WKU Board of Regents Approves Fiscal Year 2025 Budget: A Breakdown of Dr. Timothy Caboni’s Comments

The Setting- Bowling Green, Kentucky

On the morning of Friday, May 7th, the Western Kentucky University Board of Regents convened to finalize the fiscal year 2025 budget. After voting, the budget was approved with a majority of eight to three.

Points Addressed by Dr. Timothy Caboni

In the face of incrementally increasing costs of running the university amidst higher enrollment rates and positive revenue figures, President of Western Kentucky University, Dr. Timothy Caboni, stressed the need for cost saving measures. He said, “It is 1% larger than the budget last year, and we’re asking our deans to be conservative to ensure that we’re able to meet the goals of the institution by not overspending.”

He went on to detail a proposed strategy of spending precision, stating, “And so, one of the ways you do that is by essentially asking, instead of spending 100% of a budget, you spend 92% of your budget.”

Budget Increase and Its Impact

The approved budget, amounting to over $349 million, exhibits a modest increase from the previous fiscal year. There is a proposed 2% increase in tuition, along with a similar percentage increase in salary for eligible faculty and members of staff. According to university sources, the budget of fiscal year 2025 is approximately $4.3 million larger than that of 2023-24.

The Road Ahead

The WKU Board of Regents is expected to reconvene for its annual retreat as well as its third quarterly meeting on August 8th and 9th respectively. The agenda and contents of these meetings have not been disclosed as yet.

Deciphering Caboni’s Comments

Caboni’s comments, while straightforward, hint at a university in financial flux, attempting to balance growth with conservative spending. Requesting deans to aim for a spending cap of 92% implies a focused effort to preserve funds, however, the areas where these savings will be redirected were not detailed during his address. The 2% increases in tuition and salary pools could be seen as a method to counterbalance the conservative spending measures, infusing the budget with additional financial flexibility. As information becomes available, a fuller understanding of the fiscal strategies for 2025 will be developed.