Our strategies for digitally transforming the university begin with us. Without appropriate funding, digital transformation cannot happen! Our financial and PBA (planning, budgeting, and assessment) processes have been tuned to enable efficient and effective use of the resources allocated to us and to ensure accountability for every dollar.
FINANCIAL
Our financial processes and approval chains overcome many hurdles of financial and purchasing management. We do this by expediting the transfer of appropriate financial resources to the right place at the right time for the right purposes.
Accountability is built-in, and we've adopted concepts of zero-based budgeting to ensure every tuition and tax dollar is spent wisely.
The strategies and principles we use to manage Dx finances are:
We pay our contractual obligations first. We manage software licensing and various maintenance agreements that keep the entire university running smoothly. We look for ways to reduce these obligations by consolidating similar packages and taking advantage of economies of scale.
Second, cover operating expenses.
In our second stage of funding allocations, we use an algorithm based on the number and type of employees in each department to determine funds for operating expenses (such as computers for department employees). We eliminate redundant expenses for things like office supplies by providing them centrally for all of Dx.
Third, maintain infrastructure.
Third comes maintenance of UVU's multi-million-dollar technology infrastructure. Every single piece of equipment that makes up this infrastructure must be replaced on a regular schedule (usually every five, seven, or ten years) to avoid costly downtime, to support the growing needs of the university, and to keep it all running efficiently. We try to spread out the deployment, and therefore replacement, of equipment over time to spread out the work and avoid a huge recurring cost every few years. While ongoing funding to support this effort has been increasing over time, we are currently dependent on one-time allocations to meet this ever-growing need.
Fourth, fund new projects.
Last on our list is funding for new projects that help us to support the digital transformation of the institution. This funding comes from one-time allocations, usually through the PBA process or other funding sources.
PBA
Our Approach
Our approach to the university's Planning, Budgeting, and Assessment (PBA) process is to ensure that the funds needed this year were already allocated last year, and our requests this year will fund next year's priorities.
Submitting and Prioritizing PBAs
Each year, the university PBA system is opened for requests to be submitted. Anyone at UVU can submit their ideas to Dx through the Project Request form.
Each idea is prioritized by the cost and effort required to complete it. High-priority ideas that cannot be funded with existing resources are held until the next PBA cycle.
Dx leaders review all the items that have been held for funding. Prioritized requests are then entered into the university PBA system.
Once PBA allocations are announced, the funded items move to the Dx project process for planning and implementation.
Dealing with Deficits
