targets of 6% to 16% over the 2 years, and academic programs, administrative operations and student services will all be affected. "The funding is not being redirected somewhere else," the university said. "The goal of these reductions is to close a long-standing gap between ongoing expenses and revenues." It also said it hopes to hold future tuition increases near or below inflation rather than leaning on students to close the gap.
Students aren't sure that holds up. "Why do we still need a $225 million cut if we're raising tuition every year?" asked Daniela Lopez Moran, a first-year political science student. Lucy Den Hartog, a third-year, said tuition increases are wearing down what her scholarship covers. Quinn Wehner, a third-year developmental psychology student, said admissions to the psychology graduate program have been paused and that Wehner is considering a gap year. Everett Parker, a third-year theater arts major, transferred from Augsburg because of the program's quality. Parker wants to know how the cuts will reach small programs like Parker's.
Graduate workers are also pushing back. The Graduate Labor Union, UE Local 1105, has pointed to a 4.5% tuition increase for fiscal 2027, the sixth straight year of increases. It also cited about $250 million in combined consulting and professional services spending over fiscal 2025 and 2026, and enrollment that grew from 68,366 to 72,010 over 3 years. "We are not in a budget crisis, we are in a management crisis," union president Ben Lewis said. "I think everybody's extremely nervous that these cuts are going to come at the expense of what we all love to do: The teaching, the research."
The university has posted each unit's dollar and percentage range on its budget planning site, so you can look up your own college's number there. How each college meets its target is still to be decided. For now, students like Parker are still waiting to hear what that means for their programs.
