UMS FFT committee forwards FY27 operating and capital budget, including 4% tuition recommendation, to full board

The University of Maine System’s Finance, Facilities and Technology committee voted April 15 to forward the FY27 proposed operating and capital budget and recommended student charges to the full Board of Trustees for a May decision. The motion to forward the committee’s recommendation carried on a roll‑call vote.

Vice Chancellor Ryan Lowe presented the FY27 proposal as the product of a yearlong, systemwide budgeting process. He said assumptions include a coordinated 4% increase in in‑state undergraduate tuition and that the governor’s biennial budget contains an approximately $10 million appropriation increase that flows through the allocation methodology. "The University of Maine budgeting about a $5,500,000 shortfall, in ENG," Lowe said when describing campus variance, adding that some campuses will cover deficits with reserves while others project modest surpluses.

Why it matters: the FFT vote is the committee’s formal recommendation to the full Board; if approved in May the proposal will set tuition, appropriation allocations and the top‑line operating plan for FY27. Lowe said the rollup shows a $2.1 million positive base in the systemwide operating projection while warning that personnel and benefits remain the largest cost pressures.

Trustees asked about forecast confidence and specific line items including campus occupancy and transfer accounting. Lowe described improvements in credit‑hour forecasting and said he felt "really good" about the FY27 numbers while acknowledging external risks from federal and state developments. Trustees also noted campus‑level changes such as residence‑hall adjustments and a student vote at UMF to raise the student activity fee by $80, changes that were incorporated into the presentation.

The committee’s motion to forward the FY27 operating and capital budget and recommended student charges to the Board was introduced and read into the record, moved and seconded, and carried unanimously on a roll call. The full Board is scheduled to consider the recommendation at its May meeting.