After the Spring of 2023, AU had a deficit approaching four million. Marc Pasteris, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer said that it ended up at $2.9 million with none carrying over into the next fiscal year, which is where we are currently.         

For those confused about how the budgeting schedule works, it is broken up into “fiscal years,” which is opposed to patterns broken up with calendar years, academic years, and more. Pasteris stated, “The fiscal year end[s] is May 31, so budgeting begins June 1 and ends May 31, so that’s our fiscal year.” 

As for discussion for minimizing this year’s deficit, Pasteris said, “No. 1, it’s a new year, so you start out with a blank slate. We actually have had a great year in terms of recruiting an incoming class both in terms of first-year students as well as transfer students. We continue to recruit on the graduate side and other specialty programs that we have. So, we are what is defined as a tuition-driven institution.” 

To explain how all the funds get broken up, Pasteris said, “It’s your tuition, your fees, your room and board as an undergraduate, but then there’s also the graduate pieces as well.   

The overall budget, in terms of revenue, amounts to about 77% of income which comes from those sources.” Pasteris explained the reasoning for the different parts of this budget – and how it adds to student life quality at AU, 

“As for the other sources, you have auxiliary sources of revenue, the campus store, and we are very blessed with donors that donate funds, but also, in some cases, we have camps and events, much smaller, but meaningful as well.” In the sense of the known revenue stream, those are most examples of where those funds come from. It’s important to understand the budget because it goes towards many different aspects of life at AU. 

To keep track of these numbers, The Board of Trustees meets on a regular basis along with presentations run by an executive leadership team. A watchful eye is kept on the budget all year long as well as the budget timeline with adjustments being made as needed throughout the fiscal year.