Tomorrow an open forum on the proposed overhaul of the Ohio University budgeting system will give faculty and students an opportunity to comment on the possible changes.
This overhaul, which is part of Vision Ohio, OU's comprehensive strategic plan for the future, will allow for more transparency and flexibility in the budgeting process, according to a proposal written by Vision Ohio's Resource Implementation Team.
We were looking at the university resources and budgets and decided to try examining budgeting in a different kind of way
said Phyllis Bernt, co-chair of the resource team, the group determining the changes to the budgeting system.
The university is considering switching to activity-based budgeting, a less centralized budgeting system, Bernt said. This system takes into account changes within colleges, such as the number of students taking a particular college's classes -- -regardless of the students' majors - and it then appropriates funds based on these changes.
OU has traditionally used incremental budgeting, a form of financing that does not reflect changes in activity. Under this system, the budgets for individual colleges are based primarily on the previous year's budget, with small cuts or additions being made to accommodate changes.
The Resource Implementation Team has been gathering information on the possible consequences of the overhaul and examining how other universities' budgeting systems operate.
Bernt said she hopes the open forum will be an opportunity to answer questions and concerns about the changes in the budgeting process.
We want to talk to people about this explain what's happening to them and get feedback from the campus community Bernt said.
- Catie Coleman
17
Archives
Catie Coleman
