The Budget Work Group met on Tuesday, September 9 to discuss progress made over the summer to the creation of a new budget model. The group will continue to meet monthly throughout the remainder of the year to work on developing and implementing the new model. The group hopes to partially begin use of the new model for FY16.
Framework is being established for the new budget model based on core expenses. RCM and zero based models were combined for a hybrid budget model. The prototype of the new model will be implemented over the course of three years. The first year will be based on a three-year rolling average of expenses. The new model will be split into academic and service pools.
It was proposed that allocations would stay in departments and not be given back at the end of year as in the current model. This would reward departments for saving rather than punishing them.
The new model will also take into account the need for additional funds for growing programs. Discussions will continue with academic affairs to ensure that the academic departments have efficient funds for their needs.
Revenues and fees will be discussed in the future, as will self-supporting programs and third party contracts.
The discussion continued about the definition and value of desk costs (average cost per person of desk, phone, computer, etc) and functional expense (costs needed for a department to function such as loan processing, audit fees, etc.). These will need to be clearly defined before the new model can be effective.
Discussion of e-course fees began and will be continued. It was proposed that students be classified as on-campus students or distance learning students. In this proposal, full-time students taking classes on a Marshall University campus would not pay any additional fees to take classes on-line. Blackboard licensing would then move to a core institutional expense rather than paid directly with e-course.
The next meeting us scheduled for Tuesday, October 14.