2005 Action Plan - Context
Executive Summary | Context | Priorities | Appendix
The first key feature is the general economic condition that indicates continuing pressure on the state budget. We have been levied a cut of $3.3 million from our initial FY '05 budget and this will translate into a $7.3 million cut for FY '06 since the University System used one-time reductions in reserve funds to cushion the mid-year decrease. We anticipate only modest additional support (~$1.5 million) from the workload portion of the formula for FY '06 budget, if the Legislature approves the requested allocation. In addition, a decline in Georgia State 's credit hours for FY '05 will result in a decrease in anticipated tuition income of $3.2 million. The Regents will probably consider a tuition increase to help alleviate the cuts in state appropriation, but the amount will not be known until late spring 2005. A second key feature is that the University System of Georgia (USG) has reformulated its strategic plan (http://www.usg.edu/admin/regents/index.html) that might influence our priorities.
The primary commitment is to support of instructional and strategic research programs that are aligned with Strategic Plan 2000. We will continue our progress in the development of systematic planning and evaluation mechanisms and processes within the institution. The Action Plan is to inform and guide our decisions.
For many years, we have informed allocation of net new revenues through the strategic plan. This year, we are continuing a comprehensive look at the total Education & General budget that was initiated last year, through a process of examination of academic programs and all the activities that support the mission of the university. We will categorize departments, programs, and centers by their quality, centrality, viability, comparative advantage, costs and return on investment through criteria established by APACE. We will examine administrative and support unit activities for how the activity is related to the core mission of the institution - student learning (transmitting knowledge to students), generation of new knowledge (generating knowledge), economic development for the state, community engagement or public good (packaging and supplying knowledge to the community). We will examine programs, centers, and activities that are less central and/or of lower quality to identify potential funds for redirection through criteria established by P&D. In this manner, we will ensure that all activities and programs are aligned with the strategic plan.
Decisions will be guided by the following principles:
- For academic units, enrollment trends, program quality, external support, and research productivity should be considered.
- For non-academic cost centers in support areas, reduced support should be given to those areas with higher costs than comparable institutions and to those less effective/efficient or central to the strategic plan. Such areas should develop plans to increase efficiency so that services will not be reduced.
- For auxiliary units where revenues exceed projections, state funds may be shifted away from their support, dependent on auxiliary fund balances.
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