UH System Regents Approve $1.3 Billion Budget for FY2011

New Financial Plan Increases Scholarships by 25 Percent, Focuses on Student Success

The University of Houston System (UHS) Board of Regents approved a $1.3 billion budget for fiscal year 2011. The unanimous action was made at the regents' quarterly meeting Tuesday.

The FY11 UHS budget remains consistent with that of FY10, which also was $1.3 billion. The FY11 budget will go into effect Sept. 1, 2010.

The UH System consists of four universities - the University of Houston (UH), UH-Clear Lake (UHCL), UH-Downtown (UHD) and UH-Victoria (UHV)- and two learning centers UH System Cinco Ranch and UH System Sugar Land. UHS also leases space at Lone Star College - University Park, where degree programs from UH and UHD are delivered.
Broken down by university, here is the FY11 budget.

UH $  1.01 Billion
UHCL $114.2 Million
UHD $149.9 Million
UHV $ 53.9 Million
UH System $ 14.1 Million

The $1.3 billion budget was designed to support strategic system initiatives including a 5 percent reduction in spending from UHS' state appropriation and reallocating resources to support instructional initiatives.

"I commend the board's finance and administration committee for the long hours it spent poring over this budget," said Welcome W. Wilson Sr., chairman of the UHS Board of Regents. "They worked diligently to make necessary reductions while protecting priority initiatives that benefit our students and are crucial in UH's journey toward Tier One status."

Despite System-wide cuts and reallocations, the FY11 budget commits $166 million toward scholarships, a 25-percent increase from the previous fiscal year.

"Everyone takes the goal of increasing student success very seriously," said Carl Carlucci, executive vice chancellor for administration and finance. "Scholarships play a vital role in this initiative."

The UH System budget is funded by several sources: tuition and fees (34 percent), state appropriations (24 percent), contracts and grants (18 percent), auxiliary services and operations (13 percent) and capital funds (11 percent).

FY11 budget funds are applied to student success and access (56 percent), national competitiveness (11 percent), infrastructure and administration (19 percent), community advancement (3 percent) and capital construction (11 percent).

UH's budget includes new funding of $10.1 million for faculty and staff recruitment and retention; $5.6 million for financial aid; $4.8 million for student recruitment and expansion of class sections and academic space; and $4.8 million for research and infrastructure.

UH-Clear Lake's budget includes additional allocations of $1.9 million for its new Pearland campus, $2.1 million for faculty and staff recruitment and retention, and $1.1 million for financial aid and student services.

UH-Downtown's budget increases will apply $1.6 million to student enrollment and retention, $1.7 million for financial aid, and $3.2 million toward faculty and staff recruitment and retention.

UH-Victoria's budget increases include $1.1 million for student recruitment, retention and graduation, and $1.6 million for faculty and staff recruitment and retention. It also includes $700,000 to support faculty research and the university's plan to expand into a four-year institution.

To review a summary of the FY11 budget, visit http://www.uhsa.uh.edu/regents/board_meetings/documents/051210FinAdmin/FA1.1.pdf

To view a presentation of the FY11 budget, visit http://www.uh.edu/af/budget/FY2011Budget.pdf

ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON SYSTEM
The University of Houston System is the state's only metropolitan higher education system, encompassing four universities and two multi-institution teaching centers.  The universities are the University of Houston, a nationally recognized doctoral degree-granting, comprehensive research university; the University of Houston-Downtown, a four-year undergraduate university beginning limited expansion into graduate programs; and the University of Houston-Clear Lake and the University of Houston-Victoria, both upper division and master's-level institutions.  The centers are the UH System at Sugar Land in Fort Bend and the UH System at Cinco Ranch.  In addition, the UH System includes KUHF-FM, Houston's National Public Radio and classical radio station, and KUHT-TV, the nation's first educational television station. To learn more about the UH System, visit http://www.uhsa.uh.edu/.


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