Key Points
- The University of Maine plans layoffs, unfilled jobs, and shorter appointments in athletics, student life, research, and other non-academic units to close a $9 million fiscal 2028 shortfall.
- Cuts plus about $1 million in new revenue should cover roughly $6 million of that gap, leaving $3 million with no plan yet.
- Academic Affairs already committed to $10 million in reductions, bringing UMaine’s combined FY28 target to $19 million.
The University of Maine detailed how its non-academic units will shrink their fiscal 2028 budgets in an October 21 letter from campus leadership. Academic Affairs, about half of UMaine’s budget, committed in September to cutting $10 million in base expenses. The rest of the university must cover a separate $9 million shortfall, and the letter says workforce reductions “will unfortunately be necessary” to get there. That puts the state’s flagship alongside schools like the University of Oregon, which closed a dorm while cutting $65 million.
Why It Matters
Students will feel some of these cuts directly. The letter lists fee increases, facility usage fees, and the sale of real property among the options some units may use, and UMaine expects to lean on one-time reserves again in FY28. Families tracking signs a college is under financial strain should note that combination of layoffs and reserve spending.
UMaine leaders blame declining enrollment, federal funding and policy uncertainty, tight state budgets, and rising operating costs. They also say compensation, tuition, University of Maine System shared services costs, and state appropriations sit outside the campus’s direct control. Rising operating costs are one of the forces that push college tuition higher every year.
Where The Cuts Land
| Unit | Possible Changes |
|---|---|
| Athletics | Shorter annual appointments, some vacated jobs left unfilled |
| Student Life | Shorter annual appointments, some vacant jobs eliminated |
| Research | Centers and institutes consolidated |
| Strategic Partnerships | Vacant jobs eliminated, more costs moved to outside revenue, fewer outside contracts |
| Finance, Administration And Facilities | Units combined, tighter overtime controls |
| President’s Office | Lower operating costs, fewer outside contracts, shorter appointments, some vacancies left open |
Across all non-academic units, UMaine also plans to rely less on outside vendors, move some salaries onto external funding, centralize some functions, and automate manual tasks. Each listed unit is expected to grow its revenue by 1%, and an expanded agreement with existing partner Sodexo should bring more events and conferences to campus, including in summer. The math leans heavily on spending cuts. Only $1 million of the roughly $6 million comes from new revenue, a pattern similar to the University of Denver’s restructuring after a $30 million shortfall.
How This Connects
UMaine is the latest public university to cut its way through an enrollment and funding squeeze. Penn State targeted 47 programs for closure, mostly at its commonwealth campuses, and Syracuse posted its first budget deficit in years after missing its 2026 enrollment goal. Falling international graduate enrollment has also triggered layoffs at other schools this year.
What’s Next
The Cabinet will spend the coming weeks on the remaining $3 million gap, and UMaine will present its FY28 budget to the University of Maine System in January. Families should watch for fee changes for 2027-28 and can review Maine’s 529 plan rules to plan for any cost increases.
Editor: Colin Graves
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Robert Farrington is the founder of The College Investor and is widely recognized as one of the nation’s leading voices on student loan debt and saving for college. He holds an MBA from UC San Diego Rady School of Management and has spent over 15 years researching, writing, and advising on student loans, 529 plans, financial aid programs, and saving and investing for young professionals.
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