MSUMAcademic AffairsFaculty GuideFinancial Information

Financial Information

Budget
Credit Card Information
Financial Procedures
Fund-Raising Policy
Gifts to the University
Purchasing

Budget
The President is ultimately responsible for the use of university resources and the expenditure of all funds. The University Planning and Budget Officer is delegated responsibility for preparation of university budgets, development of budget procedures, and implementation of such allocation procedures approved by the President. The University Planning and Budget Officer develops multi-year revenue and expenditure forecasts as planning tools for the commitment of personnel and non-salary resources. The Vice Presidents are delegated responsibility for both preparation of annual budgets and ensuring proper use of resources. They play a key role in the distribution of both personnel and non-salary resources.

Annual Budgets
The university begins to develop its next July 1-June 30 fiscal year budget in January and February. The MnSCU Board of Trustees, based on enrollment forecasts submitted by each campus, develops system-wide tuition receipt estimates incorporating them with anticipated state appropriations. An overall system-wide spending plan is developed with allocations divided and distributed among the campuses consistent with existing credit-hour oriented formulas. These preliminary M & E appropriation totals provide each college or state university with a spending ceiling, an amount it must not exceed as it determines internal department allocations.

Department personnel needs, particularly instructional positions, are usually developed by December and, within the next several months, are reviewed by the vice presidents with tentative approvals given by the President. Classified civil service staffing requirements are addressed throughout the year as vacancies occur or needs arise. 

Throughout this process MnSCU allocation changes are being received and adjustments made to MSUM's internal spending projection model -- these additions and deletions, because they come late in the planning process, affect decisions on supply and equipment requests to a greater extent than on personnel allotments.
 

University Planning and Budget Committee
Chaired by the President, the committee evaluates strategic data and issues, an understanding of which is deemed critical to ensuring the University’s viability and the achievement of its mission. The committee shares information and coordinates efforts with the system planning conducted for the Chancellor. The committee identifies and recommends to the President a small number of issues, e.g. 3, on which the University can focus its passion and resources in the interest of achieving significant improvement and beneficial change in the next two to four years. The committee evaluates and recommends to the President the annual budget, with a view to enhancing revenue and targeting expenditures to best achieve the University’s mission and current Plan. When appropriate, the committee recommends to the President that a Strategic Planning Task Force be formed to develop the next strategic plan.

It is very important to recognize that “planning” cannot be all things to all issues. In other words, the planning process must be capable of separating issues and then directing available resources and energies toward those which become identified as the most important. This is what strategic planning is designed to accomplish: to examine the major strategic decisions facing an institution.

Tactical planning deals primarily with short-term or intermediate term planning and budgeting processes which relate to administrative and operations activities within the context of goals and objectives established by strategic planning or any planning model which yields goals and objectives. Planning may be focused or contingent, and as such, is short term and highly focused. The solutions may be long term, but the planning activities are targeted.

Other Funding Areas
The budget process for other funding areas follows slightly different planning paths. Residence hall and student union budget development adheres to a system-wide model, as the buildings which house these programs were built through a "revenue bonding" program administered by MnSCU. Student activity programs submit their requests in accordance with a review schedule developed by the Student Activity Budget Committee.

MSUMAcademic AffairsFaculty GuideFinancial Information