Implementation & Working Groups
The Strategic Budget Approach Initiative (SBAI) was created based on the recommendations published in the 2019 Strategic Budget Task Force's (SBTF) report. The initiative is comprised of a Budget Executive Committee and four working groups tasked with developing the processes, policies and determining the necessary technology to implement the SBTF recommendations.
The Committee oversees the four working groups and assists them with implementing their assigned SBTF recommendations.
Budgeting Approach
Working Group
Multi-Year Planning
Working Group
Salary & Job Classification
Working Group
Capital Planning
Working Group
Budgeting Approach Working Group
The Budgeting Approach Working Group will focus on specific approaches to budgeting that will be adopted by the University. Specific budgeting needs that will need to be addressed are: managing a holistic general funds budget allocation process including carry-forward balances, budgeting all funds, SIMBA integration and reporting, and others.
Task Force Recommendations:
- Budgeting All Funds: Incorporate total university sources and uses in the five-year budget planning process.
- Permanent and Temporary Budgets: Develop a comprehensive General Funds budget that shows how sources and uses are deployed annually and eliminates the separation of funding into “Permanent” and “Temporary” budget categories. Provide budget allocations that allow individual units to manage sources and uses holistically.
- Carry-forward Funds: Consistent with developing budgets based on total sources and uses, include carry-forward balances as one component of General Funds sources in a holistic budget approach. Establish clear principles and categories that allow carry-forward funds to roll into subsequent years.
- Fringe Benefits: Include fringe benefit funds in the total E&G allocation, so that units manage those costs as part of the overall budget.
Co-Chairs
Committee Members
Andrew Reisinger
University Budget Director
University Budget Office
agr1@psu.edu
Associate Professor of Chemistry
Chemistry
Financial Officer
Commonwealth Campuses
Assistant Controller
Office of the Corporate Controller
Jeffrey Smith
Associate Vice President
Outreach Operations
xjs7@psu.edu
Executive Director Administrator
Undergraduate Education
Financial Officer
College of Liberal Arts
Director of Business & Finance, Bryce Jordan Center and Hospitality Services
Bryce Jordan Center
SIMBA Budget-Funds Mgmt Lead
University Budget Office
Budget Analyst
University Budget Office
Multi-Year Planning Working Group
The Multi-Year Planning Working Group will focus on an approach to do five-year budget planning for the University as a whole, and within each budget unit. The approach will answer questions such as: how we define a budget unit; how we create a five-year budget; and issues with forecasting and accuracy, among others.
Task Force Recommendations:
- Multi-year Budgeting: Create a five-year operating and capital budget planning process that uses integrated data to forecast at the individual unit and total institution levels.
- Non-General Funds (Auxiliary, Gifts, Endowment Income, and Sponsored Research): Include non-General Funds sources and uses (auxiliary, gifts, endowment income, and sponsored research) in the overall five-year budget forecast for each unit.
Co-Chairs
Committee Members
Patricia Cochrane
Executive Director of Budget and Planning
VP Commonwealth Campuses
pzc3@psu.edu
Business Administrator
Graduate Schools
Program Coordinator and Assistant Professor
Learning Design and Technology Online Programs
Financial Manager
Penn State World Campus
Kurt Kissinger
AVP for Finance & Business
Central Finance & Business
kak47@psu.edu
Financial Officer
College of Information Sciences and Technology
Budget Analyst
University Budget Office
Assistant Vice President of Finance and Business
College of Medicine
Senior Director, Administrative and Financial Services
Admin & Financial Services
Salary and Job Classification Working Group
To align with the new budgeting approach, the Job and Salary Classification Working Group will create new policies and processes to optimize the human resource classifications. The new budget approach, recommended by the University's Strategic Budget Task Force, urges the University to shift away from the current practice of categorizing general funds as either "permanent" or "temporary." The Job and Salary Working group will implement their recommended changes in three phases.
Phase I began on July 1, 2020, and asked all hiring managers to review posted or frozen new staff positions and categorize them into standing or fixed-term positions based on the job description and work. Traditionally, standing positions are funded from the permanent budget, while fixed-term positions were funded through the temporary budget.
Phase II will focus on recategorizing current staff positions. New category names will be explored and potentially adapted to reflect these changes.
Phase III will examine the non-tenure-track faculty categorizations. This process will involve the University Faculty Senate, which will help determine if any non-tenure-track faculty job category changes are needed.
All phases are expected to conclude by June 30, 2021.
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Task Force Recommendations:
- Salaries: In conjunction with establishing holistic General Funds budget allocations, update policies and processes related to salary identification and reporting.
Co-Chairs
Committee Members
Anne Miller
Director of Finance & Business
Mont Alto Campus
amc267@psu.edu
Staff Attorney
Office of General Council
Director of Information Technology
University Budget Office
HR Strategic Partner
Penn State Behrend
Gregory Stoner
Senior Director of Compensation & Benefits
Human Resources
gds5177@psu.edu
Ee Sparks Prof Literature
English
Senior Director of Shared Services
Human Resources
Business Process Analyst
Enterprise Project Mgmt Office
Vice Provost
General & Academic Officers
Capital Planning Working Group
The Capital Planning Working Group will focus on creating new processes, policies, and planning cycles to best align with the new budgeting approach to create a more holistic approach to planning and budgeting.
Task Force Recommendations:
- Capital Plan Development: In conjunction with taking a more holistic approach that budgets all funds on a multi-year basis, the process for developing and authorizing the University Capital Plan should be examined to better align university priorities, the capital plan, and the annual operating budget.
- The Intersection of Operating and Capital Costs: Incorporate the cost of ongoing operations – facilities operations, utilities, and maintenance, as well as programming (such as staff, equipment, and recurring costs) – as part of the capital planning process, so that the total impact on the operating and capital budgets is transparent.
Co-Chairs
Committee Members
Mark Miller
Assistant Vice President
Physical Plant
tmm6591@psu.edu
Assoc VP Admn/Cwc
VP Commonwealth Campuses
Manager, Capital Planning & Funding
Financial Management
Professor Mechanical Engineer
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Faculty Senate Representative
Susan Wiedemer
Associate Controller/Assistant Treasurer
Office of the Corporate Controller
sjw5@psu.edu
Financial Officer
Eberly College of Science
Budget Specialist
University Budget Office
Interim Asst. Director, Admin and Financial Services
Office of Physical Plant
Senior Director of Design and Construction
Physical Plant Project Management
Dean
General & Academic Officers
College of Earth and Mineral Sciences