The administration today unveiled its strategy to balance the fiscal year 05 budget and cope with a recently announced shortfall of $2.9 million.
“This University is a financially sound organization,” said Dawn Rhodes, associate vice president for finance and planning, who presented the budget to the board of trustees committee on finance, administration and technology today. “Strategic thinking is the basis for our funding decisions.”
The budget, which calls for a 1.4 percent increase in expenditures and overall revenue growth of 2.5 percent, will go before the full board for approval next week.
As a means of coping with the gap, University leadership identified opportunities for accelerated revenue generation, areas where additional risks were acceptable, and budget lines where additional information has enhanced projections. These include:
- $120,000 in calculated rebates from the University purchase card program;
- $125,000 from the payoff of the ground lease of the child care center;
- $300,000 redirected the quasi-endowment directly to need-based aid allocations;
- $309,000 from the enhancement of non-credit curriculum offerings through the department of organizational leadership and development;
- $326,000 from an increase in the overhead charge to the auxiliary units;
- $230,000 in a reduction of health care costs;
- $90,000 in utility savings;
- $72,000 in calculated increases in bad debt collections revenues;
- $100,000 in reduction to the health care reserve;
- $400,000 in additional interest incomes; and
- $500,000 from the Senate Bill 6 reserve.
Meanwhile, the University was able to maintain its commitment to strategic investments by leaving funding for a number of initiatives in tact, including $800,000 for the faculty-hiring plan, $120,000 for minority faculty hiring initiatives and $3.2 million for technology enhancements.
“We are achieving great things,” said William R. Decatur, senior vice president for finance, technology and operations. “We continue to work aggressively toward our strategic objectives.”
