OSU Approves New $1.3 Billion Budget

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – Oregon State University’s Board of Trustees has approved a budget of more than $1.3 billion for the next fiscal year, beginning in July.

Oregon Public Broadcasting reports the board, which approved the budget Friday, is asking university leaders to prioritize funding toward recruiting and retaining students and faculty and promoting diversity and inclusivity. Other key priorities include advancing construction on the OSU-Cascades campus in Bend.

How the university will balance its budget remains unclear, while facing flattening student enrollment and a potential lack of additional funding from the state.

Gov. Kate Brown’s proposed 2019-21 budget noted no additional funding for the state’s Public University Support Fund.

OSU budget planners have projected a budget gap of about $18 million at the Corvallis campus, despite an upcoming tuition increase of more than 4% for resident undergraduate students at both the university’s Corvallis and Bend campuses.