UT System Approves $30.9 Billion Budget for Upcoming Fiscal Year

The University of Texas System and its 14 institutions have approved a $30.9 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year beginning Sept. 1. This represents a 9.3% increase in expenditures, totaling $2.6 billion more than the previous year. The system anticipates $32 billion in revenue, leaving it with a $1.1 billion surplus.

The board of regents approved the budget on Thursday, with expectations of a $2.8 billion, or 9.6%, increase in revenue compared to the previous year, according to a presentation by Derek Horton, the UT System chief budget officer.

Horton attributed the budget growth to gains in research and health care activities over the past year. Health institutions, comprising five of the system's units, account for almost 70% of the budgeted revenue and expenses, primarily due to hospital- and clinic-related income. Academic programs rely more on federal, state, and local sponsored programs, tuition and fees, and state funding for revenue.

The system's revenue is projected to consist of:

• $14.5 billion from hospitals and clinic fees
• $6.6 billion from federal- and state-sponsored programs
• $2.9 billion from state appropriations
• Additional income from investment, gifts, educational activities, and enterprises

Personnel costs make up the majority of budget expenses, with plans for increased hiring, particularly medical staff, next year. Other significant costs include travel, maintenance, operations, fellowships, and scholarships. Research, hospital, and instruction are the largest areas of growth, Horton said.

UT-Austin's fiscal 2025 operating budget is set at $4.27 billion, a $452 million increase from the previous year, with projected expense increases of $367.7 million. Horton noted improved margins for the system's institutions compared to last year.

The board also allocated:

• $41.2 million from Permanent University Fund bond proceeds for library, equipment, repair, and rehabilitation projects
• $35.8 million for the Science, Technology and Retention Program
• $20 million from the system’s internal lending program or other available sources to fund campus programs

The UT System's administration will receive an 8.1% budget boost, bringing it to $213.9 million, largely for university lands, benefits, and risk management.

The system employs 122,000 people, graduates about a third of all undergraduate students in Texas, and confers half the state's medical degrees. Last year, the UT System's operating budget was three times larger than the next largest university system in Texas, with $4.3 billion in research expenditures, the largest in the state and second-largest nationwide.