At the May 30 meeting, the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education allocated FY26 state appropriations for the state system of higher education and expressed their gratitude for the retention of funds for campus property insurance premiums, acceleration of funding to help address deferred maintenance at public higher education institutions, and ongoing support of the Oklahoma’s Promise scholarship program.
“Building the state budget is a complex process, and we thank our legislators and Gov. Stitt for advancing state investment to meet deferred maintenance needs at our colleges and universities,” said State Regents’ chair Dennis Casey. “Consistent with our Blueprint 2030 strategic plan, public higher education’s FY26 budget reflects our commitment to producing workforce-ready graduates, growing the student pipeline, and facilitating student success.”
State Regents received $23.9 million in state appropriations, representing a 2.34% increased investment by legislators and the Governor over FY25; $70.7 million for the Oklahoma’s Promise scholarship, following the transition of funding for the program from a direct legislative apportionment to the State Regents; and $101.3 million in expedited continued capital funding for campus deferred maintenance projects.
Institutional operating allocations for FY26 include continuing targeted investments in campus-based workforce development initiatives in high-demand fields such as engineering, computer science, data analytics, and nursing. In FY23, the State Regents allocated $11.5 million to Oklahoma’s public colleges and universities from funds designated to incentivize increased production of STEM and healthcare graduates. This funding was awarded with the understanding that at the end of a three-year period, funds could be reallocated based on credit hour production and degrees conferred in those critical occupations. After a review of performance metrics, those funds have been redistributed among the institutions for FY26 and are considered “at-risk” based on degree production over the next three academic years.
“A review of the composition of Oklahoma’s 100 critical occupations shows the majority of those jobs – including the 22 highest paying jobs and 8 of the 10 jobs in the fastest-growing fields – require a college degree,” said Chancellor Sean Burrage. “As demand for more degree-holders continues to grow, the state system of higher education will continue driving workforce and economic development.”
State Regents also allocated funding in FY26 to address increasing campus property and casualty insurance premiums and for financial aid and scholarship programs to support college degree completion, such as concurrent enrollment and pending enactment, the new Rising Scholars Award program. Targeted funds were allocated for special institutional initiatives, including an intensive K-12 mathematics tutoring program at the University of Oklahoma (pending enactment), a STEM education facility and cybersecurity plan at Cameron University, and the Forensic Science Institute at the University of Central Oklahoma.
For public colleges and universities, the next step in the budget process is to formulate their operating budgets for FY26. Following approval by institutional governing boards, the State Regents will consider these proposed operating budgets at the June 26 meeting.