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 as of March 2025: Our multi-year plan to build financial resilience aims to solve the University’s approximately 10% structural imbalance in the operating budget by identifying and implementing approximately $200 million of permanent expense reductions, cost avoidance, and revenue enhancements, plus one-time opportunities to strengthen liquidity contingency. The ultimate goal remains to achieve modest, positive and sustainable operating margins by fiscal year 2027, setting the University on strong financial footing as we enter the full implementation of the Academic Transformation, which is set to unlock additional reputational and financial value.
Progress as of March 2025:
- $60M of expenses have been removed from the budget since July 2024;
- $20M of expense reductions are currently being implemented;
- $23M of revenue enhancements are currently being implemented;
- $50M of additional budget-balancing items have been identified;
- Yet to find: $21M in permanent solutions;
- One-time opportunities being implemented or evaluated: $26M net, one-time gain.
(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;
- Reviewing academic unit expense/revenue ratios;
- Implementing cost-saving opportunities related to central and distributed IT services, structures, systems, etc.;
- Reducing contractual requests;
- Implementing benefit cost savings;
- Improving operating and business processes, such as procurement modernization, and reviewing categories of spending across the University; and
- Monetizing real estate holdings, optimizing space and reviewing leases.
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