December 15, 2023

Update on Proposed FY25 Budget and Financial Plan and Capital Budget Request

The University of the District of Columbia (UDC) would like to share an update regarding our proposed FY 2025 Budget and Financial Plan and Capital Budget Request, which was approved by the UDC Board of Trustees on November 7, 2023. The Board of Trustees is required to submit to the DC Mayor a budget and proposed financial operating plan for each fiscal year, as well as a capital and educational improvements plan for that fiscal year and the four fiscal years that follow.

UDC is actively building on its many recent achievements to establish itself as a leading University. That mission is supported and sustained with ongoing investments that aim to boost student success outcomes, enhance academic and workforce alignment and provide meaningful service to the community.

Among our budget priorities are expanding core functions that support student success; allocating resources to create a healthy campus environment and maintain faculty excellence; prioritizing high-need workforce pipelines; and supporting UDC’s bold vision for its future.

With these goals in mind, the FY 2025 Proposed Operating and Capital Budget includes several key proposals:

• Establishing a student success center focused on elevating student success outcomes through wrap-around support services, academic advising, career preparation and other measures
• Boosting faculty compensation to keep pay competitive, attract new faculty and retain existing faculty, as well as develop a faculty support system to ensure on-the-job productivity and satisfaction
• Enhancing our workforce development capabilities, with new faculty in high-demand academic programs, improvements to classroom technology, new opportunities for experiential learning and other efforts
• Providing new student housing options on the Van Ness campus
• Upgrading infrastructure and modernizing classrooms and laboratories
• Renovating and expanding classrooms and offices, and upgrading infrastructure at Firebird Farm in Beltsville, MD
• Rebuilding Buildings 44 & 46W. The University has submitted significant capital requests to the District for $50M for Building 46W and $90M for Building 44. Each request highlights the severity of the dilapidation of the physical infrastructure of these buildings. The institution’s goal is to preserve the integrity of the campus by upgrading essential facilities that will support our mission. However, in the case of Building 44 and 46W, a complete rebuild may be the most cost-effective means to ensure the University achieves its goal of creating state-of-the-art facilities. It should be noted that the University’s capital budget request is not a guarantee that funding will be made available to support rebuilding these facilities. The budget process is extensive, and there are multiple layers of approvals, which include the Mayor, the Council of the District of Columbia, the Office of Budget and Planning and the Office of the City Administrator.
• Purchasing our Old Congress Heights campus (currently leased) and the land rights to 4250 Connecticut Avenue NW, which is currently under the authority of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

The proposed budget is among several efforts the University is embarking on to modernize and elevate its campuses, including supporting the proposed DC Archives project and upgrading our Lamond-Riggs campus as laid out in our Campus Master Plans.

UDC remains committed to working with District leaders to create and maintain state-of-the-art facilities that provide a learning environment competitive with institutes of higher learning across the region and the country. Our students deserve the best possible facilities as we prepare them for lifelong careers as changemakers contributing to the public good.

If you have any questions, concerns, or require additional information, please contact the Vice President of the Office of Facilities and Real Estate Management, Javier Dussan at javier.dussan@udc.edu.