SUMMARY

Net position provides a measure of overall financial condition. On the basis of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), UW System’s net position was $7.0 billion as of June 30, 2025. UW System total revenue increased from $7.0 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2023-24 to $7.3 billion in FY 2024-25, or by 4.6 percent. Student Tuition and Fees totaled $1.6 billion and accounted for 21.9 percent of UW System’s total revenue in FY 2024-25. UW System expenses increased from $6.6 billion in FY 2023-24 to $7.0 billion in FY 2024-25, or by 6.2 percent. Total Salary and Fringe Benefits was UW System’s largest expense and totaled $4.6 billion, or 65.7 percent of UW System’s total expenses in FY 2024-25.

As noted, total Salary and Fringe Benefits was UW System’s largest expense in FY 2024-25. In addition to faculty, UW employed individuals as:

• academic staff, who are professional and administrative employees with duties primarily associated with higher education institutions or their administration, including approximately 30.0 percent of whom have instructional duties;
• University staff, who work in a variety of positions that support UW’s operations, such as custodians and electricians, and were formerly known as classified staff; and
• limited appointees, who are specially appointed to designated administrative positions and serve at the pleasure of the authorized officials who made the appointments.

The total number of full- and part-time academic staff, University staff, faculty, and limited appointees increased from 35,323 in May 2024 to 35,440 in May 2025, or by 0.3 percent. The total number of UW employees increased at seven UW institutions and decreased at seven UW institutions. To provide greater context for salaries expense, our analysis is based on the numbers of UW employees paid rather than the number of authorized UW positions. In May 2025:

• 26.2 percent of full-time academic staff had annualized salaries that were less than $60,000, while 25.8 percent had annualized salaries of $90,000 or more;
• 17.9 percent of full-time University staff had annualized salaries that were less than $40,000, while 25.8 percent had annualized salaries of $65,000 or more;
• 22.9 percent of full-time faculty had annualized salaries that were less than $75,000, while 25.0 percent had annualized salaries of $150,000 or more; and
• 23.4 percent of full-time limited appointees had annualized salaries that were less than $95,000, while 24.9 percent had annualized salaries of $170,000 or more.

On a budgetary basis, UW System’s total program revenue balance was $1.7 billion as of June 30, 2025. Of that amount, $1.1 billion was from unrestricted sources, such as tuition and auxiliary operations. As of June 30, 2025, UW System’s unrestricted program revenue balances were 5.2 percent more than they were as of June 30, 2024. Program revenue balances from unrestricted sources increased at ten UW institutions and decreased at four UW institutions in FY 2024-25. Unrestricted program revenue balances ranged from $9.4 million at UW-Oshkosh to $477.3 million at UW-Madison.

Total tuition program revenue balances increased 19.6 percent from $247.4 million as of June 30, 2024, to $295.8 million as of June 30, 2025, including increases at 11 UW institutions. UW-Oshkosh had exhausted its tuition program revenue balance at the end of FY 2023-24 and reported a negative balance of $2.1 million at the end of FY 2024-25. 

Program revenue balances are reported for five revenue sources that do not have restrictions on their use, including tuition and auxiliary operations. Board of Regents policy requires UW institutions with positive balances in excess of 12.0 percent of fiscal year expenditures for tuition, auxiliary operations, and other unrestricted program revenue sources to provide a detailed spending plan and additional information for those balances. For FY 2024-25, 46 detailed spending plans were created for unrestricted balances that exceeded the 12.0 percent limit. All 14 UW institutions submitted a detailed spending plan for at least one unrestricted program revenue source. 

Since the inception of program revenue balance reporting in FY 2013-14 and through FY 2024-25, UW institutions prepared 526 spending plans. UW institutions prepared the most spending plans for auxiliary program revenue balances, including at seven UW institutions that reported a spending plan for auxiliary program revenue balances each year from FY 2013-14 through FY 2024-25. On average, UW institutions prepared 44 spending plans annually. The number of plans prepared ranged from 37 for FY 2021-22 to 50 for FY 2013-14.

During the course of our audit, we identified that UW-Madison did not deposit in the State’s Bond Security and Redemption Fund any of the proceeds from a July 2017 property sale until September 2024. Deposits to the Fund are required under s. 36.355, Wis. Stats., because the State had issued general purpose revenue debt to improve the property prior to the sale. At the time of the sale, the remaining principal and interest on the outstanding debt totaled $68,234. As of November 2025, $60,147 remained to be deposited by UW-Madison. We recommend that UW-Madison make the statutorily required deposit and take steps to improve.

First, UW System implemented a new enterprise resource planning system on July 1, 2025. UW System Administration needs to take steps to ensure the implementation of this system will not delay the compilation of its FY 2025-26 financial information for purposes of its financial reporting or delay financial reporting by the State of Wisconsin.

Second, 2025 Wisconsin Act 15 requires us to audit UW System’s compliance with a credits transfer policy that will be implemented on September 1, 2026.

Third, 2025 Wisconsin Act 15 requires us to audit UW System’s compliance with workload requirements that will begin on September 1, 2026, for certain UW instructional employees.