The University of Vermont is projecting a sizable loss of undergraduates next year, spurring it to make cuts in its general-fund budget and other departments to make up for the reduction in revenue from tuition.
Alicia Estey, the university’s vice president for finance, administration and human resources, and Jay Jacobs, vice president for enrollment management, broke the news in a May 13 letter to UVM staff. The university is projecting a 7 percent decline in undergraduate enrollment next school year, including a 15 percent drop in first-year and transfer students. This year, UVM has approximately 11,600 undergraduate students.
Because tuition makes up more than two-thirds of UVM’s general fund, the administrators wrote, the projected decline has created an approximately $12 million general-fund deficit. The university plans to address the shortfall by reducing its fiscal year 2027 general-fund budget by 3.25 percent and making additional cuts in housing, dining and other departments.
Some of the strategies to find cost reductions include reviewing staffing “to identify compensation-related savings short of broad layoffs,” “reviewing university-owned and leased space,” and tightening spending on non-labor expenses such as software, consulting and travel. UVM leadership will forego raises this fiscal year.
Estey and Jacobs framed UVM’s woes as part of a broader, national issue.
“Colleges and universities across the country are responding to the long-forecast demographic cliff, declining international student enrollment and increased competition for students,” they wrote. They noted that other institutions “have become more aggressive in recruiting, admitting and awarding scholarships to students who may otherwise have chosen UVM.”
In an interview on Wednesday, Jacobs said the university is exploring various ways to boost its undergraduate admission numbers. Those include more outreach to prospective and admitted students and engagement with high-school counselors. The school is considering how to better align its academic programs with students’ interests.
UVM will also “continue to strategically use our financial-aid dollars to make sure that this place is affordable and accessible for all students,” Jacobs said.
But he acknowledged “the undergraduate dip” is something UVM will likely have to contend with for years to come.
Nationally, the number of college-aged students is falling, Jacobs said, “and is projected to continue to fall year-over-year for some amount of time.”