Interim Vice President for Finance Reka Wrynn announced to the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) on Wednesday that the University of Connecticut had reduced its budget deficit from $37.9 million to $12.6 million, adding that tuition and fees were likely to increase.
“We don’t have those exact amounts yet, but yeah, it’s inflation,” Wrynn said. “The cost of things goes up. But I will say that the university is committed to any time we increase tuition and fees that there is an increase in the financial aid bucket.”
A photo indicating a budget deficit. The University of Connecticut is operating under a deficit this fiscal year. Photo courtesy of Stock Go.
The university is in the process of implementing what Wrynn called a financial sustainability plan consisting of three key pillars: growing enrollment, resource reallocation and personnel optimization and reduction, adding that the “guiding principle” of these initiatives was to keep students from being “negatively impacted.”
“We want to hear back from you,” Wrynn said. “If you know you’re being negatively impacted, we want to hear that, so you know certainly we’ll look into them.”
Wrynn announced that UConn plans to increase enrollment by 4,000 students over the next five years. Multiple senators questioned this initiative, citing a housing crisis on the Storrs campus along with shrinking access to amenities like areas for students to study.
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Wrynn said that there was no housing crisis at UConn, saying there were plenty of empty beds available across UConn’s multiple campuses.
“Don’t believe everything you read. We have plenty of empty beds this year,” Wrynn said. “At the Storrs campus, in Stamford, in Hartford, we have empty beds right now. So, we would like to grow enrollment to fill those beds.”
When pressed by one senator regarding the number of available beds on the Storrs campus, Wrynn said she believed there were roughly 550 available beds on the campus. Wrynn added that a private development just outside of campus was also underway to provide more housing for students, in addition to housing expansions at the Hartford and Stamford campuses.
Other senators questioned Wrynn regarding student access to study spaces on campus, which Wrynn claims there are plenty of, according to data given to her by the Dean of the UConn Library.
Senators challenged Wrynn’s claim and said they frequently had to search every floor of the library to find space to study. One senator brought forward concerns about the accessibility of spaces known as study pods, which are inaccessible to some students due to their raised nature.
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Wrynn added that resources would be reallocated to “our high priority areas,” to ensure they experience as little cuts as possible.
A senator representing the African American Cultural Center (AACC) asked Wrynn why so many black organizations had experienced such large cuts to their budgets. Wrynn said it was because those organizations were not a part of those high priority areas.
“Primarily non-academic funds were the funds that were swept,” Wrynn said. “I would have to dig into the specific case to see, you know, maybe to step back a little bit in that there’s only so much money, right, to spread around and things get more expensive every year, whether it’s the travel or whatever the event is that you’re looking to participate in.”
photo of Connecticut Hall, the newest addition to UConn’s South Campus in Storrs, Conn. Despite the additional housing provided by the new building, multiple sources have claimed the university is undergoing a housing crisis. Photo by Sydney Chandler/The Daily Campus
Wrynn also spoke on UConn’s loss of federal research grants since the change in administration. The university had 63 of its grants terminated, which provided $41.3 million in funding for ongoing and future research.
Wrynn said that UConn is in the process of shifting its research priorities to be in line with the priorities of the Trump administration, something she says is usually procedure.
“We are pivoting as we do every four years when there’s a new administration,” Wrynn said. “We tend to pivot and realign our research priorities with the priorities of that administration and seek out research awards that are along uh those lines.”
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Those research priorities include national security, quantum information science, biosciences, artificial intelligence and health, wellness and quality of life, according to Wrynn.
Senators asked Wrynn what UConn’s research priorities were during the Biden administration to make the shift in priorities clearer to students. Wrynn said she was not familiar with those priorities herself but said they were published somewhere online.
A UConn Today article from September 2021 lists genomics and neuroscience, climate studies, cybersecurity, energy, personalized medicine, cancer detection and care, manufacturing innovations among others as previous research priorities.
In addition to federal cuts, Wrynn mentioned the constant funding risk from the state government, which can reduce UConn’s funding by up to five percent without the approval of the legislature, according to her.
“That’s always a risk in our budget,” Wrynn said. “If they should choose to do that throughout the year for any given reason, then that would create an additional reduction in our budget. And so, we just continue to remind people of that risk.”
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State funding dropped to $268.2 million in Fiscal Year 26 from $319.5 in Fiscal Year 25. $95.7 million, or 18% of FY 25 funds were denoted as temporary support.
Wrynn said the university expected another $15 million decrease in state funding for FY 27 but had submitted a request for $12 million to be put back into permanent funding.
While the university is operating under a deficit this financial year, Wrynn said that UConn still had the funds to cover current expenses for the time being.
According to Wrynn, the university has a balance of cash funds set aside for circumstances like this, similar to a savings account. But those funds are limited according to Wrynn.
“As you all know, when you spend that money down from your savings account, that’s one time funding,” Wrynn said. “It can Band-Aid the problem for one year, but once you spend it, it’s gone. And so, it doesn’t solve any problems.”
Reader question: My spouse has little interest in our financial position. As we age, this concerns me. I try to share some basic information (income, spending, account balances, debt, and so on) each month but rarely get a response. I think graphs or charts might be of more interest to her than a bunch of numbers. What recommendations would you have for illustrating our financial position so that I am not the only person aware of how we are situated? Thanks!
Answer: Your situation is pretty common. Most couples I know develop a division of labor over time, where one person is in charge of financial matters and the other person is less involved. That’s definitely the case for my husband and me. He’s in charge of paying all the monthly bills and preparing our tax returns, but the financial planning and investment decisions are up to me. This type of arrangement might work well for a long time, but can become less sustainable with age, particularly if the “finance person” in the relationship dies or develops a major health issue.
Online tools and mind maps
Illustrating your financial situation with charts and graphs is a great idea that might help your spouse become a little more involved. Morningstar’s Portfolio X-Ray tool includes a variety of images that help illustrate your financial situation. Websites for most major brokerage firms also include some visual tools. Schwab, for example, offers a Portfolio Checkup and a bar graph illustrating your account’s monthly income from dividends and interest income. Vanguard has a Portfolio Watch tool and a variety of performance illustrations, tools, and calculators.
A mind map, which we used with clients when I worked for a financial advisory firm, can be another way to picture your entire financial situation on one page. There are various softwaretemplates for drawing a mind map, or you can simply sketch it out with a large sheet of paper and a pencil. Start with your names at the center of the page. Then draw spokes connecting to various categories, such as names of other family members; investment accounts; real estate and other assets, insurance policies, estate plans, key goals and values, and contact information for accountants, estate planners, and other professionals. It can be helpful to go through the mind map together and make any updates needed at least once a year.
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Other ways to communicate about money
A few other ideas—though not related to charts and graphs—might also be useful.
I like the idea of putting together a net worth statement that itemizes cash, taxable accounts, real estate, retirement accounts, and debt for each member of the couple as well as items owned jointly. It’s a good idea to update this document at least once a year and discuss it as a couple. If you set up the document as a spreadsheet, you can include columns with additional information such as account numbers, what each account is used for, which accounts are subject to required minimum distributions, or tax issues like potential capital gains.
Many couples also put together a binder (sometimes humorously called a “Doomsday Book”) that contains information about where to find important paperwork, insurance policies, how bills are paid, what each account is for, steps the surviving spouse will need to take, final wishes, and any other critical information.
A well-qualified financial adviser can bridge the information gap
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Finally, you could consider working with a good financial adviser, who can help involve your spouse in financial matters while you’re still living and step in to fully manage investments and personal finance decisions if you pass away before your spouse. Make sure the adviser holds the Certified Financial Planner designation and charges fees that are reasonable. Although a 1% fee is still the industry standard for accounts of $1 million or less, it’s possible to find advisers who charge significantly less, including a few who price their services based on hours worked instead of a percentage of assets under management.
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This article was provided to The Associated Press by Morningstar. For more personal finance content, go to https://www.morningstar.com/personal-finance.
Amy C. Arnott, CFA, is a portfolio strategist for Morningstar and co-host of The Long View podcast.
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Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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If you have ever taken out a mortgage, you’ll know there are a lot of requirements to meet. You may need to put down a certain amount and have a debt-to-income ratio below a certain threshold. You may also run into limits on how much you can borrow or what sources of income the lender will count.
These rules do not apply to all mortgages — just to conforming mortgages, which is what the majority of borrowers take out. However, mortgage lenders are increasingly offering what are known as nonconforming loans, or mortgages that do not “comply with every one of the strict standards put in place after the housing crisis,” said The Wall Street Journal. While “still a small portion,” the “share of mortgages using alternative lending practices” has “doubled in size over the past three years.”
What are nonconforming loans?
A nonconforming mortgage is a “type of home loan that doesn’t meet some or all of the guidelines that make them eligible for purchase by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,” said Bankrate. These are the government-sponsored entities that “support much of the secondary mortgage market in the U.S.,” meaning they often purchase resold mortgages.
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Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have “federal rules that limit the purchase of loans deemed relatively risk-free,” said Investopedia. Loans that meet these guidelines are conforming loans; loans that do not are nonconforming. To be a conforming loan, a mortgage must fall under a certain loan amount, and the borrower must meet specific criteria when it comes to their credit score, debt-to-income ratio and loan-to-value ratio.
Effectively, any home loan that does not align with these stipulations is considered nonconforming. Examples include jumbo loans, government-backed loans, bridge loans and interest-only loans.
Why do people get them?
There are a wide range of reasons people may opt for a nonconforming mortgage. For one, “you may have no choice but to choose a nonconforming jumbo loan if you want to buy an expensive property,” said Rocket Mortgage. These loans can also provide more flexibility when it comes to the type of property you purchase, your credit score and your down payment amount.
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Nonconforming loans additionally “offer an opportunity for home buyers who might not otherwise qualify for traditional loans because they are self-employed or hold their wealth in assets such as real estate,” said the Journal.
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What are the drawbacks?
For starters, there are fewer lenders offering them “since they pose a higher risk to the bank or mortgage lender,” said Yahoo Finance. That said, availability can vary depending on the specific type, as “some nonconforming loans (like FHA mortgages) are common, while others (like USDA loans) can be harder to find.”
Nonconforming loans also “generally carry a higher interest rate for the borrower,” said the Journal, given the increased risk to the lender. Still, this can vary by loan type. For instance, “FHA, VA and USDA loans usually have lower interest rates,” while “less common nonconforming loans, such as bridge loans, often have higher interest rates,” said Yahoo Finance. There is also the possibility that a nonconforming loan “could have an unusual repayment schedule or other features that make it harder to repay,” said Bankrate.
