Dear Spartan Community,
Today marks two months until the close of the 2023-2024 fiscal year. At the Budget Town Hall on March 11, during Vice President for Administration and Finance and CFO Charlie Faas’ presentation, it was announced that every division on campus needed to implement a 6% budget cut to balance our $35.3M budget deficit that would be on the books for the 2024-2025 fiscal year beginning July 1, 2024.
While we are working to balance our budget deficit with these 6% cuts, there are still several unknown variables we must account for. As mentioned in my February message to campus, Governor Gavin Newsom has deferred the CSU’s $240M compact funding previously proposed for the 2024-2025 fiscal year until the 2025-2026 fiscal year. Although the CSU will internally finance the 2024-2025 compact, we are awaiting the Governor’s May Revision of the budget to get a better sense of what we will receive from the state in the 2024-2025 fiscal year. We will update the campus community as we learn more about the outlook for next fiscal year.
Enrollment for the 2024-2025 academic year is another area of uncertainty. The intent-to-enroll deadline, typically on May 1, has been pushed to May 15 this year due to technical issues with the new application for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). As a result of the issues in the implementation of the new application, the California 2024-25 priority filing deadline was extended from March 2 to May 2. Our preliminary numbers are promising, but we will not have a clear picture for several more weeks.
Amid this uncertainty, one thing is clear — we need to restructure how we operate as a university. This can mean shared services across divisions, reassignments, consolidation of positions, or other options that need to be explored. We are at an inflection point where we must ensure we are meeting the ongoing and changing needs of our students and the university community while being responsive to our evolving financial realities.
Workgroups
In my January message to the Budget Advisory Committee (BAC), in response to their recommendations shared in December, I announced the creation of six workgroups to review and recalibrate divisions on campus. This work will play a major role as we work to build a sustainable budget for the long term, which includes replenishing our reserves.
The preliminary recommendations from each group, including from two external consultants, are expected to be shared with me this week. The BAC will also provide additional thoughts and suggestions in their May memo. In the coming weeks, I will review these recommendations and share action items for the divisions to implement. Our guiding principles continue to our Transformation 2030 strategic plan, our Mission, Vision and Values, and, most importantly, ensuring we are providing the resources and services integral to student success.
I encourage you to continue to visit the Budget and Financial Management website for the latest information regarding our budget outlook and FAQs from the Budget Town Hall. Thank you again for your attention to this important matter. Although they are painful, we are taking the steps necessary to put SJSU in a position to have a sustainable budget for years to come.
Sincerely,
Dr. Cynthia Teniente-Matson
President
(She/Her/Ella)
