UNT on the Brink: Denton Campus Confronts a $45 Million Budget Hole

The University of North Texas is confronting a deepening budget crisis, with leaders in Denton warning students and staff to brace for cuts as a structural deficit swells to an estimated $45 million this year.

How UNT's deficit ballooned

UNT entered the current fiscal year with an already approved deficit of $31.2 million, but updated projections presented ahead of this week's Board of Regents meeting show that gap has widened by nearly $14 million. In a campus-wide message, President Harrison Keller said the shortfall is "structural, not just temporary," driven primarily by a $32 million reduction in state funding for instruction and operations and sharper-than-expected drops in international master's enrollment.

Enrollment drops and lost tuition

International students, especially in programs like data science and computer science, had been a major source of higher-paying tuition revenue for UNT in recent years. But visa crackdowns and shifting geopolitics have cut into those numbers, with university and state data showing a steep fall in nonresident graduate enrollment and almost 10,000 fewer foreign grad students nationwide in fall 2025. UNT had already budgeted for a $47.3 million year-over-year drop in tuition and fees because of anticipated enrollment declines starting in 2024, only to see the trend worsen.​

What students and staff can expect

Keller has warned that closing the gap "will inevitably require hard choices," and that the impact "will be felt across our university," though specific cuts have not yet been detailed. He has pledged to prioritize student success and to communicate frequently as budget plans are finalized, urging students to stay engaged through their elected government, which has a voice in his cabinet. Faculty members, meanwhile, have voiced longstanding frustration about stagnant pay and a lack of transparency around financial decision-making, saying current pressures are compounding years of unmet needs.highereddive+1

A rapidly changing trajectory

UNT had been a growth story for much of the past decade, with enrollment rising about 19% between 2019 and 2024 to nearly 47,000 students. That momentum stalled last fall, when headcount dropped by 5.7%—roughly 2,600 students—one of the largest declines among Texas public universities. The university has also budgeted for a $16 million loss in state formula funding for fiscal 2026 tied directly to that enrollment drop, deepening concerns that the gap will not close quickly without significant changes.​

Bigger stakes for Denton and beyond

Local coverage has noted that the budget strain at UNT could ripple through Denton, where the university is one of the city's largest employers and economic anchors. As Keller prepares to outline options to regents, he has framed the moment as a test of UNT's "values-driven" identity, saying the institution will need its "creative and scrappy spirit" to emerge more financially stable without abandoning its commitments to students and the region.