University of Nebraska looks to cut another $20M from its budget

An article from site logo Dive Brief University of Nebraska looks to cut another $20M from its budget

Amid state and federal funding challenges, the public Midwestern institution has already cut tens of millions of dollars in spending in recent years while raising tuition.

Published June 13, 2025 Ben Unglesbee's headshot Ben Unglesbee Senior Reporter The campus of University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The campus of University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The university is poised to raise tuition while the entire University of Nebraska system is looking raise revenue and cut its budget. RiverNorthPhotography via Getty Images Listen to the article 4 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Dive Brief:
  • University of Nebraska System leaders aim to raise tuition and cut millions of dollars from the institution’s budget after state allocations fell well short of inflation and their request. 
  • Its fiscal 2026 budget proposal calls for $20 million in spending cuts to the four-campus system’s core budget and a 5% average tuition increase. The state’s board of regents plans to vote on the budget at a meeting next Thursday. 
  • The reduced spending comes on top of $11.8 million in permanent cuts for the current fiscal year and $30 million the year before. The system joins other major state institutions making cuts amid state and federal funding shortfalls.
waitToLoadAds.push(function() { googletag.cmd.push(function() { if (window.dfp_visibility == 'mobile' ) { window.onDvtagReady?.(() => googletag.display('dfp-hybrid1-mobile')); googletag.pubads().addEventListener('slotRenderEnded', function (event) { var adUnitPath = '/3618/highereddive/highereddivehybrid1'; var onProformative = false; if (onProformative && event.slot.getAdUnitPath() === adUnitPath && !event.isEmpty ) { var adUnitPathWithVisibility = adUnitPath + '-mobile'; var selector = '.pf-comments__ad-wrapper [data-container-ad-unit-id="' + adUnitPathWithVisibility + '"]'; if (!$(selector).closest('.pf-comments__ad-wrapper').hasClass('borders')) { $(selector).closest('.pf-comments__ad-wrapper').addClass('borders') } } }); } }); }); waitToLoadAds.push(function() { googletag.cmd.push(function() { if (window.dfp_visibility == 'desktop' ) { window.onDvtagReady?.(() => googletag.display('dfp-hybrid2-desktop')); googletag.pubads().addEventListener('slotRenderEnded', function (event) { var adUnitPath = '/3618/highereddive/highereddivehybrid2'; var onProformative = false; if (onProformative && event.slot.getAdUnitPath() === adUnitPath && !event.isEmpty ) { var adUnitPathWithVisibility = adUnitPath + '-desktop'; var selector = '.pf-comments__ad-wrapper [data-container-ad-unit-id="' + adUnitPathWithVisibility + '"]'; if (!$(selector).closest('.pf-comments__ad-wrapper').hasClass('borders')) { $(selector).closest('.pf-comments__ad-wrapper').addClass('borders') } } }); } }); }); Dive Insight:

University of Nebraska System President Jeffrey Gold said in a statement this week that the public institution needs to “manage every dollar with discipline, care and transparency” while maintaining affordability and educational quality. 

The system is feeling the squeeze from inflation in labor and operating costs while also contending with federal and state funding challenges, according to a presentation from Anne Barnes, the university’s finance chief. 

“We will need to continue to reduce spending and make increasingly difficult choices to ensure fiscal discipline as we have done for the past decade evidenced by over $100 million in cuts and internal efficiencies,” Barnes said in the presentation.

Fiscal challenges for the university include an increase in state funding of just over 0.6% — well short of the university’s requested appropriations based on a 3.5% inflation rate. However, the 0.6% uptick is still better than the 2% cut recommended by the Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen recommended earlier this year.

The Trump administration’s policies are also weighing on the university’s budget, including interruptions and cuts to federal grants and contracts, as well as moves to limit reimbursement for research overhead costs, the university said. 

The National Institutes of Health’s 15% cap on overhead funding — blocked permanently by a federal court in April but appealed by the Trump administration — would mean the University of Nebraska would need to cover an additional $27 million to sustain its research, Gold said earlier this year. 

The university's flagship Lincoln campus has coped with budget pressures by freezing hiring, a move that follows staff cuts in recent years. 

Looking at the fiscal year ahead, the university plans to shrink spending on staff salaries by 4.2%, while it expects faculty salaries to grow 3.2% based on collective bargaining agreements and tenure promotions. 

With the proposed tuition increases, the University of Nebraska anticipates overall tuition revenue will increase 4.6%, though it expects nonresident and international student revenue to fall 3.1%. 

The proposal calls for increasing in-state undergraduate tuition at the UNL from $277 to $291 per credit hour and out-of-state tuition from $888 to $932. 

The university said that even with the tuition hike, Nebraska “would remain one of the most affordable institutions of higher education among its peers” in the Big Ten Conference.

Filed Under: Policy & Legal, Finance Higher Ed Dive news delivered to your inbox

Get the free daily newsletter read by industry experts

Email: Sign up A valid email address is required. Please select at least one newsletter. Daily Dive newsletter example Editors' picks
  • Two students walk down a staircase inside a campus building while another group students gather in the corridor. Image attribution tooltip SDI Productions via Getty Images Image attribution tooltip 3 takeaways on higher education innovation from the ASU+GSV Summit

    Ongoing challenges could spur the sector to build new kinds of institutions and adopt disruptive practices, higher education experts said. 

    By Natalie Schwartz • April 11, 2025
  • An entrance to a National Institutes of Health building is lit by the sun on a clear day. Image attribution tooltip Grandbrothers via Getty Images Image attribution tooltip NIH prohibits new grant awards to colleges with DEI initiatives

    Organizations will have to certify that they don’t have diversity programs that violate federal antidiscrimination laws and that they aren’t boycotting Israel. 

    By Natalie Schwartz • April 23, 2025

ES by OMG

Euro-Savings.com |Buy More, Pay Less | Anywhere in Europe

Shop Smarter, Stretch your Euro & Stack the Savings | Latest Discounts & Deals, Best Coupon Codes & Promotions in Europe | Your Favourite Stores update directly every Second

Euro-Savings.com or ES lets you buy more and pay less anywhere in Europe. Shop Smarter on ES Today. Sign-up to receive Latest Discounts, Deals, Coupon Codes & Promotions. With Direct Brand Updates every second, ES is Every Shopper’s Dream come true! Stretch your dollar now with ES. Start saving today!

Originally posted on: https://www.highereddive.com/news/university-nebraska-20-milllion-cut-budget-tuition-increase/750730/