Board Closes Year with Budget, Enrollment and COM Pre-Accreditation

The University of Northern Colorado Board of Trustees met on Dec. 11 and 12, closing out the calendar year with discussions on the budget and enrollment, and celebrating UNC’s College of Osteopathic Medicine (COM) receiving pre-accreditation status. 

During Thursday’s Finance and Audit Committee meeting on Dec. 11, Vice President of Administration Dale Pratt presented the board with the fiscal year 2026 (FY26) first quarter forecast.  

When the FY26 budget was approved last June, it included plans to address an anticipated year-end shortfall through expense reductions, primarily from employee turnover and careful management of other spending. However, a revenue forecast at fall census in September confirmed that expenses continued to exceed revenue. Around that same time, the university learned that revenues would be further impacted by an unanticipated $500,000 reduction in state funding. 

Additional pressures — including historically low employee turnover that significantly reduced vacancy savings, rising health care and inflation costs and uncertainty around state and federal funding — led the university to take immediate action. In an October budget town hall, UNC President Andy Feinstein shared with the university community the need to cut personnel and non-personnel expenses by $14 million by the end of FY27 to address both immediate financial pressures and safeguard the continued financial stability of the institution. 

In November, the university made the difficult decision to permanently eliminate 50 filled and 35 vacant staff positions and implement additional non-personnel savings, both immediate and ongoing. According to Pratt, the estimated net savings from those mid-year budget reductions will amount to approximately $3.7 million for FY26. Those savings are expected to increase to $8.7 million in FY27 when the impact will be realized over a full fiscal year. 

“While we haven’t reached our $14 million target yet, we’re continuing to pursue budgetary reductions,” said Pratt. “We’re seeing ways to work on the gap through the end of FY27 and we’re committed to managing these challenges.” 

Pratt identified several issues driving the deficit, the largest being a $4.6 million shortfall in net student revenue for the current fiscal year. Pete Lien, associate vice president for Enrollment Management, provided an enrollment update to the board, outlining that the university’s fall census fell below budgeted projections in both new, first-time degree seeking undergraduate students (-79) and graduate students (-91).  

“Some of what we’re seeing is increased competition among our in-state competitors,” said Lien. “Our larger universities are sometimes able to offer higher financial aid awards, attracting students at higher rates than in the past.” 

Despite lower-than-anticipated new, first-time undergraduate students, Lien said the university saw growth in the overall undergraduate headcount (+111), primarily due to historically high retention and graduation rates. However, that increase was offset by a significant decline in the overall graduate headcount (-170). 

Lien closed his presentation to the board, identifying several strategies the university is implementing or has proposed that he hopes will positively impact enrollment. Some of those include the new District 6 Direct Admissions program, earlier financial aid award notifications, diversification of degree programs and modalities, and the creation of a waitlist for graduate programs at capacity. 

During Friday’s meeting, Feinstein shared that the UNC COM received pre-accreditation status from the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA), the accrediting body for colleges of osteopathic medicine. The designation confirms the university’s new medical college has met or exceeded the commission’s standards for educational quality and can begin recruiting students for its inaugural fall 2026 class.  

Feinstein expressed gratitude to UNC COM Founding Dean Beth Longenecker and her team for their work on the incredible milestone.  

“The UNC COM is only the eighth public COM in the country,” said Feinstein. “We’re actively seeking students who share our commitment to serving rural and underserved communities, and we want the students who are part of this inaugural class to be competitive, engaged, and supported. 

“Recruiting this first class is about more than filling seats,” Feinstein continued. “It’s about shaping the future of health care in Colorado and beyond.” 

 
In other news, the board: 

• Heard a presentation from Assistant Provost for Academic Effectiveness, Kim Black, and Dean of the College of Natural and Health Sciences, Kamel Haddad, regarding the university’s institutional work related to generative AI. Their presentation included an institutional update on the university’s current status, priorities for FY26, and what comes next, as well as a case study from NHS regarding their implementation of AI initiatives. 

• Heard discussion on the FY25 Audits and Preliminary Financial Statements 

• Heard discussion on the FY25 Annual Debt Management Report and Composite Financial Index 

• Approved a contract extension through June 30, 2030, for Head Wrestling Coach Teyon Ware.   

• Approved the placement of a conservation easement on the university’s Old Man Mountain property in Estes Park. The 80-acre property that sits adjacent to Rocky Mountain National Park, is a prominent Vision Quest site and considered sacred lands for indigenous peoples. While UNC still owns the property and can benefit from its usage, the conservation easement restricts future development on the bulk of the property, protecting the sacred site by preserving it in its current state.