Jan. 23, 2025
Dear Colleagues,
As we move into 2025, we want to update you on the steps university leadership is taking to address our financial challenges while positioning our institution for sustainability. Your dedication and hard work are vital as we work together to meet these goals, and we want to ensure you’re informed about the key strategies we’re implementing to reduce the deficit and grow revenue.
University Goals
After a thoughtful process gathering feedback from shared leadership and governance groups, the 2025 University Goals were approved by the NIU Board of Trustees at its Dec. 12, 2024 meeting. Informing this year’s goals was feedback from the Higher Learning Commission accreditation team and each of the six themes includes general goals and specific objectives related to resource development and fiscal sustainability. As we have previously communicated, the FY25 financial goals and budget plan call on us to reduce the budget deficit to $15.4 million – approximately half of the deficit at the end of FY24 – and achieve a balanced budget for FY26 starting July 1 of this year. However, we are not currently on track to meet these goals and therefore must take further actions to address the shortfall.
Deficit Mitigation Strategies
It is critical that we work collaboratively to slow spending and conserve cash. For both short- and long-term financial stability, our deficit mitigation efforts must focus on optimizing resources, streamlining processes and aligning spending with institutional priorities outlined in the university goals.
Position Control
Personnel costs represent 55.77% of NIU’s FY25 budget – a 10-year high. This increase is driven by three main factors: the university’s commitment to providing competitive pay; higher labor costs resulting from mandated minimum wage increases; and a growing reliance on extra help, non-essential overtime and additional pay. According to peer benchmark data, average salaries for employment groups at NIU are now at or above market levels.
As we consider these data and examine all options to lower costs, one of the most prudent moves is to further reduce our extra help, non-essential overtime and additional pay expenditures. Doing so gives the university more flexibility and a greater ability to keep full-time positions intact. Division vice presidents and deans have agreed to cut extra help expenditures by 35%, curtail non-essential overtime and limit additional pay for extra duties by 22%. Your immediate support to help do this will enable the university to save more than $2.5 million by June 30.
Additionally, with pending requests for more than $2.5 million in new positions, and $2.3 million in base changes to positions for off-cycle increments, the university needs to pause the requests for position-refills and management-driven, position-change requests. These activities will be done while we develop a stronger, more strategic position-control system. Until that time, exceptions will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and approvals will be limited.
Finally, Senior Associate Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer John Acardo has assembled a cross-functional team of budget, finance and business managers, along with colleagues from DoIT, to identify best practices in position-control from peer institutions. Their recommendations, due in February, will be reviewed by leadership and shared governance groups, including the deans, to guide our approach to more strategic use of position resources.
Travel
Reducing travel by 20% where feasible will yield approximately $550,000 in savings. Effective immediately, the university is implementing new travel guidelines that prioritize essential or mission-critical travel, including official university business, academic conferences, development and fundraising activities, athletics, student recruitment and grant-funded initiatives. Approval for such travel must be obtained from the appropriate dean or vice president, with requests submitted at least two weeks in advance.
For approved travel, cost-saving measures must be employed, such as choosing the most affordable options for transportation and accommodations and utilizing virtual alternatives when feasible. Additionally, with few exceptions, departments are limited to sending no more than two representatives to the same event unless justified and pre-approved. Individuals who travel must also provide trip outcome reports to their supervisors.
Non-Essential Spending
The need to slow and/or eliminate spending that is not time-sensitive and essential to operations remains in effect. Items such as furniture, external catering and division/unit-specific swag are not essential and should not proceed. Each unit is to carefully examine current, pending and planned expenditures to assess and justify what must move forward to deliver against goals and needs.
Revenue Growth Initiatives
As always, one of the most effective ways every employee can help grow revenue is by supporting recruitment, retention and student-success efforts. Generating additional or new revenue through other means is possible with intentionality, creativity, taking calculated risks and embracing change. The following are several examples of where progress is being made.
Sustainability and Energy Efficiency
In December, the Board of Trustees approved an NIU-Trane Energy Savings Agreement to serve as the cornerstone of our sustainability efforts. The $56 million investment, which will be recouped over time through a combination of federal, state, utility, energy and operational savings, will help reduce energy consumption by 26%, lower greenhouse gas emissions by 11%, and, in 2027, begin saving the university approximately $500,000 annually. In addition to guaranteed energy savings, the project will also help fund critical infrastructure upgrades while reducing operating expenses.
Projects such as solar installations and energy-efficient infrastructure improvements, which have started, are not only a means for reducing costs but, importantly, also demonstrate our commitment to environmental stewardship and position us as a leader in the green-energy transition.
Athletic Opportunities
Just prior to the university’s administrative closure in December, NIU was invited to join the Mountain West Conference for football starting in 2026. Joining a new conference presents a significant opportunity to elevate our national brand, attract new fans and generate new revenue to sustain Huskie Athletics.
On Jan. 7, 2025, the Board of Trustees approved the membership fee of $2 million to join the MWC. Increased revenues from multimedia rights, revenue distributions and guarantees from the conference, as well as anticipated enhancements in revenue from ticket sales and donations, will primarily offset the costs to transition to the new conference. This is a budget-positive move, and the university does not plan to use existing institutional funds to support the transition.
Leveraging our Facilities
Maximizing and/or reducing our physical footprint can yield multiple benefits to the university including reducing costs and generating new revenue. In addition to savings achieved from the closure of Lorado Taft in late fall, the university finalized leasing space at NIU Naperville and on campus. Combined savings/revenues amount to approximately $1.2 million annually.
Planning For FY26
We will be rolling out a modified, all-funds, zero-based budgeting process for FY26, encouraging departments to rebuild budgets thoughtfully from the ground up. This approach fosters accountability and helps identify opportunities for better resource utilization. Discussions to finalize process details are happening with senior leadership, and more specific information on next steps will be provided in mid-February.
New Website
A new Budget and Planning website (www.niu.edu/budget) was launched in December to help employees better understand the university’s financial position and goals. The site features foundational information and data, which will be supplemented over time. It also provides details on how employees can share ideas and suggestions to help NIU optimize resources. We encourage you to familiarize yourself with the information and will send notifications out via the Monday Morning Announcements when new content is added.
These efforts represent a collaborative and strategic approach to securing a stronger financial future for our institution. Your support, ideas and commitment to these initiatives are essential as we move forward together. Thank you for all that you do to make a difference each day. If you have questions or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us directly or to provide feedback at budgetandplanning@niu.edu.
Together Forward,
