The Florida State University Board of Trustees approved a $3 billion operating budget for the 2024-2025 fiscal year, marking a 14.3 percent increase and the largest in the university’s history.

The Florida State University (FSU) Board of Trustees approved a $3 billion operating budget for the 2024-2025 fiscal year last week, representing a 14.3 percent increase from the previous year and the largest budget in the university’s history.

In the budget’s announcement, FSU says that new it includes state funding for key initiatives that will be used to retain and hire faculty, staff, and graduate students, recruit additional research faculty, enhance financial aid packages, acquire equipment for new and existing facilities, and upgrade IT infrastructure. A portion of the budget will also support FSU Health.

The 2024-2025 budget also allocates $519 million for capital projects, including renovations for Doak Campbell Stadium, construction of Legacy Hall for the College of Business, a new Football Operations Facility, the FSU Health Academic Health Center, and the Interdisciplinary Research and Commercialization Building.

“This budget will help us advance our bold agenda and pursue the ambitious goals outlined in our strategic plan,” said FSU President Richard McCullough in a prepared statement. “These funds will allow us to create more opportunities for our students, retain and hire outstanding faculty and staff, and make a positive difference in the state of Florida and beyond.”

The university noted in it’s announcement that despite the budget increase, it has not raised tuition fees for 11 years, maintaining its status as “one of the most affordable and high-quality institutions” in the nation. In the 2022-2023 academic year, 86.3 percent of full-time undergraduates received some form of non-loan student financial aid.

According to the FSU Center for Economic Forecasting and Analysis, the university’s operating budget contributes an estimated $15.5 billion to the local and state economies annually. This includes approximately $5.8 billion in direct revenue or sales, over $174 million from non-resident student spending, and $9.5 billion in lifetime earnings by recent FSU graduates from the fiscal year 2019-2020.