Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025
UIARGONAUT.COM
FOR, OF AND BY THE STUDENTS SINCE 1898
Budget cuts may force layoffs Estimated 28 fulltime positions may be reduced in FY2027 Dakota Steffen ARGONAUT
John Keegan | Argonaut
UI wide receiver Nolan McWilliams attempts to make an over-the-shoulder catch against Portland State safety Carsten Mamaril
UI enrollment grows Enrollment hits 10-year high with second largest freshman class Joshua Reisenfeld ARGONAUT The University of Idaho’s total fall 2025 enrollment was reported to be 12,383 students, up by 0.8% compared to fall 2024, and had the second largest freshman class in the school’s history at 1,980 students. UI released enrollment numbers in an Oct. 17 press release. Undergraduate enrollment is up 3% to 7,978 students, from 7,747 in 2024, leading to UI’s largest undergraduate population. First to second year retention increased to 77.3% in 2025 from 75.6% in 2024. “I think that we are in a very competitive environment where enrollment is critical to our university,” said Dean Kahler, the vice provost for strategic enrollment management, in an
email interview with The Argonaut. The Washington Post reported U.S. colleges or universities were closing at a rate of one per week in 2024 due to declines in enrollment. So far, 25 colleges have closed or merged in 2025. Nationwide, college enrollment peaked in 2010 and has been declining since. UI’s highest enrollment was 12,416 students in 2012. “We are bucking a national trend and navigating some very challenging enrollment times. Many other university administrators across the nation would love to be enjoying the success we have realized,” Kahler said. International enrollment declined from 820 students
in 2024 to 709 students in 2025. The Trump administration halted all visa interviews on May 27 for 46 weeks and required a more in-depth review to be performed on international students. According to Kahler, UI has employed recruitment strategies aimed at enrolling local high school students. Idaho resident undergraduate student enrollment increased by 5% from 2024 and Western Undergraduate Exchange enrollment increased by 6%. The WUE program provides a tuition discount to students outside Idaho to all states and regions in the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. “We remain committed to recruiting outstanding Idaho students, and our
growing retention rates show that our support systems are working,” UI President Scott Green wrote in a letter on Oct. 24, 2025. Total enrollment numbers include dualcredit high school students enrolled in college courses, which number 1,989 students. When excluded, enrollment is up 2.6% with 10,849 students. Total graduate student enrollment is 2,021, up 0.5% from 2,010 students in fall 2024. Of that, 1,382 students are enrolled in master’s degree programs. Notably, the College of Law grew by 9.8% with 502 students, up from 457 in 2024, which marks the largest first-year class for the law school.
The University of Idaho will need to lay off 28 “essential” full-time faculty and staff to meet new budget requirements in Fiscal Year 2027, according to budget documents published by the Idaho Division of Financial Management on Oct. 17. To meet the ongoing reduction of 3% from the state budget in FY2027, UI plans to reach a total $3.4 million reduction. Of that, $3,147,500 will be personnel costs. UI has calculated that number to be equal to 28.17 full-time positions. However, the Idaho legislature still has to approve the 3% proposed cut, and it’s unclear at this time what the reduction amount will be and how UI will enact these future cuts, according to Brian Foisy, the vice president for the Division of Finance and Administration at UI. Faculty reductions will “directly [harm] our students by negatively impacting student learning outcomes, retention rates and graduation timelines. Our students will face increased financial pressures and be less prepared to join Idaho’s workforce,” UI wrote in the attached narrative. Fewer faculty will result in larger class sizes and reduced research activities, according to UI, and fewer staff members will negatively impact student success and decrease educational quality. “Reductions in information technology staff weaken cybersecurity safeguards, putting the institution at heightened financial and reputational risks. Reductions in financial shared services reduces our ability to identify and implement university-wide training and efficiencies,” UI wrote. “The example of 28
positions was used to illustrate the scale of potential personnel cost reductions based on average salary and fringe in OIT and financial shared services; however, no specific positions have been identified, and no decisions have been made,” Foisy wrote in an email to The Argonaut. “The number of positions needed to be eliminated was calculated based on our average salary and related fringe: on average it would take the elimination of 28 positions in order to reach the needed personnel cost reduction,” Foisy said. “OIT and financial shared services were used as examples; however, there are still unknowns related to the reductions.” In the attached budget sheets, UI listed the current year’s, FY2026, budgeted personnel costs at $163,835,885. In FY2027, those appropriations will decrease to $159,427,300. Also on the list of reductions is $148,000 of operating expenses and $104,700 of capital outlay, or funds allocated toward long-term physical assets like buildings or land. Reduced spending in these areas “will impact professional development, hindering our ability to adapt to evolving student needs and technological advancements” and lead to “delayed replacement of equipment, increasing the risk of failure and emergency replacement,” according to the narrative. The upcoming FY2027 reductions will go into effect on July 1, 2026, at the beginning of the fiscal year. However, although the governor’s office ordered the reduction for FY2026 and said cuts would continue into FY2027, the Idaho legislature will make the final decision. “As a result, we do not yet know the final reduction amount and may not know it until midspring. Decisions will be made and announced as soon as possible once final reduction amounts are known,” Foisy said.
Food stamps to be delayed due to govt. shutdown Idaho residents encouraged to visit food pantries and donation centers Scarlet Herway ARGONAUT The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will be delayed for the month of November as a result of the federal government shutdown and funding lapse, according to the Idaho Department of News, 1-4
Life, 5-7
Health and Welfare. This does not include WIC, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children. SNAP helps low-income individuals or families cover essential food-related expenses and has benefited more than 41.7 million Americans, or about 12.3% of the total population in the U.S. In Idaho, 6.5% of the population received SNAP benefits in 2024.
Election, 9-11
Sports, 12-13
Opinion, 14-15
In Latah County, 1,836 people, or 4.65% of the county’s population, received SNAP benefits. The U.S. government has been shut down for four weeks due to lawmakers in Congress failing to reach an agreement on funding legislation. General funding will not be available until the government resumes operations. President Donald Trump has decided not to use backup funds for SNAP Gallery, 8, 16
benefits. Attorney generals for 22 states, including Washington state, the District of Colombia and three state governors, have sued the Trump administration for “illegally suspending SNAP benefits.” The USDA said contingency funds are not “legally available” due to congressional Democrats’ John Keegan | Argonaut
SEE SNAP, PAGE 2
The Vandal Food Pantry on campus is located in Shoup Hall University of Idaho
Volume 127, Issue no. 5
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