On Nov. 12, at the faculty and staff town hall, Jon Peede, Ashland University president, announced the university will operate on a $2 million deficit for the 2025 fiscal year. 

 Peede asked the Board of Trustees to approve the $2 million budget deficit for 2025. 

“We believe after all the steps we have taken and are in the process of taking and we will take this year, that at the end of the fiscal year, I asked the board to approve of a deficit up to $2 million,” Peede said. 

Projections for the 2026 fiscal year, Peede said a deficit might need to happen, but there is no data on this currently.  

At the All-Institutional meeting on Aug. 20, it was announced that in July, the university faced an over $5 million budget deficit, but $2 million was identified in savings.  

Peede also announced that AU’s endowment is at record high of $78 million, with the largest endowment gift at $10 million. 

“It is by in large related to FAFSA, but we are looking systematically at ways that we can perform better,” Peede said.  

For the 2024 fiscal year, AU Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Marc Pasteris mentioned the four key performance indicators the university needs to meet are board operating reserve, which is the days cash on hand, debt coverage ratio, composite financial index (CFI) and the U.S. Department of Education composite index.  

The university’s board operating reserve is at 99 days with four of the days are from the Ashbrook Center. 

“Even without those funding resources from the Ashbrook Center, which they have their great part of the university, we have 95 days versus 99 days,” Pasteris said.  

The debt coverage ratio is 2.65 and the required was 1.25. 

The CFI is 2.17, and the target is three or greater. Pasteris said it is slightly below where it needs to be at.  

The U.S Department of Education is 2.78 and the target is 1.50 or greater.  

On the $6 million penalty from the Department of Education, there are no new updates at this current time, and the department has been silent for several months. 

The penalty was announced on Sept. 23, 2023, after AU filed a complaint against the Department of Education.  

Peede concluded with being prudent in certain decisions pertaining to the university. 

“I believe in what we’re going to do and what we are achieving more than I did when I first came here, it is passionate, it is driven, and it is my deepest wish that I spend a long, long time here,” Peede said.