Goal Six

Goal 6: In service of mission, formalize a system for assessing and benchmarking the financial performance of every area of the institution: one that in turn supports key tactical and strategic academic decisions (Target: 2020)

Progress:

The College of Arts and Sciences, the professional schools, and the Center for Global Engagement receive data annually on financial performance, faculty productivity, and expenses. This data is used to make decisions on authorizing searches for faculty and staff positions, developing short-term and medium-term plans for future program development, and assessing capacity within the academic sector. The financial analysis is prepared at a school/college level as well as by academic department, and includes trended information for the past five academic years.  In addition, other ad hoc reporting is made available to the Provost and Senior Vice President’s Office and academic deans from Institutional Research and the Office of Budget and Financial Analysis.

In other University departments, budget-to-actual reporting continues as our primary measure of fiscal performance with deeper use of ad hoc reporting by the Office of Budget and Financial Analysis to support strategic and operational efforts.  Additionally, with newly adopted technologies, we continue to put performance information into the hands of decision makers to highlight trends and improve effectiveness.