Dear University of Maine and University of Maine at Machias Colleagues,
Thank you for your hard work and continued dedication to our students and university as we begin the new academic year.
Consistent with our commitment to more frequent and detailed communication, we write today with an important update about our Strategic Re-Envisioning (SRE) initiative and the development of the FY28 budget.
As you know, SRE was launched in 2024 to develop shared priorities for the future of our flagship university during an increasingly turbulent period for U.S. higher education. We are grateful to the hundreds of individuals who participated in SRE. Consensus emerged around the vision of UMaine as a learner-centered, R1 university. In the coming weeks, we will share the summative SRE concept paper. In the meantime, for current progress and updates, please visit the SRE website.
In January 2027, UMaine will submit a draft FY28 budget to the University of Maine System (UMS), informed by the priorities we developed together through SRE, our future enrollment expectations, the realities of the rapidly changing federal funding and policy landscape, and numerous other factors — some of which are not in our control. Over the subsequent months, the draft budget will be reviewed, revised, and ultimately approved by the Board of Trustees. For this reason, the September through December period requires our intensive work to develop the budget proposal.
Our operating costs have increased at a faster rate than both our State appropriation and tuition. Due to demographic and other enrollment pressures, tuition revenue has been flat or down. Recent federal changes have affected research funding, financial aid, and learner access to our institution, particularly among international students. We have stepped up efforts to address decades of deferred maintenance, which is crucial for student and employee recruitment, retention, and success. As a result, we face a significant and growing structural gap. As we shared in the April 2026 Budget 101 presentation, in FY28, that gap, based on current assumptions about revenue and expenses, will grow to $19M unless changes are made.
We acknowledge that you have heard some of this before, including last year. Here is why the FY28 budget process must be different: our E&G reserves have dwindled, college/unit operating budgets have been reduced dramatically, and the use of one-time funds and savings has been maximized so we could minimize the impact on personnel and positions. Our university has done outstanding, difficult work to make reductions and reorganize for efficiency, and we recognize that comes at a cost. Progress has been made, but we must continue to seek permanent, structural solutions both by increasing revenues and reducing expenditures.
Over the past few months and drawing on SRE recommendations and widely vetted data, UMaine leadership developed informed projections about future enrollment, modeled impacts of the changing federal landscape, studied creative options for revenue generation and monetization of assets, and reviewed contracts and sponsorship arrangements.
After considering a multitude of approaches and solutions, we have concluded that strategic staff layoffs and faculty retrenchments will be necessary to reduce the university’s expenses on an ongoing basis. We recognize that such personnel actions are painful for those directly impacted and for the overall morale of our entire university community. Until now, UMaine has largely managed to avoid employee reductions, despite deep and widespread budget cuts by peer universities across the country. Each cabinet member and director has examined their own area to identify potential realignments, personnel changes, and ideas for new initiatives that will reduce expenses and generate revenue. Please know that everything that can be done to minimize the number and adverse impacts of layoffs and retrenchments will be pursued aggressively in the coming months as we plan for FY28 and beyond.
Informed by the Provost’s Office and Deans, Academic Affairs, which represents approximately half of UMaine’s budget, has committed to reducing FY28 base expenses by $10M, resolving about half of the total university shortfall.
The Academic Affairs portion of the FY28 budget proposal will permanently eliminate about one fifth of vacant positions, decrease overload teaching and other instructional budgets, consolidate sections, and reduce some types of additional compensation, collectively resulting in a base savings of about $2.1M. Over the longer term, additional measures may include increasing seat caps in courses, reducing discretionary course releases, and closing underenrolled programs.
On the revenue generation side, Academic Affairs will assume responsibility for bolstering enrollment by 1% above current headcount projections in each of the following key categories: the Fall 2027 first-year class, transfer students, tuition-paying graduate learners, and adult degree completers. In addition, undergraduate retention across all years will be improved by 1%. We estimate that meeting these targets, which are modest and realistic and for which we are developing specific strategies, would yield $2.2M for our base budget, recurring annually.
The remaining $5.7M gap could be partially closed by changing the assumptions embedded in short-term measures mentioned above. For example, the elimination of vacant positions by 40% instead of the planned 20% could yield a further $1.5M in savings. Making such changes would require further analysis about feasibility and unintended consequences.
If key assumptions are not ultimately adjusted, and if new options do not materialize, resolving the remaining $5.7M Academic Affairs deficit will inevitably require faculty retrenchments and staff layoffs, going beyond what standard attrition (e.g., retirements and voluntary departures) could address.
At the same time, we recognize that some areas of the university are under-resourced, including in academic areas with growth potential, as demonstrated by student and workforce demand and enrollment management data. If we were able to increase capacity and enroll more students in those programs, our revenue would increase sharply. We plan for targeted hiring in those prioritized areas to enable that enrollment growth.
Similarly, data assembled as part of SRE starkly revealed that some academic areas are understaffed currently, even without a growth plan. This burdens faculty (e.g., significant advising loads), necessitates overloads and other instructional investment, and negatively impacts morale. We hope to address this by hiring full-time faculty, particularly lecturers on 10.5-month contracts, in areas of acute need to increase capacity.
We understand that the necessary actions we have overviewed here will cause concern and anxiety. The Provost’s Office, in partnership with the Deans, will communicate information and concrete plans as they become definite, seeking input as appropriate and consistent with our commitment to shared governance. Additional proposed actions are under development by all other cabinet members and will be communicated in the coming weeks. We will also hold a Budget Town Hall in October.
Please know we continue to explore every avenue to reduce expenditures while minimizing the impact on our employees, core programs, and ultimately, our students and ability to fulfill our mission for them and Maine. This includes, but is not limited to, continuing to partner closely with UMS and State leaders, as well as the University of Maine Foundation, to ensure a clear understanding of our budgetary needs and unique responsibilities as Maine’s flagship university, and to identify opportunities for increased support.
We must all work together to lead UMaine into an era of budgetary stability, sustainability, and ultimately, institutional strength. As we do so, our primary commitment remains steadfast: as we actively recruit new learners to UMaine and retain Black Bears already here, we must assure them they can count on an outstanding learner-centered, R1 experience from their first day through graduation and into their careers and civic life.
Sincerely,
Joan Ferrini-Mundy, President
Gabriel Paquette, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost
