15
June
2018
|
08:39 AM
America/Chicago

UHS Board of Regents Approves FY2019 Budget

During its May 24 meeting, the University of Houston System (UHS) Board of Regents approved a $238.8 million total budget for the University of Houston-Downtown. The budget will go into effect at the start of Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 on Sept. 1.

UHD's total budget increases by $33.6 million—a 15 percent rise over the FY2018 budget—with $33.2 million of this increase being allocated to the institution's capital budget. Almost all of the increase in the capital budget relates to the ongoing construction of the new College of Sciences & Technology Building.

The majority of FY2019's operating budget will be focused on student access and success initiatives. These include a renewed investment in the University's transfer recruiting efforts. During the past year, UHD has partnered with Houston Community College (HCC) and Lone Star College (LSC) on creating seamless pathways for transfer students. The University will continue to bolster these collaborations by hiring new embedded advisors for both HCC and LSC campuses. Likewise, the institution will focus resources on developing additional degree maps that lead community college students into UHD bachelor's programs. Additional budget goals include hiring new tenure-track faculty for high demand programs and UHD's conversion to a new student information system. Likewise, it will help fund scholarships for both First-Time-in-College and transfer students.

In addition to enhancing student success and access initiatives, the operating budget also will support national competitiveness strategies and community advancement initiatives. It also will fund campus infrastructure projects, including campus technology and UHD's physical plant.

A breakdown of UHD's FY2019 budget is as follows:

Operating Budget

  • Student Access and Success: $145.9 million
  • Infrastructure and Administration: $32.2 million
  • National Competitiveness: $2.2 million
  • Community Advancement: $2.8 million

Capital Budget

Capital Facilities: $55.7 million

Total Budget

$238.8 million

The University's budget is part of the system-wide $1.7 billion budget that was approved by the UHS Board of Regents on May 24. Budgets also were approved for system institutions, the University of Houston, University of Houston-Clear Lake and University of Houston-Victoria.