August 29, 2019 Minutes

PRESIDENT’S BUDGET ADVISORY COMMITTEE

August 29th, 2019

MEMBERS PRESENT:

Judy K. Sakaki                           President, Sonoma State University

Lisa Vollendorf                          Provost, Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs; Chair

Joyce Lopes                               Vice President of Administration and Finance; Vice-Chair

Jerlena Griffin-Desta                  Chief of Staff and AVP for Strategic Initiatives and Diversity

Gregory Sawyer                        Vice President for Student Affairs

Gordon McDougall                     Interim Vice President of University Advancement

Hollis Robbins                           Dean, School of Arts and Humanities

Laura Watt                                Chair of the Faculty; GEP Department

Melinda Milligan                        Vice-Chair of the Faculty; Sociology Department

Sean Place                                 Chair of APARC; Biology Department

Laura Lupei                               Senior Director for University Budget and Planning, A&F

Jen Aaseth                                 Proxy for Elisabeth Kettmann, Staff Representative, Biology Department

Daniel Yoeono                           President, Associated Students

STAFF PRESENT:

Elias Lopez                                AVP for Academic Resources, Academic Affairs

Hayley Avery                            Budget Manager, Administration and Finance

GUESTS PRESENT:

Kara Rabbitt                              ACE Fellow, William Paterson University

Katie Robinson                          Budget Director, Administration and Finance

Anna Reynolds-Smith                 Director, Administrative and Financial Planning, Student Affairs

MEMBERS ABSENT:

Erma Jean Sims                          CFA Representative; Literacy Studies & Elementary Ed.

Arden Childers                           Vice President of Finance, Associated Students

 

AGENDA

  1. CALL TO ORDER AND WELCOME
  2. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA AND MINUTES: May 16th, 2019
  3. PBAC ORIENTATION & CAMPUS BUDGET UPDATE
  4. PRESIDENT’S RESPONSE AND CHARGE
  5. 19/20 PBAC GOALS
  6. OPENBOOK LAUNCH
  7. ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR THE GOOD OF THE ORDER

 

I. CALL TO ORDER AND WELCOME

Provost and Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs, Lisa Vollendorf, welcomed the committee and began the meeting at 8:30 am.

II. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA AND MINUTES

Vollendorf introduced the agenda and asked if there were any additions. Hearing none, Vollendorf requested a motion to approve the minutes of the May 16th meeting.  Minutes were approved unanimously.

III. PBAC ORIENTATION & CAMPUS BUDGET UPDATE

(Please see the August 29th agenda packet for related documents)

The meeting began with introductions, and then Laura Lupei presented the Campus Budget Update. With the start of a new fiscal year, Lupei reviewed the system-wide budget timeline and the campus planning timeline with the committee. The system-wide timeline begins in November when the Board of Trustees (BOT) submits their budget request. After the BOT request, the Governor releases a preliminary draft of the budget in January and then a more revised draft in May. The Governor approves the final budget in June, and the Chancellor's office final budget memo is later released in July. Sonoma State's campus planning timeline begins in June when the campus budget is finalized. From July to November, units are spending their funding towards their strategic planning goals. In December each year, Cabinet will set assumptions for the coming year, and the budget call will be sent out based on those assumptions. From January to March, units will start to plan their next year's budget based on the goals they are setting for that year and cabinet assumptions. After the budget plans and goals are set, the remainder of the year is spent assessing and reporting on the progress units have made on their current year goals.

After reviewing the system-wide and campus planning timelines, Lupei began the Fall Budget Update. The presentation opened with a review of the composition of the campus budget. The 2019/20 $148.2M campus budget is composed of the state allocation (54.69%), tuition fees (33.94%), and cost recovery (11.37%). The three main uses of the campus budget are salary and benefits (79.9%), operating expense (13.4%), and financial aid (6.7%). The 2019/20 campus budget base funding consists of $141.5M from the prior year campus budget and additional funding in the categories of mandatory costs ($4.5M), Graduation Initiative 2025 ($1.05), state enrollment growth funding ($1.2M), average unit load increase ($326K), a reduction for the Financial Aid State University Grant ($506K), and an additional reduction for campus budget alignments ($16K). 

The 2019/20 base funded commitments include mandatory costs ($4.5M), Graduation Initiative 2025 ($1.05M), and the reduction in the distribution of the Financial Aid State University Grants ($506K). In addition to the committed base funds, items were elected by the campus to also fund in the 2019/20 year. These items include a reduction in the application fee and enrollment confirmation deposit ($132K), the first year of the cost recovery base reduction ($613K), loss of the Pell Federal Admin fee revenue ($9K), increased risk pool costs ($159K), Academic Affairs base growth allocation ($523K), increased utilities cost ($229K), and campus budget realignments ($90K). There are also three one-time allocations in the 2019/20 budget which include funding for the Graduation Initiative ($669K), support for the MSTI program ($95K), and an allocation for the tuition shortfall due to the drop in headcount ($796K).

Included in the presentation was a look at an all funds budget for the University revenue. This graph included the campus budget, additional state and federal funding, campus-based fees, and other funding. In 2019/20, the total University budgeted revenue is $254.3M. The committee will spend the year taking a detailed look into the budgeted revenue shown on this graph.

IV. PRESIDENT’S RESPONSE AND CHARGE

(Please see the August 29th agenda packet for related documents)

President Sakaki joined the committee to thank them for their work and set goals for the 2019/20 year. The President spoke to the successful work that PBAC has done in the prior years and how the committee has brought a lot of clarity on campus surrounding the budget. The members of the committee have had the best interest of the University at the forefront of all the questions they have asked and the communications they have spread, which has helped advance the campus's strategic initiatives and create a culture of openness. As the University begins another year advancing the strategic plan, it will be essential to think about how units contribute to the strategic plan differently and make decisions with the entire University in mind.

V. 19/20 PBAC GOALS

(Please see the August 29th agenda packet for related documents)

The President also addressed the goals for the committee for the 2019/20 year. The goals include making progress towards an all funds and multi-year budget as well as continuing with two budget and planning forums. The committee should also focus on creating a contingency framework to ensure our resources are continually being used strategically.

VI. OPENBOOK LAUNCH

(Please see the August 29th agenda packet for related documents)

Lupei showed the committee a demo of the new OpenBook dashboard that has recently been released to the campus. OpenBook is an interactive public dashboard that is now home to the annual Campus Budget Plan. The link is on the University Budget & Planning Office website. There are currently several reports on OpenBook, and more will continue to be added. Vollendorf tasked the committee to utilize this tool for groups on campus when communicating about the budget.

VII. ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR THE GOOD OF THE ORDER

None.

Vollendorf adjourned the meeting at 10:00 am. 
Minutes prepared by Hayley Avery.