Temple University signaled another round of cost actions for fiscal year 2027, including laying off about 40 employees, as it works to close a projected budget gap. The public university said its operating budget of $1.3 billion includes tuition increases averaging 3.4% for in-state and out-of-state students for the 2026–27 academic year, alongside $60 million in expense cuts. Temple President John Fry attributed the deficit pressure to elevated costs and the impact of earlier enrollment declines. The university said the layoffs are part of efforts to bring what had been projected as an $85 million deficit to a smaller shortfall, following earlier reductions that included roughly 50 employee cuts and expense eliminations totaling hundreds of millions since 2021. The article highlights how student enrollment changes are central to institutional financial stability. Temple’s fall headcount fell about a quarter between 2018 and 2024 to 29,640 students, though first-year undergraduate enrollment for the class of 2029 rose 9.2% year over year to 5,379. For higher education leaders, the Temple development underscores how tuition, staffing reductions, and enrollment trends are increasingly linked through near-term budgeting cycles going into fiscal 2027.