Regents approve university’s FY27 operating budget

Members of the Washington State University Board of Regents approved key budgets for the upcoming fiscal year and major capital projects on the Pullman and Spokane campuses during Monday's special meeting.

Fiscal year 2027 budgets

University leadership presented regents with an overview of the institution's finances heading into the 2027 fiscal year.

One of the most significant highlights from the current fiscal year was tuition revenue surpassing estimates by $5.896 million. This is due to stable enrollment and the 3.3% tuition increase. WSU is also expecting a further $5.8 million in new tuition funds for FY27.

While the university had a portion of its employee compensation and passthrough requests funded by the state, WSU did see its appropriation dollars reduced in the latest state operating budget. The forecast for federal research funding also remains uncertain, with WSU expecting its indirect cost recovery to decline by $2.33 million.

WSU will implement an $11.675 million strategic budget reduction in FY 27 to ensure the university can continue to fulfill its historic mission and grow into a modern land grant university. The approved cut represents 2.6% of the nearly $450 million in core funds eligible for reduction.

Budget reductions for FY27 are not being made uniformly across units.

"We are making choices, and those choices are associated with the strategies for the future of the institution," WSU President Betsy Cantwell said. "Those choices also mean some things we will choose not to do, and other things we will chose to do either more of or create entirely new capacities."

The FY27 budget was developed collaboratively over the past year with input from units across the system. Notification of budgets for the coming fiscal year will be made later this week, with units having 30 days to complete their budget plans.

Additionally, WSU is making significant recurring and non-recurring investments in the year ahead, including for compensation and benefits, academic and research investments, and a systemwide media campaign focused on student enrollment.

WSU Athletics also presented its projected budget for FY 27. The department is projecting a balanced budget even as the conference distribution portion of its revenue is expected to drop by more than half, from $27.6 million to $11.2 million. Earlier this year, regents asked the university to invest $20 million in one-time funding to support Athletics amid the relaunch of the Pac-12 conference.

Athletics Director Jon Haarlow kicked off his presentation by sharing that student-athletes achieved a record-high average GPA of 3.44 for the spring 2026 semester. Of those student-athletes, 59 finished with a 4.0 GPA.

Regents also approved the university's operating and capital budget requests for the 2027-29 state biennium.

Funding for employee compensation increases, improvements to the funding split between state appropriations and tuition, and support for collective bargaining agreement with academic student employees, rank among WSU's top priorities. WSU will also seek $2.2 million to support its Native Coug Scholars Fund as well as additional funding for the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine.

The university's total capital budget request for the upcoming state biennium will be approximately $165 million. Priority items include $40 million for minor capital preservation, $20 million for minor capital programs, and $50 million for the Integrated Science Building on the Pullman campus.

Capital projects

As part of the consent agenda, regents approved the budget for the Spokane Health Sciences Team Health project as well as the revitalization of the WSU Creamery on the Pullman campus.

The Spokane Team Health project will undergo a renovation of existing space set to be vacated by Eastern Washington University. The space will foster collaborative teaching opportunities between the health science colleges and bring new simulated educational opportunities. The overall budget is set at $9.786 million.

The College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences aims to supercharge an icon of the Pullman campus with its revitalization of the WSU Creamery. As part of the $13.5 million initiative, the college will replace aging infrastructure while expanding production capacity. This project is expected to drive cheese can production from 250,000 cans to 350,000 cans be year. The project's funding plan was also approved by regents as part of the consent agenda.

The WSU Board of Regents is next scheduled to meet in Seattle for its annual retreat June 11-12.