On-Demand | Originally Aired September 29–October 1, 2020 | See Schedule for Recordings Included
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Overview
The 2020 Planning and Budgeting Forum is your can’t-miss ticket to the latest
strategies in higher education resource management. This
information-packed event will focus on innovative planning and budgeting
methods, how the process can affect institutional change, and much
more.
This year’s key topics include—
Achieving campus-wide budget intelligence
Continuous improvement
Capital planning
Financial modeling
Using data to inform decisions
Planning and BudgetingWebcastWorkshop
What You Will Learn
NACUBO’s professional development programs are designed to deliver the skills, concepts, and best practices for success to individuals in the business of higher education. The following course information is provided to help you determine the best learning experience to meet your needs
Discuss innovative planning and budgeting methods being practiced at colleges and universities
Identify approaches for using planning and budgeting as an agent for institutional change
Recognize strategies to address higher education resource management
Who Should Attend
Associate Vice Presidents of Finance, Administration, or Budget
Budget Directors
Budget Managers
Chief Financial Officers
Planning Officers
Prerequisites
No prerequisites and/or advance preparation required.
CPE Information
There are no CPEs offered for this event.
CPE credits are not availalbe for On-Demand programs at this time.
NACUBO is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website www.nasbaregistry.org.
Rates
PLUS registration includes automatic complimentary registration for two additional webcasts focused on using data and analytics to assist in planning and budgeting in these uncertain times. Those webcasts will air on October 6 and 13 and will be on the topics of Optimizing Resource Allocation Through Integrated Financial Modeling and Projecting Enrollment and Tuition Revenue.
NACUBO thanks the following supporters of our E-Learning platform:
Schedule
Day 1
1:00 PM
Connecting Master, Strategic, and Capital Planning
Presenter(s):
Ted Ruth, Missouri University of Science and Technology
Fred Stone, Missouri University of Science and Technology
Hear how one institution’s 2020 campus master plan is building upon the previous 2014 plan and subsequent update, while also addressing a 2018 strategic plan along the bold goal of growing enrollment by 50 percent. Discover how the physical campus will play an important role in helping the institution achieve that goal. Improvements to the overall campus experience as well as new and improved physical spaces will be instrumental in addressing the priority areas that make up the enrollment plan. By carefully gathering input from campus stakeholders, the master plan will align priorities for the physical environment with the strategic plan and provide clarity for the capital plan.
Crises, replete with both complexity and change, require administrators to both lead and manage effectively. Managers need to make immediate choices and allocate resources to address urgent needs. Leaders must provide both honesty — a clear accounting of the challenges your team faces — and credible hope that collectively you and your people have the resources needed to meet the challenges you face each day. The risk of failure is great, but the work of cultivating these skills can be learned. Presenters will discuss key considerations, best practices, and lessons learned over the past few months. They will review how they stayed connected and collaborated and will share lessons that can help us collectively emerge from this experience stronger.
3:45 PM
An Authentic and Innovative Approach to Carbon Neutrality
How did one institution develop a Green Fund in 2008 to capture year end savings from electricity and natural gas utility budgets? The $1.5M fund replenished and grew to $6.5M in 2016 as a result of energy savings projects and utility budgets. In 2019, the fund was utilized to support energy efficient building systems for new capital projects. Energy projects have reduced electrical consumption by 750,000 kWh annually resulting in lowered emissions by38 percent since 2006. The institution is now installing a solar panel installation through a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). The 2.25-megawatt installation will produce more than 5 percent of DU’s electricity, accounting for 7-8 percent of DU’s energy consumption. The Green Fund and the solar PPA are key components to reaching multiple sustainability goals, including reducing on-campus electrical consumption by 500,000 kWh annually, reducing carbon emissions by 45 percent by 2025, and reaching carbon neutrality by 2050.
5:00 PM
Optional Roundtable Discussions
Attendees are invited to participate in a roundtable discussion where they can share questions, best practices, and solutions with each other.
1. Space Utilization: Many buildings are sitting dormant on campus these days. Come prepared to discuss near-term plans for your facilities as well as thoughts on your campus footprint in the long run.
2. Continuing the Conversation: Leadership in Times of Crisis This roundtable discussion will allow attendees to further discuss concepts and lessons learned from the Leadership in Times of Crisis from earlier in the day. Managing up—and across—can present certain challenges, but leaders can always learn from each other. Howard Teibel will facilitate a robust discussion that will have attendees thinking of new ways they can collaborate with colleagues, direct reports, and supervisors.
3. Shared Services: To ensure the long-term fiscal stability of their institutions, institutions are broadening their search for financial models. Increasingly, they are considering shared services as an avenue for maintaining—or even exceeding—student, faculty, and staff expectations while balancing their budgets.
4. Open Forum: This roundtable will give forum participants the opportunity to discuss a wide range of topics, from RCM to enrollment management to retrenchment. Attendees will be able to submit their topics ahead of this lively conversation.
5. Utilizing Analytics: Participants will discuss the role of analytics in making planning and budgeting decisions. Attendees from institutions with great stories to tell—or those looking for a little guidance—can review how data can be used to make difficult decisions
Financial modeling and scenario planning are a powerful combination. Thoughtfully highlighting potential future financial challenges and opportunities leads to more efficient and collaborative decision making. By considering alternative scenarios to areas such as enrollment and retention, new programs, various debt options, and endowment analysis, Furman University gained an increased confidence in the financial future of the institution. Best practices and lessons learned will be shared from years of experience developing and communicating financial models using various platforms and tools. Emphasis will be placed on how Furman University utilizes financial modeling to communicate with its senior leadership and respond to questions and new ideas as the environment is changing. Examples and considerations for making dynamic presentations to facilitate productive conversations will be shared.
Explore new operating models for small, medium, and large institutions as they adjust to the massive challenges facing higher education. Presenters will first summarize the traditional operating models and assumptions and then present the detailed forces requiring change, including COVID-19, the economic downturn, and social unrest. These factors are increasing the strategic and financial stress on universities and leaders are working hard to develop new short-term strategies to handle it. While the financial impacts will be quite dramatic, we should do our best to invest in core mission activities and move forward on new priorities to make overdue changes to how we deliver education and how much we charge. This panel will present ideas and engage the audience in their thoughts about making a real change to college and university operating models.
Review a recession playbook that offers a financial planning framework focusing on key principles, potential actions, and change management strategies for creating a resilient organization. Harvard University is now systematically incorporating downside scenario planning into these processes, and the playbook offers a consistent framework and set of principles that can be used in departments and units throughout the university. Explore guiding principles and strategic framework, as well as tips on how to create your own playbook. Presenters will share how they responded quickly and nimbly to the current crisis and implemented strategies from the playbook. Though Harvard is a complex research institution with a large endowment, this topic and the tools discussed are applicable to every institution.
Synario is the strategic planning software used by over 70+ higher education institutions. Our higher education team will provide insight on how they helped hundreds of financial professionals model complex problems and supported confident decisions throughout the pandemic. This session will provide examples of how Synario is being utilized to make strategic decisions surrounding capital projects, funding sources, and tuition.
Optional Networking Session: Reacting to and Planning for Our Shared COVID-19 Experience
This optional roundtable discussion will allow attendees to share experiences and learn from each other. What processes and systems were in place that allowed your institution to be nimble during these times? How extensive was your emergency response plan? Attendees will be grouped by institution type to discuss what made staff feel prepare —and unprepared—during this pandemic.
1. Small Institutions 2. Comprehensive and Doctoral Institutions 3. Research Institutions 4. Community Colleges
Shared services are more critical than ever as colleges and universities are faced with greater financial pressures coupled with moving to more cloud-based services. A shared service environment helps increase efficiencies, expand customer service, and improve accuracy and accountability. Participants from both large and small institutions will learn how to get started by identifying key stakeholders and skillset requirements, leveraging resources, and reviewing a clear step-by-step process. Examples from a school, unit, and campus-level will be shared. The impact of COVID has provided the lens to see how collaborations can occur when not connected physically.
2:30 PM
Measuring Performance: The Opportunities and Sensitivities
The expanding universe of has vastly multiplied the world of possibilities for the progressive administrator. Measuring productivity of an academic organization, or even individual faculty members, is so opportunity-rich yet fraught with cultural dangers—that only the brave or naïve dare engage in these conversations, let alone develop a course of implementation. At one college at the University of Arizona, several transformations began during the Great Recession: severe and repetitive budget reductions, changes in leadership, and the implementation of Responsibility Center Management. The resultant challenges and changes became catalysts for the exploration of objective data to increase understanding of performance and productivity. The changes called for data-informed decision-making about mission delivery. Learn about the importance of transparency and accountability and review tips on implementation to help change organizational culture.
3:45 PM
Navigating Change: A Discussion on How to Proactively Manage Financial Impacts in a Changing Environment
In consistently changing times, institutions need to think proactively and plan utilizing the assumptions of today; not those of yesterday. Join a panel to discuss some of the challenges facing their institutions, the scenarios they are running, and how they are planning to address some of these challenges in preparation for the current academic and financial year. Review the operational, financial, and safety issues confronted, and the various ways institutions are connecting these plans together to best understand the impacts. Presenters will also demonstrate models that were put in place to help with the tasks. Understanding the issues, acting quickly, and proactively responding to changes can help institutions recover and position themselves for future success.
