Campuses in the University System of Maryland were warned Thursday afternoon to brace for another 7% cut to their budgets in the coming year, on top of the 4% the system was forced to absorb as part of a statewide budget challenge earlier this year.
University System Chancellor Jay Perman, in a video message to more than 40,000 faculty and staff at campuses across the state, said individual campus presidents all agree that personnel cuts should be a last resort. But he noted that, given the size of the reduction and the different situations on different campuses, “for some universities, personnel actions cannot be taken off the table.”
And he warned that the fiscal situation would likely get worse, as federal budget reductions and job cuts continue this year.
“To those affected by these cuts, there’s little I can say that makes it any better,” Perman said, looking into the camera. “I’m sorry that this is happening. It’s not a reflection of your value to the system, to your university, to the students we serve.”
The cuts do not come as a surprise: In May, the Board of Regents unanimously approved a resolution to let campus presidents assess savings such as furloughs, reductions in salaries and the closing of schools for a certain number of days. That resolution was approved as the university system’s 12 institutions and three regional centers stared down a reduction of $155 million, or 7% of their fiscal 2026 budgets.
While the message may not have been surprise, its delivery — broadcast to every worker in the system — was unusual.
“I don’t usually send out a budget message, like this one” to all employees of the statewide system, Perman said in the video. “I’m doing it now because these aren’t typical times.”
Perman said the cuts would be managed campus-by-campus, “because there’s no one solution for the taking.”
“I know your campus leaders are sharing with you what these cuts will mean, not only for university programs and departments, but for you and your colleagues,” Perman said.
Perman said he and campus leaders agreed to try and “protect our people as much as possible,” look for other cost savings or ways to generate revenue before cutting in to payrolls.
Meanwhile, one of the state’s biggest labor unions said it had been made aware of Perman’s video message Thursday. But the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Maryland Council 3, which represents more than 6,000 employees in the university system, said it has not been notified by the university system, yet, of any pending personnel actions that would affect its members.
“Per our union contract with the university system, there are certain processes that must be followed in the event of potential furloughs and layoffs,” the union said in a statement. “Given increasing attacks from the federal level on higher education and working people, our union has volunteered to work with university system leaders on cost-saving measures to protect our institutions and the people who keep them running.”
AFSCME President Patrick Moran plans to speak at a Board of Regents meeting Friday “about opportunities to collaborate, and we hope system leaders take us up on our offer.”
While this latest round of cuts will be challenge, Perman also warned of future budget cuts as Maryland awaits federal budget decisions that could result in federal employee layoffs or loss of aid.
“We know it could get worse,” said Perman, adding that the possibility of further cuts was being incorporated in the latest cuts.
Senate Majority Leader Nancy King (D-Montgomery) acknowledged the federal cuts to higher education programs by the Trump administration could mean more pain for universities.
“They’ve been expecting it and planning for it,” King said about school leaders preparing for budget cuts. “There are probably more to come.”
The Board of Regents is meeting in Hagerstown Friday, when the agenda includes possibly approving tuition and fee increases by an average 3.2%, for both in-state and out-of-state undergraduate students. According to a tuition summary, Coppin State University in Baltimore would see the highest increase for in-state tuition at 4.5% and Towson University would have the highest increase for out-of-state students, at 5.1%.
Towson University President Mark R. Ginsberg relayed Perman’s video message to faculty and staff Thursday adding that he would “echo its sentiments.”
“We keep our entire USM family in our thoughts as some institutions will face personnel actions, including hiring freezes as well as possible furloughs and layoffs,” Ginsberg wrote. “As I shared at the end of the spring semester, TU will continue to put our students, faculty and staff first through careful and deliberate fiscal management.”
Although the fiscal 2026 budget provides a 1% cost-of-living increase, Ginsberg wrote members of the president’s Cabinet will defer theirs and “supplement support available for student aid.”
As part of the tuition rate approval, Towson and a few other schools may be allowed to offer differential tuition rates for specific programs.
Towson plans to offer “market-based” out-of-state tuition for nine online graduate programs. Although revenue would decrease in fiscal 2026, the school expects the following year to enroll an additional one to three students per program to bring in between $95,000 to $250,000. The current, full-time out-of-state tuition rate is nearly $23,000.
Nursing students who are residents of Washington, D.C., will get in-state tuition, but would have to be enrolled in the undergraduate program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, or doctor in nursing practice program at the Universities at Shady Grove in Montgomery County.
Students from D.C. would also pay in-state tuition at the University of Maryland Carey School of Law in Baltimore, in hopes of making it “a more attractive option for students in the D.C. area, especially given the high cost of living and tuition in the nation’s capital.” With the rate change, the school anticipates an additional five to 10 students.
– Maryland Matters reporter Sam Gauntt contributed to this story.
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