Tim Downs, senior vice president for finance and administration and chief financial officer, hosted his final Dollars and Sense meeting May 21. In a campus-wide email sent April 28, it was announced Downs will depart from Ithaca College to be the chief financial officer at the Institute for Advanced Study beginning June 15.

Over his nearly five years at IC, Downs has held Dollars and Sense sessions, meetings open to the entire IC community meant to increase engagement and transparency with the finances and operations of the college. At his final Dollars and Sense, Downs provided financial updates and outlined the Fiscal Year 2027 operating budget approved at the Board of Trustees meeting May 14 through 16.

2025-26 Budget Summary

In May 2025, the trustees had approved an operating deficit of $9.2 million for the 2025-26 academic year. Downs said the actual budget is forecasted to come in at a $7 million deficit.

Downs said focusing on revenue growth, recalculating the enrollment size of the college to be 4,500 students and budget cuts within various divisions at the college have all helped to decrease the deficit. Throughout the year, multiple departments on campus have had their budgets cut. It is unclear what budget cuts will look like in the future as the college aims to reduce the deficit to $4 million by FY 2027.

“This is the work of the entire campus,” Downs said. “Certainly over my time here I’ve been delighted that everyone has helped tighten the belt and understands the situation we’re in, and that absolutely does make a difference.”

2026-2027 Operating Budget

At the May Board of Trustees meeting, the trustees approved an expense budget of $213 million with a proposed revenue budget of $209 million. This means the college will be operating with a $4 million budget deficit as directed by the trustees at their February meeting.

The trustees also approved an endowment spending rate of 4.5% which translates to between $16 and 17 million that will be taken out of the endowment to go toward the operating budget.

Downs said the trustees had asked if more money could be taken from the endowment to support operating costs, but Downs said not enough money is being contributed to the endowment to make that feasible.

“[If] we just start drawing out more without bringing more in, we’re going to erode that,” Downs said. “We need future generations to get the same benefit we’re getting.”

The trustees also approved an almost $17 million capital expenditures budget. This budget is separate from the operating budget and is a one-time fund used for maintenance and updates around campus such as the Lower Quads residence hall renovations.

Revenue and Expenditures

Downs highlighted tuition revenue as an area where the college can increase their revenue gains. In FY 25/26, net revenue from full-time tuition decreased 1.33% due to decreases in enrollment. The college is 35 students short of its goal of enrolling 1,180 new students in Fall 2026 and the most recent graduating class was larger than any class in the last three years. The college is preparing for a drop in enrollment of 171 students. However, Downs said tuition revenue is expected to increase over the next four years as the enrollment stabilizes.

One factor that will increase revenue from tuition is decreasing the discount rate. In the 2025-26 academic year the discount rate for first-year students was 64.5%. In 2026-2027, that number will drop to 62%. Downs said the college’s overall discount rate for all students is in line with IC’s peer institutions.

“That’s a pretty good story, because for years that discount rate has just been doing nothing but growing,” Downs said. “This is something we’re looking at strategically. … These are things that are really important to understand, and certainly as we go into the next strategic plan, what is it that the cost of an IC education should be?”

In the draft of the FY 2026-2027 budget, net tuition revenue will increase by $6.3 million as compared to the FY 2025-2026 budget. In addition to the lower discount rate, this increase is due to a rise in the cost of tuition and increased revenue from the Speech-Language Pathology online graduate degree program.

“That has been fantastic and growing and those are things that we need to keep doing,” Downs said. “We want to make sure those things continue to flow because in three years, five years, 10 years, we need the next round of programming to help sustain our growth here.”

While tuition revenue is expected to increase in the FY 2026-2027 year, revenue from other sources is expected to decrease by $2 million. Due to the decline in enrollment, housing revenue is expected to see a $1.3 million decrease and board revenue is expected to see a $500,000 decrease.

Total net expenses for the FY 2026-2027 year are projected to be 0.6% higher than in the previous year because of a 3% salary increase for college employees, increased cost of the online SLP degree program and implementation of various division initiatives.

Downs said that despite operating in a budget deficit, the college has maintained a strong balance sheet by maintaining cash, reserves and the endowment.

“I know a lot of people say, ‘Oh my gosh, is Ithaca College in trouble?’” Downs said. “They are not, they have a strong balance sheet. That doesn’t mean there’s not work to be done … but this balance sheet is what gives us a foundation to absolutely build from.”

Downs’ career at IC

Downs started at the college in August 2021. Over his time he submitted five budgets to the Board of Trustees totaling almost $50 million of deficit. In actual losses, these budgets resulted in a $16.7 million deficit. Downs said he hopes the college has gotten over its biggest hurdles and will be able to reach budget neutrality by FY 2028.

“My mark in history will be getting the worst budgets in Ithaca College’s history approved,” Downs said. “There will be a plaque somewhere I’m sure.”

Melanie Stein, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, gave a farewell message of appreciation to Downs. Stein said she and Downs were able to form a productive collaboration due to Downs’ openness to feedback and conversation.

“Tim is so genuinely curious about everything and so deeply respectful of the mission of this institution that honestly it was easy to build a true partnership,” Stein said. “He is a collaborator and a real leader. He has communicated with clarity and with transparency as we have moved together through these challenges.”