Important Budget Drivers
Below are description of elements and activities that are the main drivers of UTRGV’s budget development cycle, including the state’s legislative sessions, tuition and fee setting cycles, and the THECB Expenditure Study. The illustration below includes the timeline for each of these activities over a typical biennium.
Legislative Sessions: The sessions last 140 days and begin at noon on the second Tuesday in January in odd numbered years. Appropriation levels are decided during a given session for the upcoming fiscal year e.g., the 88th Legislature set appropriations for fiscal years 2024 and 2025.
Expenditure Study: A study of costs is performed under the direction of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB). The study identifies the relative costs of the various disciplines at the university by student level. These relative weights are then used in the calculations that form the Instruction and Operations funding formula that appropriates general revenue to the institutions.
Legislative Appropriations Request (LAR): This report submitted to the Legislative Budget Board is produced in the months leading up to the Legislative Session. This is the vehicle used to request new non-formula items (referred to as Exceptional Items in the LAR) and funding for buildings via the Capital Construction Assistance Program, formerly Tuition Revenue Bonds (TRBs).
Tuition & Fees: Generally, tuition and mandatory fee increases are considered only in years when the legislature is not in session. Changes to tuition and mandatory fee rates require Board of Regents approval. Non-mandatory fee approvals delegated to the president or to UT administration may be considered each year for implementation in the ensuing Fall semester. UTRGV’s Non-Mandatory Fee Approval policy includes specific instructions for this process.