UW-STOUT Annual Operating Budget Process An institution s budget process is shaped by institutional character; institutional size; administrative sophistication; faculty governance structures and processes; the degree of centralization of decision-making authority; the amount of trust among administrators, faculty, and students; the openness of the budgetary process; and the demand for information. 1 At UW-Stout, the office of Budget, Planning and Analysis (BPA) will facilitate an appropriate budget process for this campus by achieving the following goals: Budget priorities are developed in a manner that facilitates planning; informed discussion; faculty, staff and student participation; and a proactive response to critical external and internal issues. The process encourages openness, trust and budget sophistication by providing feedback to identified groups at various designated points in the budget process. Efficiency and effectiveness of the budget process is increased by implementing procedures to achieve an on-line, paperless budget process at the college and major unit level. Divisions, colleges and major units are assisted in their development of summary information on budget decisions, reallocation decisions and budget actions to support budget objectives. UW-Stout values: Active campus involvement throughout the entire budget process; Collaborative relationships with each of the divisions, colleges and units at UW-Stout; Innovative budgeting ideas that diversify and broaden revenue sources and / or reduce operating expenses while still providing a high-quality learning and living environment for students and a high-quality work environment for faculty and staff; Open communication and availability of information on campus. To achieve these goals, the annual operating budget process at UW-Stout includes the following steps and processes, which are further outlined on the following pages: Strategic Planning Group (SPG) Retreat Summer Listening Sessions Fall Chancellor s Advisory Council (CAC) Budget Planning Fall/Winter Budget Planning at the Division / College Level Winter Chancellor Communicates Final Plan Institution-Wide Winter/Spring Please note the Strategic Planning Model addresses UW-Stout s Mission, Values, Vision, Situation Analysis, Enduing Goals, FOCUS 2010 Goals, Action Plans and Periodic Reviews. 1 Richard J. Meisinger, Jr., College & University Budgeting (National Association of College and University Business Officers, 1994), p.49
Strategic Planning Group Retreat Summer Purpose: To draft near-term university priorities, outline training and development needs, and target process improvement areas. Stakeholders: Strategic Planning Group plus additional resource people 2 BPA compiles information and data for the summer retreat binder, and reviews the information with the SPG members during the three months prior to the retreat. The information includes: o Campus Action Plans o Emerging Issues o Enrollment Management Data o Prior Year s University Priorities o Current Year s University Priorities o University-Wide Performance Data o Survey Data o Financial Information o Training & Development Plans o Process Improvement Plans
3 Fall Listening Sessions Fall Purpose: To encourage faculty, staff and students to engage in direct, unfiltered, unedited communication with university administration on the draft university priorities, training and development needs, and process improvement areas. Stakeholders: Faculty Senate (Executive Board, Senate Members, Individuals) Senate of Academic Staff (Executive Board, Senate Members, Individuals) Stout Student Association (Executive Board, Senate Members, Individuals) College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (Dean, Program Directors, College of Education, Health and Human Sciences (Deans, Program Directors, College of Management (Deans, Program Directors, Department Chairs, Individuals) College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (Dean, Program Directors, Academic and Student Affairs (Provost, Associate Vice Chancellor, Dean, Directors, Individuals) Administrative and Student Life Services (Vice Chancellor, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Directors, Individuals) Chancellor s Office (Chancellor, Directors, Individuals) BPA summarizes the draft priorities on the University Priority templates. Information includes: o Defining the priority statement, which outlines the proposed solution; o Outlining the linkage to the University goals; o Stating the issue to be solved; o Listing the actions required to ensure the priority s success. This includes naming an individual responsible for the action and the timeline for completion of the specific action; o Estimating the resource requirements (employees, funding, etc.) needed for the priority to succeed; o Selecting information to be collected for up to six critical measures to benchmark the priorities success; o Naming a priority champion, to ensure the completion of the priority; o Estimating a completion date for the priority. SPG reviews / revises each of the priorities prior to the forums to ensure accuracy. BPA schedules nine focus groups for the campus to review each of the draft priorities. All faculty, staff and students are encouraged to participate and provide feedback on the draft priorities. BPA publishes draft priorities on the web site in advance of the focus groups for the campus to review.
4 BPA distributes copies of the draft priorities to attendees at each of the nine focus groups. CAC members present the priorities at the each of the nine focus groups. The attendees provide individualized feedback on draft priorities. Alternative methods for faculty, staff and students to provide feedback can be accomplished through the web, organizational structure, and governance representative.
Fall/Winter Chancellor s Advisory Council Budget Planning Fall/Winter Purpose: To finalize university priorities, recommend budget allocations, training and development needs, and process improvement areas. Stakeholders: Chancellor s Advisory Council 5 BPA estimates the amount of money available for the university priorities from the various sources of funds. The CAC recommends the monetary amount and any other resources to be allocated toward each priority and verify the sources of funding.
Winter Budget Planning at the Division / College Level Winter Purpose: To develop budgets at the division / college / unit level. Stakeholders: Faculty Senate (Executive Board, Senate Members, Individuals) Senate of Academic Staff (Executive Board, Senate Members, Individuals) Stout Student Association (Executive Board, Senate Members, Individuals) College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (Dean, Program Directors, College of Education, Health and Human Sciences (Deans, Program Directors, College of Management (Deans, Program Directors, Department Chairs, Individuals) College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (Dean, Program Directors, Academic and Student Affairs (Provost, Associate Vice Chancellor, Dean, Directors, Individuals) Administrative and Student Life Services (Vice Chancellor, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Directors, Individuals) Chancellor s Office (Chancellor, Directors, Individuals) 6 The Chancellor will establish budget planning allocations at the division level. Complementary budget planning occurs simultaneously at the division / college / unit level. At this point, the specific budget detail is developed. Please note that UW- Stout utilizes incremental budgeting, not zero-based budgeting. BPA provides training and support to budgeters as they develop individual account budgets. BPA ensures that the budgets balance to targets at the college and major unit levels Divisions, colleges and major units provide summary information on budget decisions, reallocation decisions, and budget actions to support budget objectives. Timetables on the specific steps in the entire budget process are developed each year by BPA
Chancellor Communicates Final Plan Institution-Wide Winter/Spring Purpose: To communicate final decisions on university priorities and resource allocations to the campus. Stakeholders: Faculty Senate (Executive Board, Senate Members, Individuals) Senate of Academic Staff (Executive Board, Senate Members, Individuals) Stout Student Association (Executive Board, Senate Members, Individuals) College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (Dean, Program Directors, College of Education, Health and Human Sciences (Deans, Program Directors, College of Management (Deans, Program Directors, Department Chairs, Individuals) College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (Dean, Program Directors, Academic and Student Affairs (Provost, Associate Vice Chancellor, Dean, Directors, Individuals) Administrative and Student Life Services (Vice Chancellor, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Directors, Individuals) Chancellor s Office (Chancellor, Directors, Individuals) 7 BPA develops a presentation for the Chancellor that summarizes the final decisions on university priorities, resource allocations and budget actions to support budget objectives. The Chancellor conducts two forums where budget information is presented to administrators, program directors, department chairs, directors, faculty, staff and students. Material is disseminated to the campus (Redbook, etc)