The University of Denver is staring at a projected $20 million to $30 million revenue shortfall in the next fiscal year, and campus leaders are signaling that more cuts are likely on the way. In a memo to staff, administrators pointed to shrinking international enrollment and an overall drop in campus population as key culprits, and urged departments to hunt for savings across nonacademic, administrative, and academic areas as the school works to steady its finances. Faculty and staff, some of whom already went through cuts last year, are now bracing for another round of belt-tightening and potential reorganizations.
In a memo reported by The Denver Post, Provost Elizabeth G. Loboa and Senior Vice Chancellor Mark DeLorenzo warned that the $20 million to $30 million shortfall is tied in part to declines in international students and overall campus headcount. The memo, which The Post said university leaders circulated to staff, stated that DU's total operating margin has slipped into negative territory and cautioned that "necessary reductions lie ahead." The statement also called on academic units to do everything they can to convince admitted students to actually enroll, in hopes of softening the financial blow.
According to an October staff message from the University of Denver, the school had already been staring at a roughly $6 million shortfall for the 2026 fiscal year and responded by pausing merit increases and closely scrutinizing vacant positions to help close that gap. That earlier update cast the moves as temporary relief while leadership, working with deans and the chancellor's cabinet, tried to protect student services. Administrators now say the new, larger projection is a sign of deeper structural trends that the university will have to confront more directly.
Enrollment and revenue trends
Enrollment is where the squeeze is showing up most clearly. The Denver Post reported that DU's headcount dropped from 12,812 to 11,499 in 2025, roughly a 10 percent decline, while international student enrollment slipped from about 745 to around 600. Those losses pack a punch because DU operates on a budget of more than $550 million a year and leans heavily on tuition revenue to make the numbers work. The Post also noted that applications are actually up, with undergraduate applications rising around 30 percent and graduate applications climbing roughly 12 percent, which leaves DU with a different challenge: turning strong interest on paper into real, tuition-paying students on campus.
Cuts and past shortfalls
DU has already been trimming roles to deal with earlier deficits. Reporting by BusinessDen, which cited The Denver Post, shows that an $11 million gap in 2024 led to the elimination of several administrative positions and a reorganization in the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. Those moves sparked faculty protests and a vote of no confidence, and campus advocates have warned that repeated rounds of cuts risk eroding student support services and academic offerings even as the university tries to stay in the black.
What’s next
University leaders say they are aiming to protect the student experience while still closing the looming gap. In its earlier staff message, DU stressed that it would try to preserve core services wherever possible, even as units are pressed to find additional savings. This week's memo tasks campus leaders with coming up with new expense reductions and revenue ideas ahead of key budget decisions for fiscal 2027. Whether DU can turn those higher application numbers into enrolled students will be central to shrinking the projected deficit, and officials say they will keep the campus community updated as the planning process unfolds.
