Beyond the Numbers

Oregon State University has overcome a number of fiscal challenges this year, strengthening its financial situation and maintaining the high level of academic excellence that is a hallmark of this institution.

The University enters 1998-99 with a projected enrollment increase of more than 1,000 students over the biennium -- the largest increase of the past decade. This has enormous fiscal implications for OSU because a new funding model approved by the Oregon University System ties state appropriations directly to university performance, especially in the area of enrollment. With projected enrollment increases over the next several years, OSU's future looks bright.

The University has been able to absorb major budget challenges -- some of which were brought about by calculated investment -- during a critical three-year period and emerge in sound fiscal condition.

During these past three challenging years, Oregon State University has been able to maintain a positive fund balance. In fact, the University shows a projected balance of $19.679 million for the 1997-98 fiscal year. This balance indicates that OSU's overall revenues, including reserves, exceed overall expenditures. (Many of those dollars are "restricted," which means that they are earmarked for certain areas within the University and cannot be used for other purposes.) The decline in OSU's fund balance from 1995 to 1998 has moderated substantially this past year, and in 1998-99 the University projects an increase in its fund balance for the first time in four years.

New leadership in Information Services and Intercollegiate Athletics has dealt aggressively with deficits in those departments while striving to maintain -- and even improve -- the quality of programs and services. Intercollegiate Athletics is focusing its deficit-reduction effort on generating new revenue, primarily through innovative marketing and licensing efforts, along with an intensive fundraising campaign to increase scholarship support for student athletes. (The major cause of the department's deficit can be attributed to an 80% increase in tuition since 1990, during a time when scholarship support remained relatively constant.) Information Services is ahead of schedule on its five-year pay-back plan, primarily by instituting strong cost controls in purchasing and inventory management, and by prioritizing and streamlining services.

_{Source: OUS Annual Financial Report, audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, Independent Public Accountants through June 30, 1997. 1997-98 figures are internal OSU estimates.}

About Some of the Numbers

State appropriations appear to have increased significantly -- from approximately $88 million in 1995-96 to $106 million in 1997-98. However, much of that increase reflects the fact that approximately $10.2 million in funding for some University programs -- including veterinary medicine, the Agricultural Experiment Station, and parts of the OSU Extension Service -- was changed from the lottery to the general fund. That also accounts, in part, for the changing figures under "Other Revenue."

Grants and contracts continue to be a source of strength for the University, generating an estimated $104 million in 1997-98. Oregon State University ranks first among comparable public institutions (1997 Graham and Diamond, The Rise of American Research Universities) in per capita research and development dollars generated. OSU's total of more than $60,000 per faculty member easily surpassed institutions like Texas A&M, Rutgers, the University of Massachusetts, Washington State, Michigan State, and the University of Oregon.

Letter from the President
Top Tier University
Compelling Learning Experience
Statewide Campus
New Facilities
Toward the 21st Century
Financial Summary