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$12.4 million in performance funding to be allocated to key strategic areas

After a yearlong strategic planning process, the University of ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ Board of Curators has approved the Fiscal Year 2014 budget.

As part of the planning initiative, the UM System and campuses within the system developed strategy statements that focus on a competitive game plan to retain or achieve best-in-class status. These statements have been used as a guide in making resource allocation decisions.

“As we come to a close on one fiscal year and begin another, I could not be more pleased with the progress made by our chancellors and their teams,” University of ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ System President Tim Wolfe said. “Our campuses and the system demonstrated their leadership by making difficult decisions to ensure that our precious resources are aligned with our mission and overall strategy.”

In the next fiscal year, the campuses plan to invest $44 million in strategic priorities of which $21 million is from strategic reallocation. As the plans progress over the five-year planning horizon, it is expected that the brand of each campus and the system will strengthen as each unit executes its strategy and strives toward being best in class.

An additional $12.4 million in new state dollars will be targeted to fill requests for additional strategic investment totaling $22 million. The $12.4 million earmark is a result of the UM System meeting five out of five performance measures outlined by Gov. Jay Nixon in areas such as graduation rates, enrollment and quality of student learning.

Wolfe has received funding requests from each campus and will make decisions by the fall with the advice of the chancellors, the board and others.

In future years, the campuses will continue to allocate and reallocate from lower priority to higher priority areas and new funding will be used to support the strategic plans.

In order to remain competitive in the recruitment and retention of high quality faculty and staff, the board also voted to add sponsored adult dependents as an option in the health and welfare benefits. This allows faculty and staff to cover another adult, who meets certain criteria, to their plan.  Employees will pay the applicable monthly premium. This benefit is provided by most large employers nationally as well as in ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥, and is also becoming standard practice within higher education.

“This is a decision that has been a long time coming, and I believe it will help the university to be more competitive in attracting and retaining the best and brightest employees,” said University of ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ Curators Board Chair Wayne Goode.

Wolfe agreed.

“We are a people-driven institution focused on providing a quality, affordable, accessible education to all ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ans,” Wolfe said. “We must invest in our people to be able to carry out our mission, which affects our students and the state of ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥.”

ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ the FY14 budget:

The FY14 total revenue budget of the university is approximately $2.9 billion. Expenditures are projected at $2.8 billion and will include increases to the salary and wage budgets of between 1.5 percent to 3 percent on the campuses with individual awards based on merit and special salary needs such as promotion, tenure and the market. In addition, benefit costs for the medical and retirement plans will increase by 1.5 percent of benefit-eligible salaries.

The university’s operating budget, which is where the majority of the university’s instructional and public service activities are budgeted and accounted for, totals $1.1 billion.