December 12, 2024 Minutes

UNIVERSITY BUDGET ADVISORY COMMITTEE

December 12th, 2024

MEMBERS PRESENT:

Karen Moranski - Provost, Vice President of Academic Affairs; Chair

M. Monir Ahmed - CFO, Vice President of Administration and Finance; Vice-Chair

Troi Carleton - Dean, School of Social Sciences

Emily Acosta Lewis - Chair of the Faculty, Communications Department

Suzanne Rivoire - Vice-Chair of the Faculty, Computer Science Department

Elaine Newman - CFA Representative; Mathematics Department

Laura Lupei - Associate Vice President for University Budget and Resource Planning

John Lynch - Staff Representative, Center for Teaching and Educ Technology

Ed Mills - Ex-officio, Vice President of Strategic Enrollment Management

Mike Ogg -Ex-officio, AVP for Academic Resources

STAFF PRESENT:

Hayley Avery - Budget Manager, Administration and Finance

GUESTS PRESENT:

Emily Cutrer - Interim President, Sonoma State University

Anna Reynolds-Smith - Assistant Vice President for Admin and Financial Planning & Business Ops

Ian Hannah - Assistant Vice President for Advancement Operations

Natalie Sanchez - Budget Director Administration and Finance

MEMBERS ABSENT:

Puspa Amri - Chair of APARC, Economics Department

Jonathon Duran Del Villar - Vice President of Finance, Associated Students

Vanessa Sanchez - President, Associated Students

AGENDA

Call to Order and Welcome
Approval of the Minutes: October 31st, 2024
President’s Updates
State Budget Update
Campus Partner Review
Announcements for the Good of the Order

Call to Order and Welcome
Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, Karen Moranski, had to step away so Monir Ahmed, Vice President of Administration and Finance welcomed the committee and began the meeting at 9:33 a.m.
Approval of the Minutes: October 31st, 2024
Ahmed introduced the agenda and asked if there were any additions. Hearing none, Ahmed requested a motion to approve the minutes of the October meeting. The minutes were approved unanimously.
President’s Updates
Interim President Emily Cutrer provided updates on key University matters, including CSU's focus on advocating against an 8% budget reduction. When asked if the Chancellor's Office is supporting Sonoma State with budget cuts, she clarified that while all campuses are struggling, they have offered the campus one-time funds for investment in enrollment and marketing. The marketing plan will aim to differentiate Sonoma State from other universities.
State Budget Update
Ahmed shared that the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) reported the state budget will be balanced, including the CSU reduction. The system is awaiting the Governor's January Budget Proposal, with the expectation that it will include the 8% reduction.
Campus Partner Review
Laura Lupei presented the 2024-25 Campus Partner Review, which includes self-support programs and auxiliary entities. The presentation covered policies governing these programs and provided a detailed five-year budget review for each. The review highlighted the impact of the enrollment decline, showing how the campus partners are managing this challenge. For the 2024-2025 year, half of the campus partner funds are budgeted to use reserves to balance their budgets, while the other half have balanced budgets.

Residential Education and Campus Housing (REACH) has made significant progress in recovering from pandemic-related revenue losses, adding to its reserves, and reaching 68% of its reserve goal in 2023-2024. The committee suggested exploring housing discounts or scholarships to attract more students, a suggestion supported by the President, though noting that we need to remain mindful of maintenance and debt costs. The Campus Union has a balanced budget for 2024-2025 despite enrollment declines. Transportation and Parking Services (TAPS) expects to contribute to reserves in the 2024-2025 year. The Department of Extended Education is operating at a deficit and is working on a plan for future balanced budgets; it was noted that Sonoma State is the only CSU with losses in this area. The Green Music Center (GMC) has operated with a budgeted deficit for five years, typical of performing arts institutions, and expects a large donation to support operations this year. The Instructionally Related Activities (IRA) program has seen lower revenues but is using their large reserve to minimize impacts, with a reserve spend-down plan in place to allocate more funds to above-the-line programs.

Both the Student Health Center (SHC) and Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) are affected by declining enrollment. SHC will continue using reserves for 2024-2025, while CAPS will contribute to reserves this year. Interim President Cutrer shared plans to merge SHC and CAPS into an integrated services model to improve the student experience, with further discussions scheduled for Spring with the Student Fee Advisory Committee.

The auxiliary entities—Sonoma State Enterprises (SSE), Associated Students (AS), and Sonoma State University Foundation (SSUF)—are also adjusting to reduced revenues. SSE continues to experience an enrollment related revenue decline and will use reserves this year to balance the budget. AS, facing lower enrollment, is utilizing reserves to balance its budget. SSUF has a balanced budget due to stable revenue streams and minimal expenses, with recent reserve increases from a large board-designated endowment.

Overall, campus partners, like the operating fund budget, are aligning expenses with reduced revenues, using reserves to manage the transition. Most programs have multi-year plans that show shrinking budget gaps as enrollment stabilizes in the coming years.
Announcements for the Good of the Order
None.

Moranski adjourned the meeting at 10:26 a.m.

Minutes prepared by Hayley Avery.