The New Semester Brings New Budget Cuts With It

KARIDA TASHAKOR

Along with the smell and sight of falling leaves that signal a return to school, worry looms in the air about the stability of our future.

On Thursday, September 24, the Office of the President announced that over the next two years, the University of Minnesota is reducing its budget by $225 million, or 12-15% of its operating budget. This comes three months after the 2026-27 budget raised tuition for the sixth year in a row. In 2020, in-state annual tuition was $13,318 compared to the current $16,744. Out-of-state had an even more dramatic increase, going from $31,616 to $40,780 in the same period. The University also cut academic spending by about $33 million this year. According to the Star Tribune, we now only spend 19% of our funding on academics (2025-26) compared to 30% in 2001.

I spoke to returning students on East Bank about their thoughts on these recent decisions. Most of them don’t think the choice to cut academics will benefit them.

“They’re making us pay more to get less, that’s what it boils down to,” junior Garrett Waldvogel said.

Some students are already beginning to see the drawbacks of these cuts. Humza Murad, a junior studying Electrical Engineering, said he’s faced barriers in receiving funding for student organizations.

“I get the same answer every time and its ‘budget cuts,’” Murad said of his conversations with administrators in the College of Science and Engineering.

One student, Seneca Brooks, a junior studying Linguistics, recently transferred from University of Minnesota - Duluth, partially because the linguistics program there was discontinued. She worries that budget cuts could lead to the linguistics program at the Twin Cities campus facing similar closures.

“Hearing about these budget cuts I’m really scared,” Brooks said, “because I really love this [school], I’ve accepted it as my new home.”’

The University administration said these cuts are necessary in order to handle an overarching financial crisis. They cited unpredictable state and federal funding, rising costs, and a shift in enrollment trends.

“If they really do need to cut costs for something, they should do it for things that are less vital to the betterment of the general people,” sophomore Ava Nunes said.

Another point of student frustration is the high salaries of administrators, such as University President Rebecca Cunningham, whose base salary is $975,000.

“I’ve seen people higher up in the administration take salary raises, we’re paying more tuition and not getting any of the benefits,” Murad said.

Cunningham’s contract was recently extended until 2031 and included an additional $2.1 million in retention and performance benefits. She is the third-highest paid employee of the UMN system, behind the Athletic Director, Mark Joseph Coyle, who made $1.4 million last year, and the head coach of the Gophers, P.J. Fleck, who is set to make $7.9 million in 2026.

These students feel a disconnect between their needs and the priorities of the school’s decision makers. In a statement by the UMN chapter of the American Association of University Professors opposing the proposed budget in June, the AAUP shared worries for how decisions are being made.

“The University should lean on the expertise and commitment of the people who carry out its mission every day to find solutions that balance the budget while prioritizing what the University does best: creating and conveying knowledge and skills for the good of Minnesotans and the world beyond,” the statement read.

Most of the students I spoke to had only heard about these budget decisions through emails from the MN Daily, social media, or through friends. Some students hadn’t heard about it at all.

Students, parents, and faculty need to continue informing ourselves and each other, and learning how to use our voices. We become harder to ignore when we make our opinions known. While the $225 million cut over the next two years is confirmed, what is getting cut is not. Contact information for the Board of Regents can be found with a quick search, and they are required to read all communications.