Strategic Budget Objectives

A: ISU remains fully accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities and maintains specialized accreditation for individual programs. Accreditation and licensure requirements are an explicit criterion in the Opportunity Aligned Resourcing process; leadership considered these requirements when designing the new college structures. Merging colleges and consolidating programs does not eliminate degrees or negatively impact accreditation. Instead, it aligns administrative structures to support high‑quality teaching, research and service while maintaining compliance with accreditation standards.

A: Academic Affairs is being realigned to enhance collaboration and efficiency. The College of Arts and Letters and the College of Education will merge to create the College of Humanities, Education and Social Science (CHESS). All arts programs will be consolidated into a School of the Arts. The College of Health will become the College of Nursing and Rehabilitative Sciences, and a new L.S. Skaggs College of Pharmacy and Allied Health will house Physician Assistant Studies, Community/Public Health, Dental Hygiene, Radiographic Science and Pharmacy programs. Portions of the College of Science and Engineering related to health sciences will move to the new college, while the Nuclear Engineering, Health Physics and Physics departments will consolidate. Graduate School operations will be integrated into Student Affairs, and the Early College Program will be reorganized to support outcomes‑based funding. Library leadership, research computing and event services will also be realigned for greater efficiency.

A: Additional budget actions could be taken during the 2026 legislative session, including an additional 1percent holdback in FY26 and 2 percent in FY27 that were approved by JFAC on February 6. Additional holdbacks will only take effect if the Senate and House of Representatives vote to advance the legislation, and it is then signed by Governor Little. 

A: Furloughs do not help with long-term balancing efforts, but can be effective in responding to one-time holdbacks. ISU addressed the FY2026 3% holdback through a combination of operating expense reductions and additional salary savings through deferred personnel actions. Furloughs will be considered if additional holdbacks for fiscal year 2026 are implemented by the state.

A: ISU has spent down surplus reserves over the past decade at the direction of the State Board of Education. These reserves have been used to invest in strategic priorities and initiatives and to cover operating deficits in central funds as ISU worked through its multi-year budget optimization process. Reserves are now at an appropriate level and need to be maintained in order to ensure ISU’s bond rating remains the same, resource strategic investments, and provide contingency funds for continuity of operations.

A: Communications have been intentionally designed with a focus on dignity, respect, and transparency. The budget plans communication timeline prioritized those most directly affected by the changes. University leaders met first with specific individuals and units to discuss respective structural and procedural changes. Following these discussions, the entire University community and other key stakeholders, including alumni and partners were provided with an overview of the changes and new initiatives that will be implemented.

A: The net budget plan reduces ISU’s workforce by 44 positions across ISU (11 administrator positions, 21 staff positions and 12 faculty positions). Roughly 40% of the positions were vacant when the plan was announced, limiting the number of employees whose employment status will be affected. Impacted individuals were notified personally and offered transition assistance.

A: In its benchmarking and budget analyses, ISU uses the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA) classification system to define administrators. This national system categorizes positions such as presidents, vice presidents, provosts, deans, associate/assistant deans, directors and other executive‑level roles. Using a standardized definition enables accurate comparisons with peer institutions and informs data‑driven personnel decisions.

A: No. As part of the benchmarking budget optimization initiative, ISU analyzed administrator and other staffing levels against meaningful peers over a three-year period and found that administrator FTE and salary levels are on par with peer institutions. ISU also compares our administrative to instructional cost ratio, as combined from IPEDS data, to both in-state peers and our benchmarking peer set. ISU’s ratio is consistently lower than the average of both peer groups.

A: No. Members of the Budget Advisory Group have analyzed longitudinal administrator staffing levels and pay over a ten-year period from FY2015 to FY2025. Over this period, ISU’s administrator FTE has increased by 2.8, which equates to 3.5% as compared to a 5.3% increase in faculty, and average administrator and professional staff salaries have increased less than classified and contracted faculty salaries.

A: The University has prioritized student impact in designing restructuring plans. No academic programs or degree pathways are being eliminated at this time; rather, program consolidation is intended to strengthen interdisciplinary opportunities and preserve student choice. Additionally, ensuring that accreditation is maintained has been an essential element of every restructuring or strategic decision made throughout this process.

A: The University will set tuition and fees according to standard Idaho State Board of Education processes, with student fee hearings in March 2026. FY2027 tuition rates will be set by the Board in April 2026.  Any changes to tuition, mandatory fees, and professional fees will be communicated following Board approval.

ISU will implement modest, market‑aligned fee increases in the Registrar’s Office and Admissions to align with sister institutions. These targeted fee adjustments help generate revenue while minimizing impact on students.

A: No degree pathways are being eliminated at this time. Merging colleges and consolidating departments reorganizes administrative structures, not the curriculum. Students will still be able to pursue existing majors and degrees. The formation of CHESS and the School of the Arts will enhance collaboration across disciplines and may create new interdisciplinary opportunities. Students should continue working with academic advisors to understand how departmental realignments may affect advising assignments and support services.

A: Employees are encouraged to reach out to ISU’s Human Resources Office for information on support resources, including access to the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), general benefits and retirement information, leave options, or other general support requests.

The University has created two transition support teams to assist units in implementing changes. The Technical Support Team will help with structural updates and the Operational Support Team will help with administrative and staff support processes, workflows, shared service implementation, system and process improvement, and training resources. Please contact Jen Steele for more information about these resources.

A: The vast majority of ISU’s deferred maintenance and capital construction is funded through a combination of state, philanthropic, and bond funds. Recent investments in deferred maintenance with state funds have long-term positive budget impacts in reducing utility and maintenance costs, and have been funded directly by the State of Idaho, separate from ISU’s operating budget.

Near-term capital construction priorities as outlined in ISU’s campus master plan are the construction of a new Life Sciences Building (funded through a combination of State permanent building fund investment, philanthropic and bond funds) and the construction of new student housing (funded through a public-private partnership which will leverage private capital).

A:  A shared service model is an approach used across higher education and other large organizations to organize work in ways that make the best use of people, resources, and expertise.
Rather than each college, department, or division performing every function separately, areas with similar needs—such as finance, information technology, communications, advising, research support, facilities, or administrative operations—can share processes, systems, or personnel to deliver services more efficiently and consistently.

The intent of a shared service model is to:

• improve access to expertise and specialized support,
• ensure consistent standards and practices across the university,
• reduce duplication of effort and cost, and
• allow University units to focus more directly on their academic, research, and service missions.

Shared service roles are the individuals who work within or across these coordinated teams. They collaborate closely with the units they support, ensuring that local priorities are met while also maintaining alignment with university-wide goals, systems, and policies.

As ISU advances its Bold Path Forward. Together. initiative, shared service approaches may look different in different areas of the University. The overarching goal is to strengthen collaboration, make work easier to navigate, and deliver high-quality, consistent services that help every part of the university succeed.

A: The Innovation Hub will advance innovation, shared service, institutional effectiveness, and strategic priorities in support of ISU’s mission and strategic priorities. Using a team of teams approach, the Innovation Hub is organized around a series of service centers for university faculty, staff, and students, providing leadership, training, project management, and resources. Here is a link to the concept draft for the Innovation Hub.

A: The overall impact of the position eliminations resulted from a structural reorganization and were not a reflection of individual employee performance. For Classified positions, the State of Idaho Division of Human Resources and Idaho Personnel Commission Rule 140 for Reduction in Force process was followed. This involves a calculation of retention points for employees within the classification within the specified layoff or organizational unit, as approved by the State. Classified employees impacted by the layoff were provided a breakdown of their retention points calculations, which includes performance ratings, classified credited state service, and veterans preference (if applicable).