University of Montana

The university’s fiscal position improved significantly with a $38.4 million increase in net position from fiscal year 2023 to 2024. The university’s operating revenues grew by over $40 million in fiscal year 2024, as compared to fiscal year 2023, driven by tuition, fees, and auxiliary enterprise charges reflecting an overall rise in student enrollment. Meanwhile, the University of Montana – Missoula campus continued expanding its research initiatives by increasing federal grants and contracts, further boosting revenue.

Auditor's Opinion: Unmodified

Our audit efforts focused on the university’s material activity including tuition, federal grants and contracts, state appropriation support, operating expenses, cash and investments, capital assets, and bond liabilities.

We completed audit procedures over the presentation of the financial statements and the accompanying note disclosures. These financial statements include data from four component units: the University of Montana Foundation, Montana Tech Foundation, University of Montana Western Foundation, and the Montana Grizzly Scholarship Association. Independent public accounting firms audit these organizations, and our opinion on the university’s component unit information is partly based on their work.

The university continues to experience a significant increase in construction, primarily funded by revenue bonds. Several major projects were completed on the University of Montana Missoula campus in fiscal year 2024 or shortly thereafter. The following figure illustrates the significance of those construction projects during our audit period.

The university has experienced three consecutive years of growth in incoming students and is currently in a sustained period of expansion across all four campuses. For academic year 2023/2024, the university enrolled an additional 200 Montana resident students as compared to the prior academic year. In August of 2024, the university broke ground on its first new on-campus residence hall in over 30 years. See page A-69 in the Supplemental Information for student FTE for the past five years.