CENTRAL BUDGET COMMITTEE

Responsibility Centers enjoy a great deal of financial flexibility and independence, as unit heads are empowered to develop their own policies and practices for planning and budgeting. They are expected to remain faithful to the University’s overall mission and values, as articulated in the context of the Academic Plan. The Central Budget Committee, which is advisory to the President and assisted by its Service Unit Advisory Board, provides the means for institutional oversight through financial planning and coordination of units’ budgets and determining funding priorities.

Duties of the Central Budget Committee
The Central Budget Committee advises the President on budget policy and financial planning for the campus community and in that capacity will:
Establish institutional funding priorities and budgetary guidelines consistent with the overall institutional strategic plan
Make recommendations to the President on incremental funding requests for the University Fund
Review the performance of service units, through the periodic use of ad hoc Service Unit Advisory Board
Review RC unit strategic plans and recommend final approval of plans to the President
Regularly update the institutional financial plan, consistent with strategic academic plan updates
Finalize the institutional budget, and approve assessment rates
Review and approve requests for internal fee increases above inflation or new internal fees
Serve as the steward for RCM

Principles of the Central Budget Committee

Supporting the University: Resource allocation shall be in the best interest of the institution as determined by the University Planning process.
Rewarding Excellence: Excellent programs and new initiatives within or between RC units should be rewarded and encouraged.
Upholding the Institution’s Mission: RC units that contribute to the University’s mission should be supported, regardless of their "profitability." The bottom line is only one of many criteria that should be used to allocate resources.

Members of the Central Budget Committee
Each member of the Central Budget Committee has a continuing, individual charge to serve as a representative of the campus community as a whole and to avoid behaving as a partisan advocate. The Committee shall have sixteen members:

President (Chair)
Two Deans of Colleges and Schools (one appointed by the Provost and one elected by the Deans’ Council) - 3 year terms
Vice Presidents (five)
Chair of Faculty Senate
Chair of the Faculty Senate Finance Committee
Two at-large faculty (appointed by the Provost from five nominations from the Agenda Committee of the Faculty Senate) - 3 year terms
One Student Representative (Chair of Student Fee Oversight Committee)
Two at-large RC unit heads (appointed by the President) - 3 year terms
Assistant Vice President for Financial Planning and Budgeting (staff)

Operating Manual Table Of Contents

CENTRAL BUDGET COMMITTEE