This section examines UB’s core financial operating activities, as defined by the university for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021. Information is reported on a cash basis and represents the combination of activity occurring in the funding sources noted below.

• State Operating (SO)
• Dormitory Income Fund Reimbursable (DIFR)
• Income Fund Reimbursable (IFR)
• State University Tuition Reimbursable (SUTRA)
• SUNY Universitywide  (allocated to UB cost center)
• Research Foundation (RF) facility and administrative cost recovery (indirect costs) and other revenue
• University at Buffalo Foundation, Inc., and Affiliates (designated operating accounts)

Operating revenues received in 2020-21 totaled $810 million.

• Tuition revenue of $303 million was the leading source of revenue (37%).
• State tax dollar support accounted for $143 million (18%).
• Revenue from student fees generated $102 million (13%).
• Other revenue categories as identified in the Operating Revenues chart accounted for $262 million (32%).

Operating expenses of $731 million for 2020-21 are displayed according to functional classification.

• Combined expenses for instruction, departmental research and academic support accounted for $412 million (56%).
• Institutional support of $49 million (7%) includes administrative activities that serve UB as a whole.
• Other expenses categories as identified in the Operating Expenses by Function chart totaled $270 million (37%).

UB receives state appropriation to support its core operating budget from a combination of state tax dollar support and revenues from tuition and certain other sources (campus-retained revenues). The university needs to receive both appropriation and cash to support the total state appropriation budget. 

State tax dollar support is categorized as support for the base budget, salary and utilities funding. This analysis excludes appropriation provided by the state for employee fringe benefit costs and debt service (as applicable), which are funded and paid directly by the state. 
Campus-retained revenues collected by UB are required to be transmitted to the state in return for state appropriation. These revenues include tuition, college fees and interest collections. 

In addition to state appropriations received to support UB’s core operating budget, UB receives appropriations earmarked for specific purposes. Prior to 2018-19, a portion of the university-wide appropriation received was included in the UB cost center. Beginning with 2018-19, all university-wide program resources are provided to UB via sub-allocation in the university-wide program’s cost center.

In addition to the $334.7 million in tuition revenue for undergraduate, graduate and professional programs, UB collects tuition revenues from overseas academic programs (OAP), summer session, winter session and contract courses that are excluded from this tuition analysis. As mandated by SUNY, tuition revenues for OAP, summer and winter sessions, and contract courses are reported separately from regular academic-year tuition.

The comprehensive fee is a consolidation of campus-required fees paid by students attending UB unless they meet waiver requirements. The components of the comprehensive fee are: athletics (undergraduate day students only), campus life, college, recreation (was included in athletics fee prior to 2016-17), student health, technology, transcript and transportation. The college fee component is excluded from the Comprehensive Fee Revenue chart because funding collected is transferred to the state and provided to the university as state appropriation. Additional information on the comprehensive fee can be found on UB’s Student Accounts Webpage – Comprehensive Fee.

Comprehensive fee revenue for prior years was updated due to change in GUSF reporting. 

Combined revenue from residence halls and apartments is the largest component of auxiliary enterprises operating revenue. Other activity reported in auxiliary enterprises revenue includes sales and services, campus store operations, intercollegiate athletics and transportation.

Revenue from residence halls is accounted for in Dormitory Income Fund Reimbursable (DIFR) state accounts, along with interest and investment income. Revenue from on-campus apartment rentals is administered through the University at Buffalo Foundation Faculty-Student Housing Corporation. Residence hall and apartment revenue must be spent on dorm operations. UB offers a wide variety of on-campus housing options at various costs that are designed around the needs of the students.

Various activities conducted at UB produce revenues that are used to enhance UB’s operations. The revenues are accounted for in Income Fund Reimbursable (IFR) accounts, State University Tuition Reimbursable accounts (SUTRA), UB Foundation (UBF) and Research Foundation (RF) through June 30, 2021. 

These activities are grouped into five categories:

• Sales and Services
• Other Student Fees
• RF Salary Recovery
• Investment Income
• Other Miscellaneous Revenues

Sales and services revenue generating activities include rentals (excluding housing), continuing education, dental clinics, student health insurance, student orientation, inventions and licenses.

Activity revenues received by campus units in 2020-21 totaled $436.3 million.  Investment income growth during this reporting period is attributed to favorable market fluctuations that occurred as a result of investment market volatility during the global pandemic. 

Sponsored research programs generate two types of costs: direct costs and F&A costs (indirect costs). The indirect cost rate is calculated and assessed according to federal cost accounting standards. The calculated amount is recovered by UB and is used to support decanal units, several administrative units, research incentive programs and various other financial commitments, and to cover an annual administrative assessment by the Research Foundation (RF).

Net F&A cost recovery collected in 2020-21 was $40.2 million, which was $7.3 million or 22% higher than the $32.9 million earned in 2016-17. Reasons for the considerable increase in indirect costs from 2016-17 were:

• Growth of $14.4 million or 14.9% in direct expenditures from federal sponsors. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the National Science Foundation had a combined increase of $10.8 million.
• A significant rise in the number of non-federal business, industry and foundation sponsors along with higher direct expenditures of $3.63 million or 7.69%.
• An additional $6.3 million received in investment income from RF in 2020-21.

The F&A cost recovery represents the amount earned rather than received as reported in Federal Grants and Contracts in UB’s Operating Revenues. In 2020-21, RF advanced UB $29.6 million for 2020-21 for 80% of initial estimated indirect earnings, along with $12.4 million which included investment funding of $5.7 million for the remaining 2019-20 balance. RF will pay the 2020-21 balance of $10.6 million plus earned investment income to UB in 2021-22.

This section reports on other financial activities within and outside of UB’s core operating activities. Analysis includes:

• UB’s Endowment Fund Investments
• UB Foundation Non-Employee Salary and Fringe
• Long-Term Debt Funded With Operating Dollars
• General University Service Fee
• Sponsored Research Activity

UB Foundation’s (UBF’s) endowment consists of 1,437 individual funds established for a variety of purposes, including both donor-restricted endowment funds and funds designated by UBF’s board of trustees to function as endowments. The endowment is managed as part of UBF’s long-term portfolio (‘LTP’) under the supervision of the UBF board’s investment committee.  The primary investment objectives are to preserve the inflation-adjusted purchasing power of the LTP, including the endowment, and maintain spending support of UB’s educational initiatives. A professional, independent investment advisor assists in the administration of the LTP, with performance monitored by the investment committee. UBF targets a diversified asset allocation that offers a high probability of achieving the investment objectives commensurate with acceptable risk parameters.

UB has entered into agreements to finance various capital facilities or large equipment purchases. Long-term debt outstanding at June 30, 2021, along with the current principal due in 2021-22 that will be paid by operating dollars as follows: 

A General University Service Fee (GUSF) of 13% is charged on external revenues that are deposited into State Income Fund Reimbursable (IFR), University at Buffalo Foundation (UBF), Research Foundation (RF) and Campus Dining & Shops (CDS) accounts (CDS balances transferred to IFR in 2016-17). GUSF revenue is a component of the university’s Financial Plan. Funds are committed through the Annual Resource Planning Process (ARPP).

Certain external revenue is subject to other fees. GUSF is not assessed on the following types of revenue as this could result in a fee that is assessed twice:

• Sponsored projects administered by RF when a Facility and Administrative (F&A) fee is assessed. 
• Dormitory Income Fund Reimbursable (DIFR) and apartment revenues, as they include administrative, maintenance and operation components.
• Revenue from affiliated external entities where an agency service fee exists.
• Gifts, as they are subject to a gift fee.
• Revenues and transfers by recognized student clubs and organizations.

UB is a research-intensive public university that administers its sponsored research grants and contracts through the SUNY Research Foundation. Grants and contracts are funded through both public and private organizations.

Each year the National Science Foundation (NSF) conducts a survey of research and development expenditures at colleges and universities across the country. Expenditures reported in this survey include not only externally funded research, but also research supported by various institutional funds and research conducted by UB faculty at affiliated institutions (CUBRC, Inc., Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute, Kaleida Health and Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center). The total expenditures for 2020-21 reported to NSF were $425.3 million. 

Expenditure activity for the university in 2020-21 was $188.6 million.  

• Federal, state and local and industry sponsors accounted for $149.4 million (79%).
• Other sponsors include foreign sponsors, nonprofit organizations and those that cannot be easily categorized into the other sponsor types.