In the fall of 2023, ETSU began a year-long process to evaluate the institutional budget model and make critical updates that, when implemented, will allow for the strategic realignment of resources to support growth and innovation.
A Strategic Resource Allocation Realignment committee, led by co-chairs Christy Graham, Chief Financial Officer and Vice President for Business and Finance, and Jim Harlan, faculty member and distinguished chair in the College of Business and Technology, has guided this process.
Committee members:
- Joe Bidwell, Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences
- Jeff Blanton, Assistant Vice President, Emergency Management & Preparedness
- Joseph Chappell, Assistant Vice Provost of Institutional Research
- Lori Erickson, Assistant Vice President, Human Resources
- David Finney, Director of Fiscal Affairs
- Christy Graham, Chief Financial Officer and Vice President for Business and Finance (Co-Chair)
- Nicholas Hagemeier, Chief Research Officer
- Jim Harlan, faculty member and distinguished chair in the College of Business and Technology (Co-Chair)
- Stephen Hendrix, faculty member in the Department of Computing, and past president of faculty senate
- Karen King, Chief Information Officer
- Candy Massey, Project Manager in IT
- Pam Mims, Associate Dean, Clemmer College of Education
- Margaret Pate, Senior Associate Vice President for Budget and Financial Planning
- Mark Proffitt, Assistant Dean, College of Arts & Sciences
- Deborah Slawson, Professor and Chair of the Department of Community and Behavioral Health
- Beth Wiley, Assistant Vice President for Advancement Services
- Randy Wykoff, Dean of College of Public Health
The Committee intends to complete its work by October 2024.
Please see below responses to frequently asked questions. If you have a question that is not listed, please reach out to Christy Graham (grahamca1@mail.etsu.edu) or Jim Harlan (harlanjl@mail.etsu.edu).
FAQs
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What were the challenges with the model developed in 2017 that prompted a re-evaluation?
- The 2017 model did not include base adjustments. Rather, it held all units at the amount they were funded in October This update includes a data-informed base reset.
- The 2017 model decentralized resource-related decisions, but because of enrollment declines, base budgets for state and tuition-related expenses were reduced for most colleges in the years that followed. At about the same time, course fees were more widely adopted across colleges which offset some of the base reductions and allowed units to build up significant reserves. Reserves are healthy and will prove helpful should ETSU have any significant disruption that would require resources, but continuing to add to the reserves through decentralized savings does not allow the University to leverage those resources for significant strategic investments.
- The 2017 model had a particular focus on the metrics that would determine increases in revenue for the Colleges but did not establish metrics for allocating new revenue to administrative units. In this update, all administrative units will have key performance indicators that they will report on during the budget hearing process and those will be used to assess the need for additional resources.
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What are the guiding principles of the update?
- Create a budget model that is fair, transparent and predictable.
- Ensure that no one unit (college or administrative function) experiences an overly significant or disruptive loss or gain from one year to the next.
- Identify funds to support market-based salary increases.
- Account for how the model will function in terms of both growth as well as declines in enrollment.
- Set base budget amounts that appropriately fund colleges and administrative units to accomplish their key priorities.
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How are stakeholders engaged in the process?
The stakeholder groups that were involved throughout the process, and who will be consulted in the fall for feedback, include:
- Deans and Vice Presidents
- Leaders of all administrative functions
- University Council
- Faculty Senate
- Staff Senate
- Board of Trustees
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What is the timeline?
The project began in fall 2023. It will conclude in October 2024 and the model will be implemented in full in fiscal year 2026 (fall 2025). During the 2024-2025 academic year, the metrics that inform the annual adjustments will be monitored and FY26 base budgets will be adjusted to reflect any changes.
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How will the update impact the upcoming fiscal year (FY25)?
Some units may receive a portion of their base adjustment in FY25. However, any major impacts to FY25 budgets will be a result of the academic restructure and not the budget model redesign process.
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What is the relationship between the budget model update and the academic restructure?
The academic restructure has impacted base budget adjustments. The primary impact is that for units that moved, their base budgets followed them to their new colleges. Subsequently, the colleges that lost units absorbed the loss in the funding for those units. For more specifics on the financial implications of the restructure, please review the academic restructure website.
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Is ETSU working with any outside organizations in this process?
ETSU is working with the consulting firm rpk GROUP. The rpk GROUP team provided support to the committee and the committee co-chairs. Key tasks included coordinating committee meetings, conducting analyses to support model adjustments, and collecting and organizing relevant data.