The University System of Maryland could get rid of about 400 jobs across its higher education institutions after Gov. Wes Moore’s proposed $111 million funding cut to the system in his 2026 budget.

University system chancellor Jay Perman addressed state lawmakers at multiple committee hearings this week about the proposed cut’s repercussions for faculty and students. The proposed drop in funding for the university system comes as Maryland grapples with a $3 billion budget deficit entering the 2026 fiscal year.

“The nearly 5 percent cut we’re sustaining will be difficult for our universities,” Perman told lawmakers on Friday. “We’re in the business of serving people and there is very little that we can cut that won’t have a real and significant impact on [students and faculty].”

Perman told the Maryland General Assembly’s education, business and administration subcommittee on Friday that potential workforce cuts — such as removing vacant positions and reducing currently filled roles — would save the university system about $45 million.

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The proposed budget would lead many universities to eliminate “student-facing” jobs, Perman said, which include advisors, counselors and mental health professionals.

Perman noted that the university system is concerned the cuts could cause higher dropout rates for first-generation and low-income students who rely on these programs.

The funding reduction would cause the university system to limit operating costs, including contractual services and travel expenses. The decrease would also further delay maintenance projects and might increase future costs for buildings as they age, he added.

Moore said he plans to focus on improving K-12 schools in his $67.3 billion proposed state budget for the 2026 fiscal year as he attempts to balance the state’s deficit.

“We have some of the best four-year institutions in America here in the state of Maryland,” Moore said in his budget proposal announcement earlier this month. “But we are going to end this myth that every single one of our students must attend one of them in order to be economically successful.”

Maryland has significantly increased funding for four-year institutions since 2022, Maryland budget and management secretary Helene Grady said during the budget proposal announcement. But Grady noted it is “not sustainable” for the state to continue funding at those levels.

During Friday’s subcommittee hearing in Annapolis, chair Sen. Nancy King (D-Montgomery) told university system officials she would work with them to balance the budget, while leaving room for future cuts. The state’s financial deficit will not be completely solved in the 2026 fiscal year, she said.

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University of Maryland president Darryll Pines told The Diamondback on Friday that this university is conducting a budget analysis to determine the cut’s impacts.

This university is working to ensure the proposed cuts minimally affect students and faculty, Pines said. It is focused on maintaining “employee status” and important programs for students, he added.

Perman also asked legislators at an education, energy and the environment committee briefing on Thursday to refrain from passing labor bills that would further financially strain the university system. One bill would grant collective bargaining rights to graduate students at many state institutions, while another would allow some faculty members to collectively bargain.

Maryland state law currently does not grant collective bargaining rights to graduate student workers. This university’s administration and university system officials have historically testified against graduate student unionization bills in the Maryland General Assembly.

“There are labor bills that are always in front of you,” Perman said during the hearing. “It’s likely that certain actions will only drive up costs.”