Building Financial Resilience to Strengthen the Academic Enterprise 

Drexel University is proactively addressing the challenges facing the higher education sector on two parallel tracks: While we are transforming our academic enterprise to position Drexel for future success, we are also building financial resilience by bringing our expenses into alignment with revenue on a permanent basis. This page provides a high-level overview of the University's strategies and progress toward building financial resilience.

Goal: Our multi-year plan to build financial resilience aims to solve an approximately 10% structural imbalance in the operating budget by identifying and implementing approximately $150 million of expense reductions, cost avoidance, and revenue enhancements. The ultimate goal is to maintain positive, sustainable operating margins by fiscal year 2027.

Progress as of December 2024: To date, the University has identified strategies totaling over $105 million of the $150 million goal.

  • Fully Implemented: $50M
  • Currently Implementing: $56M

(Progress toward goal will be updated quarterly: March, May, September, December.)

Strategies include but are not limited to:

  • Streamlining and reducing the administrative structure of the University and implementing shared services to better support the academic mission and achieve efficiencies;
  • Growing enrollment/NTR, especially among graduate, transfer and stopped-out students; reducing operational complexity for Enrollment Management;
  • Implementing cost-saving opportunities related to central and distributed IT services, structures, systems, etc.;
  • Improving operating and business processes, such as procurement modernization; and
  • Monetizing real estate holdings, optimizing space and reviewing leases.

Frequently Asked Questions for Faculty and Professional Staff (sign in with Drexel ID and password to view)

Community Input: Please share your ideas for expense reduction, efficiency, or revenue enhancement through this Qualtrics form.

Messages About Building Financial Resilience:

Update from University Leadership Recording (sign in with Drexel ID and password to view)
October 10, 2024

Building Financial Resilience to Strengthen Our Academic Enterprise
October 10, 2024

Becoming a More Academically and Financially Resilient University
October 1, 2024