Welcome

Thank you for your interest in UCF’s Budget Model Redesign Initiative. This is a unique time in our country’s history and the continued development of our institution to meet the evolving needs of our community. This makes it more important than ever that we collaboratively redesign and implement a transparent and innovative budget allocation model and business processes that are simple to understand, help us plan for the future and invest in our strategic priorities, and reflect UCF’s core values, principles and goals.

Leading this effort, Interim Provost Michael Johnson and Interim Chief Financial Officer Joseph Trubacz are serving as the project’s executive sponsors. Additionally, the university engaged Huron Consulting Group to assess the current state of budgeting and work with campus stakeholders to collaboratively develop a new financial model. Their experts have worked with more than 500 institutions – including all of the top 100 comprehensive research universities – to help establish a stronger foundation for transformative change.

Starting in October 2019 and during the following seven months of the project, a president-appointed Steering Committee engaged stakeholders across the university for feedback towards a recommendation regarding the right budget model for UCF. This culminated with the Steering Committee’s recommendation to develop and implement an incentive-based budget model.

Now in the parallel year of the project, a small Budget Advisory Group is working to ensure the project remains on course and that we have adequate opportunities for community engagement, feedback, and training. Led by Associate Vice President of Financial Affairs Kristie Harris and College of Business Dean Paul Jarley, they are providing expertise, support and recommendations to the Executive Sponsors, President, BOT, and others as needed. This includes guidance to the taskforces/workgroups that will make up the project governance structure that is vital to ensure its continuity and long-term success.

We need our collective experience and knowledge to develop and implement the model successfully. Stay tuned to this website and campus communications for more information about the projected timeline, opportunities to participate, and other important logistics.

Project Governance and Structure

Establishing a governance structure with active representation from both academic and administrative stakeholders is necessary to effectively implement a new budget model and maintain a university-wide perspective that will ensure continuity and long-term success. As the project evolves, UCF’s executive sponsors will appoint a series of committees and taskforces/ workgroups to implement the model, create a system of checks and balances with regards to model goals, and ensure transparency of all relevant budget decisions, policies and processes throughout each budget cycle.

Steering Committee

Appointed by and serving at the discretion of the President and Executive Sponsors (Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and Chief Financial Officer), the charge of the Steering Committee was to engage stakeholders across the university to assess the current state of budgeting and make a budget model recommendation to the President and Executive Sponsors.

Steering Committee meeting minutes may be found here.

Steering Committee Project Team

The Steering Committee Project Team was comprised of members of the Huron Consulting Group in collaboration with selected UCF advisors from the Administration, Finance and President’s divisions with specialized knowledge and skills to provide key information/materials to the Committee and others, as needed, advocate the initiative and/or gather input from relevant constituencies, and serve as liaisons for their divisions.

Other Taskforces/Workgroups

Budget Advisory Group

Led by Financial Affairs Associate Vice President Kristie Harris and College of Business Dean Paul Jarley, this team is driving the overall process to ensure the project stays on course and consistent with project goals and guidelines. This entails providing strategic direction and policy guidance to Academic Affairs, Financial Affairs and other UCF administrative staff, as well as the taskforces/workgroups forming to build and support the general model infrastructure and new business processes during the parallel year and beyond. They also provide expertise, support and recommendations to the Executive Sponsors, President, BOT, and other stakeholders.

Communications and Outreach Group

This group is responsible for developing and implementing a communication and training plan that identifies the key stakeholders/partners, the employee segments and how their needs differ, the communication and training objectives, the planned internal activities/programs/resources and communication channels, and the available university resources to support the plan.

Why does UCF need a new approach to budgeting?

Significant changes in the higher education landscape—including shifting student demographics and completion rates, growing concern over college affordability and student debt, diminishing state funding, and higher operating costs—are just some of the challenges that are driving higher education policy and innovation in recent years. The need to employ new learning technologies, fully integrate data analytics to modernize and manage programs, and make other transformative improvements to respond to these challenges and show returns on student and state investments in face of shrinking budgets are propelling institutions to look for new revenue streams beyond tuition.

Additionally, forward-thinking institutions must adopt new solutions to decrease the cost of education, enhance the brand experience, and improve student outcomes. Shifting to a more strategic, data-informed model can significantly improve fiscal stewardship, empower colleges and schools to grow program revenues, and encourage administration to operate more efficiently while providing improved services.