The Governing Council of the University of Oviedo has approved the Budgetary Project of the University of Oviedo for 2014, which has been submitted to the Social Council to be definitely approved. The budget, presented by the Rector, Vicente Gotor, the Vice-Rector for Economic Planning, Agreements and Hiring, Santiago Álvarez, and the Manager, Marta González, during a press conference, amounts to more than 195 million Euros.

The main new feature of this budget, in comparison to those of previous years, is the conversion of the University of Oviedo Foundation into an asset of the University, and the approval by the Social Council of the University of the management of the promotion and allocation of research contracts, as stipulated by article 83 of the Organic Law of Universities.

These changes have forced the University to include among its income and expenditure the sums corresponding to the contracts that may be established according to these regulations during the year 2014. On the other hand, a new Tome has been added to this Budget, the third one, that contains the budgetary documentation belonging to the University of Oviedo Foundation.

With these modifications, the Budget of the University of Oviedo for 2014 amount to €195,051,189, in contrast to the €197,908,321 of the year 2013, which translates into a reduction of a 1,44%.

In order to make a comparison between both years in homogenous terms, we should exclude from the budget for 2014 the effects of the aforementioned changes. In this case, the Budget for 2014 would amount to €189,912,189, which is a reduction of 4,04% in comparison to the previous year.

For the fourth year in a row, the reduced income of the University, result of the hard economic situation of the country, have forced that institution, as it has the rest of the public administrations, to make an important effort to reduce expenditure.

With regards to income, the main cutbacks are seen primarily in terms of capital, decreasing more than 28%. Furthermore, the growth in the prevision of income in chapter 3, Fees and other Sources of Income, is mostly explained by the inclusion this year of the research contracts managed by the University of Oviedo FOundation, which amount to €5,710,000.

In relation the Budget of Expenditure, as in previous years, the most important chapter is that of staff expenditure, which amounts to €129,749,193, a reduction of 0.99% in comparison to the previous year. The greater cutbacks are made in common expediture in goods and services, a chapter that sees a reduction of 10.75% from the previous year, and in the common transferences, which decrease in 17.20%.