Across higher education, universities are navigating changes in funding, compliance, and broader economic conditions. Naturally, many are probably wondering what the outlook for Rice’s FY27 budget is. In short: Rice will continue funding existing commitments in line with Momentous but limit new investment areas.
Disciplined Spending, Strategic Focus
Thanks to strong leadership and past planning, Rice is in a stronger position than many peer schools. Even with economic pressures, the university can still support key programs and priorities. However, that's about all there is room for.
Over the past few years, Rice has made big, multi-year investments to help the university grow. These include hiring faculty, investing in staff, expanding research, and improving student services. As a result, most of the FY27 budget will go toward continuing what is already underway.
These investments include:
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Helping Students Thrive: To support the growing student population, Rice will continue to fund key areas, including the Student Disability Office, the Center for Career Development, and enhancements to graduate student life.
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Hiring and Research: The university will continue hiring new faculty, covering the related costs of setting up their labs, and launching new interdisciplinary programs, including the continued expansion of AI curriculum and the buildout of the Arc at the Ion.
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Faculty and Staff Support: Rice continues to invest in equitable pay, benefits, and retirement programs through the Total Rewards program. These commitments include increasing the minimum wage for hourly employees to $18 per hour and reducing the employee's share of dental insurance costs. Rice will also provide a 2% merit pool for FY27 to help align salaries to the market.
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Building Institutional Strength: Budget dollars are also going toward enhanced fundraising, marketing, and infrastructure like technology and facilities. Ongoing commitments include Chao College, new AI/High Performance Computing tools, and improvements to iO.
These aren’t just budget lines—they’re investments in Rice’s long-term success. Keeping these commitments is the university’s top priority.
Limited Capacity for New Requests
Because much of the FY27 budget is already committed, there will be limited capacity to consider new budget requests that are not part of a previous commitment. This does not reflect a lack of ideas or ambition, but rather a focus on responsible stewardship of resources.
FY27 planning also happens in an unpredictable economy. Inflation, market swings, and other unknowns could still impact the budget. For that reason, contingency planning remains an important part of the FY27 process. This approach allows Rice to remain flexible and prepared while protecting core priorities and long-term commitments.
Want to know more?
Review the FY27 budget planning kickoff materials.
Attend the Admin Forum on February 18 for an overview of FY27 budget planning.