UW-Oshkosh Faces Double Projected Deficit; Timing Cited as Key Factor

UW Oshkosh

OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – UW-Oshkosh is finishing its fiscal year with a deficit that’s double what was projected, but the chancellor attributed some of the issue to timing, not increased pressure on the budget.

In an email to the campus community, Chancellor Andrew Leavitt said at the Board of Regents meeting Thursday, UWO’s balance was reported as a $7.6 million deficit, “certainly a bigger gap than the $3 to 4 million deficit we projected UWO would finish fiscal 2024 with.”

But Leavitt called that figure a “snapshot.”

“In short, the total beyond the remaining $3 to $4 million deficit we projected is largely a matter of timing. It’s due to a surge of savings planned for but yet to be realized after we transition into the next fiscal year July 1,” he said. “The Institutional Realignment Plan (IRP) resulted in 140 layoffs, 76 retirements and the closure of about 35 open, unfilled positions. Those more-than 250 positions ended only five months ago and came with additional costs—primarily retirement incentives and sick leave and vacation balance payouts. We planned for those impacts; however, the front-loaded costs of discontinuing the positions extended the timeline to realize the resultant savings into fiscal 2025.”

Meanwhile, additional measures are taking place. Leavitt cited these examples:

• We anticipate that, at their August meeting, Regents will have opportunity to review and approve the new UWO academic model, saving an additional, up-to $2 million.
• Our focus on position control will continue.
• We plan to decommission and demolish university buildings—namely old, outdated, unpopular and costly-to-renovate residence halls that are simply low-to-no use right now. This saves UWO on staffing, utilities and other costs. It just makes sense, and Universities of Wisconsin is helping us accelerate planning.
• We continue to examine the cost-cutting potential for outsourcing university nonacademic functions and have a committee examining options for our UWO bookstore as we speak.
• And we continue to vigilantly examine cost-recovery programs at UWO that are not performing. This is something we need to consistently review, whatever the financial conditions. Programs not sustaining themselves need to be reconsidered.

Leavitt said the structural deficit will be eliminated by the end of fiscal 2026.