A need exists to prioritize and trade-off both Oregon State University academic unit costs and revenues in a strategic, optimized manner. Budget pressures have peaked with the coincidental timing of the recent implementation of modified Responsibility Center Management (RCM) budget processes. Academic deans and directors have not been asked previously or provided the tools to act strategically regarding their college-level program decisions and to optimize within an allocated budget.
The UFM Steering Team was charged to investigate and propose solutions to provide the needed tools and expertise to support the deans and their academic leaders and faculty.
The UFM Steering Team engaged with OSU's academic units to improve the tools and methods for strategic financial management. Envisioned was a UFM Suite, composed of four integrated modules, which will provide a reliable, consistent set of data for university-wide and college-level reporting while also supporting analysis of underlying detail for improved decision-making. The set of suite information represents the essential data needed for forecasting; and to budget and manage spending, hiring, and enrollment. The selected reports within the suite are being made available as Tableau dashboards for ease of use, with self-serve training resources provided.
A five-month UFM Suite Feasibility Pilot was conducted through April 2022 with over sixty professional faculty participating across six colleges (CAS, CEOAS, CLA, COE, COF, COS) and several central administration units. The feasibility pilot was used to test and receive feedback for the functionality and navigation of the UFM Suite tableau dashboards and training materials.
The UFM Suite is currently in Release to Production, and Phase 3 Budget Scenario Analysis Tool planning has begun.
The suite is currently comprised of three integrated modules which provide essential information for budgeting and decision analysis at the college level. The modules are under production for suite integration in 2022:
Integrated modules:
Essential information:
UFM planning for the Budget Scenario Analysis Tool began in Summer 2022 and is currently scoped around the following capabilities:
UFM exited the Impact Studio process and is now owned by the Division of Finance and Administration. Access it at ufm.oregonstate.edu