SOU VITALITY PLAN

Collaborative process for SOU to sustain its presence and impact for students and the region

Recommendations for SOU

Thank you for taking the time to share actionable and implementable ideas and frameworks, which offer viable alternatives to the recommendations of the Option Path to Fiscal Sustainability. We welcome submissions from students, staff, trustees, community members and leaders, alumni, donors and government leaders. Objectives to consider are:

Meets the Target in achieving the cost savings of $20M per year of an approximately $100M organization
Mindful of current and future environment for higher education
Urgent and actionable for implementation in a year or less.
Student centered
Unique identity and values reflection of SOU and southern Oregon region
Transformational and frame-breaking
Integrated with community employers and stakeholders more than ever before
Selflessness and focused on university preservation

Recommendations for SOU

Timeline

View the decision timeline model in visual format. The written detailed timeline is below:

April 17, 2026, 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Regular Board of Trustees Meeting

April 28, 2026, 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Special Meeting of the Board of Trustees
Plan Preview, Themes and Key Findings

May 4, 2026, morning
Option for Path to Sustainability – plan issuance
Full Written Plan in Slide Form

May 4, 2026, 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Presentation on Option for Path to Sustainability – webinar presentation
Public online webinar

May 5, 2025, 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Special Meeting of the Board of Trustees
Board Listening Session (invited and public testimony)

May 8, 2026, 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Special Meeting of the Board of Trustees
Deloitte Presentation & Board of Trustees Decision (invited testimony only)

May 11, 2026
Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) Letter to Legislative Fiscal Office (LFO) for June Emergency-Board
Deadline for LFO Emergency Board requests for June 2026 meeting

May 21, 2026, 10:00 am – 11:30 am
Transformation Advisory Committee
View the recording. View the meeting materials.

June 2, 2026, 10:00 am – 11:30 am
Transformation Advisory Committee

June 16, 2026, 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Special Meeting of the Board of Trustees
Board’s Initial Review of the Vitality Plan

June 17, 2026
Legislative Fiscal Office Emergency-Board Meeting

June 18, 2026, 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Regular Board of Trustees Meeting

Materials

Vitality Working Group Materials
Academic Portfolio
Administrative Footprint and Back Office

Presentation on Option for Path to Sustainability
View the options document here. Watch back the recording here.
May 4th Webinar Presentation

Plan Preview, Themes and Key Findings
View slides here (footnotes and change log located at the end). View the recording and presentation here.
April 28th Board of Trustees Meeting

Board Update on Financial Sustainability Project
View slides here. View the recording and presentation here.
April 17th Board of Trustees Meeting

Deliverable 1 – Project Kickoff Memorandum
Confirmed scope, data request, project timeline, and partner engagement plan.

FAQ and Resources

Background

Structural defects in SOU’s day-to-day and year-to-year funding formula have been apparent for the past several years, and the university took aggressive action to address those problems with its SOU Forward and Resiliency Plan cost-cutting and restructuring initiatives of 2023 and 2025. However, the depth of those underlying structural flaws – which had been obscured by a combination of one-time funding infusions, a difficult Workday transition and other factors – became apparent through a new round of financial modeling early this year.

Fundamentally, SOU’s ongoing financial challenges are the same as those facing all eight of Oregon’s public universities: revenue from enrollment has continued to decline over time, state funding remains insufficient and operational costs – many of them determined at the state level – have steadily climbed. But SOU’s immediate issue is acute – its most recent cash-flow projections anticipated financial insolvency later in 2026.

SOU took immediate steps, implementing protective measures such as hiring and travel freezes, limits on services and supplies spending, and an evaluation of how to best leverage current one-time funds. But much more substantial action was required, and the governor, legislative leaders, the Higher Education Coordinating Commission and local legislators acknowledged SOU’s regional and statewide importance by pushing a one-time appropriation through the Oregon Legislature’s 2026 short session that will resolve short-term cash-flow issues through June 2027.

That legislation also included an appropriation to the HECC, to contract with a consultant and help SOU develop a plan for long-term stability, through the 2027-29 biennium and beyond. Deloitte Consulting LLC, a global consulting firm with substantial experience in higher education, has been hired to collaborate with SOU, the HECC and others on that detailed, long-term operational plan that must be completed by April 30 (now May 4 as negotiated by Higher Education Coordinating Commission and Deloitte).

What are the objectives and Statement of Work for the Option Path analysis?

The charge of Deloitte is to, “conduct a strategic and financial assessment to help the Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) and Southern Oregon University (SOU) establish a fact-based, decision-ready path forward given SOU’s forecasted negative cash balance by spring 2027. Deloitte will work with HECC and SOU to develop a long-term structural financial model, including scenarios, key assumptions and sensitivity analyses, to define a practical path to a balanced budget consistent with legislative direction. In parallel, Deloitte will assess SOU programs and functions that are ‘specifically meaningful to southern Oregon or the state,’ evaluating sustainability and mission alignment and assisting HECC and SOU in their efforts to identify activities that may be preserved, consolidated, restructured or discontinued to support long-term delivery capacity.

“Deloitte will conduct an initial evaluation of how SOU can sustainably support higher education needs in Oregon, and specifically in the southern Oregon region. Deloitte will consider whether SOU can accomplish this goal as an independent, stand-alone institution, and will also consider alternative structures and partnership pathways. This analysis will be completed in collaboration with the SOU board and staff, HECC staff and, as appropriate, other Oregon higher education institutions. Deloitte will compare operational models and provide an initial view of feasibility informed by the financial model and program sustainability results, as determined by HECC and SOU.”

View the Full Statement of Work

Was Artificial Intelligence used in the work on the Option Plan?

In the Statement of Work, which serves as a contract between the Higher Education Coordinating Commission (client) and Deloitte Consulting (vendor), there is a specific assumption laid out that, “Deloitte shall not use any Artificial Intelligence tools in performing services under this Contract, without HECC’s prior written approval” (p. 8).

Overview on Applicable and Related Legislation

House Bill 5024 is a wide-ranging appropriations bill that includes a $15 million investment in one-time funding to assist SOU with cash flow through the biennium ending June 30, 2027. The bill also includes a $500,000 appropriation to the Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) to contract with a consultant to help SOU develop a long-term stability plan.

SOU must submit a detailed, long-term operational plan to the HECC by April 30 (now May 4 as negotiated by Higher Education Coordinating Commission and Deloitte). The plan, to be developed collaboratively with the consultant hired by the HECC, must show how SOU will achieve a balanced budget and fiscal stability for the 2027-29 biennium and beyond.
SOU will be required to provide monthly financial statements and updated cash flow forecasts beginning in May of this year to the HECC, the Department of Administrative Services, and the Legislative Fiscal Office, ensuring that needs are accurately being predicted.

House Bill 4124, sponsored by Rep. Marsh, requires the HECC to work with a private consultant to conduct an additional study on the future of higher education in the state. The study will examine all of Oregon’s seven public universities and 17 community colleges to identify potential long-term fiscal sustainability options for the state. A draft report is due to the state in mid-October of this year, with a final report in April 2027 – which will likely have implications for structural considerations and funding priorities of higher education institutions statewide.

Data Set SOU Provided for Option Path analysis

You can view the the data, along with a simpledirectory that was used in the Option Path analysis.

Cash Flow Projections

This version of the FY 2026-2029 Cash Flow Projection (dated Mar 31, 2026) is the most up-to-date and is the version that is currently being utilized.

Working and Decision Framework Structure

This Organizational Structure was developed to frame the work and decision flows that must be completed by April 30 (now May 4 as negotiated by Higher Education Coordinating Commission and Deloitte). This incredibly fast timeline requires a structure that prioritizes SOU’s value on shared governance and collaboration while allowing movement with efficiency and speed.

Campus-wide Communication Feed

View all the Campus-wide Communication below.

Contact the Office of the President

SOU Office of the President
1250 Siskiyou Blvd.
Ashland, OR 97520
Office: 541.552.6111
presidentsoffice@sou.edu