New Department Chair Orientation August 16, 2013 Diane Stephens, Associate Vice President Edith Winterhalter, Director of Academic Budget Management Department of Academic Resources and Planning California State University, Northridge

Today’s Agenda Introductions Budget Cycles / Processes –State and CSU –Campus Current Planning Environment Fund Accounting Budget Planning and Management Best Practices and Tools Discussion Today’s slides: /

BUDGET CYCLES AND PROCESSES

State and CSU CSU Board of Trustees presents budget request to Governor (September - December) Governor issues budget request to legislature (January) The fun begins! Approved State budget by June 30 for July 1 implementation—sometimes!

State and CSU

CSUN Budget Planning Process Budget Process FTES targets defined (early fall for following academic year) University budget process (when new funds available) Enrollment growth basis Projects that support strategic priorities University Planning and Budgeting Group (UPBG) Timeline (fall through summer)

CURRENT PLANNING ENVIRONMENT

Current Planning Environment? University Budget News Website:

Shrinking State Resources for Higher Education

Shrinking State Resources for Higher Education

Source: CSUN Office of Budget Planning and Management CSUN General Fund Budget 2007/08

Uncertainty: The New “Normal” Transition between models  but clinging to old model 2013/14 CSU Budget incorporates $125.1MM in new funding includes $10MM for technology/online approaches reinstates $125MM from last year’s budget cut

FUND ACCOUNTING OVERVIEW

Typical Funds in Academic Departments Fees in Trust/General Fund (appropriations, allocations, and fee revenue) – State Trust Fund (includes ExL MOU revenues, IRA, etc.) – 496XX, 44XXX,etc. Lottery Funds – technically State Trust…but…!

Typical Funds in Academic Departments Auxiliary Funds (separate 501(c)(3) entities) –Corporation –Foundation –Others (not held in departments) Campus Quality Fee –Course materials –Technology –Student support

General Fund Reminder Two major funding groups in the General Fund: –Base budget funding –One-time funding Carry-forward balances??

CSUN AND ACADEMIC AFFAIRS PLANNING AND BUDGET MANAGEMENT

CSUN Policy on Fiscal Responsibility Ensure that: –Expenditures don’t exceed available resources –Funds expended for intended purposes in appropriate time period –Use internal controls to protect from misuse –Correctly classify receipts and expenditures –Comply with campus policies

The Decentralized Model Principles Communication and Disclosure –ERC Recommendation –College Budget Model –Clarity of Business Practices –Facilitate Sharing of Information and Open Communication Accountability Balanced Budgets Meet FTES Targets Continuity/Consistency of Practices Defensible Systems (audit readiness)

ERC Recommendation Open budget reporting and consultation process –Resources and allocations for all departments, centers, and programs Contingency funds –Maintain –Communicate to department chairs

NEW FOR 2012/13 Twenty (20) centrally-funded tenure- track faculty positions for 2014/15 Ten (10) centrally-funded new staff positions Continued scrutiny of staff hiring— Justification for Initiation of Search required New for 2013/14

What CAN We Control? Focus on savings: Part-time faculty budgets (often controlled by deans’ offices) Operating expenses—we can ALL do our part Bulk purchasing (take advantage of scale economies) Defer expenses Eliminate unnecessary expenses (efficiency) Share costs with others (“Let’s make a deal!”)

Determination of College Budgets Prior year base budget Budget adjustments (attrition, new hires, FTES increase funding, planned reductions) Salary increases Non-General Fund resources Lottery budget Extended Learning partnerships Grants and contracts

College Budget Workbook Budget summary—all funds General Fund budget allocations (departments) Department General Fund operating expenses Salary worksheet Part-time faculty budget model Supplemental income from leaves and transfers

Salary Worksheet Why It’s Important to Track Salary Costs: Academic Affairs—Salaries make up about 88% of General Fund Expenditures Eight Colleges: –S–Salaries make up 92% of General Fund expenditures overall –S–Salaries range from 85% to 96% of General Fund expenditures among the eight colleges Salary costs fluctuate—A LOT!

Department Budgeting Part-time faculty costs Supplemental income from leaves and transfers (if applicable—may be an offset for college allocation of PTF to departments) Instructional support salaries (TA, GA, SA) Operating expenses –Supplies and services –Equipment –Travel/professional development –Contingency

BEST PRACTICES Generating and Using the Right Information

Best Practices Effective scheduling SOC worksheet Monthly reconciliation Line item budgeting at departmental level External funding Contingency planning “Wish list”

Effective Scheduling Effective use of physical, fiscal, and human resources –Effectively deploy tenured and tenure-track faculty in order to maximize enrollments using “fixed costs” –Minimize part-time faculty and other short-term salary costs--limit “variable” costs and reassigned time –Monitor/eliminate “low enrolled” sections –Space utilization with University growth

Schedule of Classes (SOC) Worksheet Schedule of Classes Worksheet –Both a PLANNING and REPORTING tool for Department Chairs –Combines data from multiple systems –Combines in worksheet that allows for: Scenario-building (“What If…?”) Determining cost of planned schedule Analyze use of resources to achieve FTES target and support program priorities Modeling new program costs –Users at multiple levels

SOC Worksheet

SOC Worksheet = Planning + Priorities

Monthly Reconciliation PeopleSoft Tools –nVision® Management Reports –General Ledger (GL) Inquiry Panels Timely review of expenditures Reconciliation training –University Financial Assistants (UFA)

Line Item Budgeting at Departmental Level Ability to track expenditures against budget by category using existing tools (PeopleSoft) with minimal effort Comparison of original plan versus actual at fiscal year-end Resources: – (See Chart of Accounts Reference Guide) –Most colleges and areas have a reference guide for most commonly used chartfield strings

External Funding Grant and contracts Tracking and processing reimbursed time in timely manner Emphasis on growing external funding as State support declines

Best Practices Contingency planning “Wish list”

Discussion and Questions

Contact Information Diane Stephens –Ext Edith Winterhalter –Ext For a copy of this presentation (next week): /