University Budget

The New School’s priority is to maintain the quality of our world-class education, which inspires and prepares our graduates to create a more just, more beautiful, and better-designed world.

The information below provides insights into and background on the costs of operating and maintaining The New School and the way our budget work, led by the University Budget Committee, is carried out. 

Expenses

Our university is based in the heart of New York City, which provides remarkable opportunities for our students. New York is also one of the most expensive cities in the world. In fiscal year* 2022 (FY22), The New School spent $460 million to operate the university. Our largest expenditures centered on faculty and staff salaries and space-related costs. The pie chart below provides a breakdown of expenses for FY22.

Salaries and Benefits

Our most valuable resources are our knowledgeable and dedicated faculty and staff. Accordingly, salaries and benefits for personnel make up almost two thirds of our total expenses.* Full-time and part-time faculty salaries and benefits make up 49 percent of the total personnel expenditures by the university.

Facilities

We offer world-class performance and making facilities, which allow students across the university to learn, create, and inspire. Our space-related costs make up 25 percent of our total expenses.

In recent years, the university has invested in infrastructure to reinforce our commitment to providing our students with the best academic and residential experience possible while increasing our financial sustainability. In March 2022, the university purchased the Stuyvesant Park Residence Hall for $124.5 million, with the goal of renovating and updating the residence hall. The newly renovated residence hall will reopen for the 2024–2025 academic year with upgraded mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems, redesigned kitchens and bathrooms, and improved student amenities. 

In addition to improving our students’ residential experience, the purchase and renovation of the building have saved the university money: The annual costs of borrowing to purchase and renovate the building are lower than the amount the university previously spent to rent the building.

Education

We are dedicated to promoting academic scholarship that goes beyond the conventional, offering students what we believe is a truly new educational experience. In FY22, 59 percent of the university’s expenditures were allocated to academic programs. This allocation covers everything from faculty salaries and research to new programs, all of which keep the university at the front line of creative, interdisciplinary, and experimental pedagogy.

Student Support

Over the last 20 years, we have steadily increased the scholarships and financial aid awarded to students, both in amount of support and as a percentage of tuition revenue. In 2002, the university awarded $30.3 million, or 21.5 percent of tuition revenue, in financial aid and scholarships. In FY22, we awarded more than $154 million, or 32 percent of tuition revenue.

Revenues

The New School received $471.5 million in revenue in 2022. Like other private universities, we do not receive significant funding from the federal or state government, and a large proportion of our revenues come from tuition. This means that we are a tuition-dependent university. More than 70 percent of our revenue comes from graduate, undergraduate, and non-degree student tuition (net* of financial aid).

The university continues to explore ways to increase revenues from non-degree programs—including continuing and executive education—and is pursuing business opportunities to reduce the university’s dependence on tuition. As part of this important work, the University Budget Committee recently issued a call for proposals for initiatives from the community, asking members to imagine new and innovative ways to generate revenue that align with the university’s mission and vision.

*A net amount is the amount remaining after costs or discounts are deducted.

University Budget Committee

The University Budget Committee (UBC) oversees the development of the university’s annual budget, resulting in a recommended budget that is provided to the President’s leadership team, the Finance Committee of the Board of Trustees, and the full Board of Trustees and that is in alignment with the university’s mission, vision, values and Strategic Plan.

The UBC membership includes representatives of university leadership and four full-time faculty members (three representing the University Faculty Senate and one appointed by the provost and EVP for Academic Affairs). The committee has recently been expanded for a period of at least 18 months to include a staff senator, a member of the part-time faculty, and student trustees. Temporarily renamed the Expanded University Budget Committee (UBC+), the committee allows for shared governance over the university’s budget development, policies, and practices.

More information about the committee can be found on the University Budget Committee page of the Financial Transparency Council’s website.

Financial Transparency Council

The Financial Transparency Council (FTC) is a body with representation from each of The New School’s colleges, its administrative departments and offices, and the student, faculty, and staff senates.

The  FTC’s purpose is to facilitate a broader and deeper understanding of The New School’s finances, budget, and budgetary process across the community; to develop and share communication about the budget; and to advocate for transparent processes that reflect The New School’s mission and vision. To accomplish this, the FTC collaborates with members of the University Budget Committee and Finance and Business to provide students, staff, and faculty with clear information and background on the university’s finances and financial health, revenue sources, resource allocation, and expenditures, and the underlying processes and governance structures through which decisions are made.

Learn More

For more information on the university’s budget, expenses, and revenue, please visit the Financial Transparency Council website.