In March, UCLA announced that the university was set to run a $220 million deficit for the 2025-26 fiscal year.
Now, with little explanation, the university has revised that projected deficit to $58 million.
Students and faculty deserve a clear account of what contributed to such a substantial change in UCLA’s financial outlook, as well as detailed and timely updates from the administration.
Chancellor Julio Frenk announced the creation of an “Executive Budget Action Group” in November 2025 to improve budget management but made no specifications about spending reductions, revenue changes or projected savings.
That $220 million estimate came after former CFO Stephen Agostini estimated UCLA was running a projected $425 million deficit for the 2025-26 fiscal year. He also alleged in a February 2026 interview with the Daily Bruin that administrators’ mishandling contributed to that deficit, saying he’d rarely seen such “flaws and failures” in financial management before coming to UCLA.
Agostini was out as CFO days after The Bruin published his allegations.
In September, Frenk committed to improving the university’s finances and working toward eliminating UCLA Athletics’ deficit. But we have yet to see what revenue streams or cost reductions he and interim Athletics CEO Tim Harris are using to achieve that goal.
The budget deficit isn’t just a number. The university’s financial picture directly impacts students.
As The Bruin has reported, these budget cuts have touched several parts of campus life. Academic departments have lost funding, forcing curriculum changes. Classroom computers have been eliminated. Cuts have prompted reductions in available teaching assistant and reader positions, making it harder for students to take the classes they need to graduate on time and for graduate students to make a living.
[Related: Amid budget deficit, political science department cuts TAs, shrinks course capacities]
When teaching and learning – the core of UCLA’s mission – are on the line, the community deserves a detailed explanation as to how the university is reducing its deficit, not quarterly emails that announce arbitrary figures without elaboration. The university should also explain how it evaluates expenditures and determines which areas receive financial support during a period of budget reductions.
Detailed explanations, including spending reductions, revenue increases and any one-time adjustments, are needed to establish whether financial recovery efforts are producing sustainable results.
UCLA students are often told on their exams that “No credit will be given for a correct answer without work.” We ask that the university do the same for its $162 million revision.
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