MIlestone 2

HEA 620 Milestone Two Guidelines and Rubric

Overview: Using the Budget Template document in the Reading and Resources area of the module, you will create an initial departmental budget for the upcoming fiscal year based on research and the assumptive facts of the scenario introduced in the Final Project Guidelines and Rubric and below. Your budget should reflect planned expenses and revenue by line item and by month of planned encumbrance. Be sure to state what compliance and regulatory requirements, if any, were considered and annotate your line items. Also, consider the feedback that was given by classmates in this module’s Budget Review Discussion. Prompt: Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:

a. Your budget should reflect planned expenses and revenue by line item and by month of planned encumbrance. What compliance and regulatory requirements had to be considered?

b. Annotate your line items. Why have you made the choices that you made? What information informed your decision for each item? See instructions in the Budget Template document for how to annotate entries.

Institution Scenario and Initial Budget Assumptive Facts:

In preparing your initial budget, you will work with your instructor to build and justify an annual operating budget for the Office of Student Leadership and Engagement within Student Affairs at a large public university. Your instructor will serve as your budget-approving authority, the vice president of Student Affairs. Certain assumptive facts are provided to bring contextual relevance to the given scenario. You will also be asked to reforecast your budget based on a 10% decline in fall enrollment. To be successful, you need to acknowledge current challenges in the higher education financial landscape, examine enterprise frameworks governing the allocation of revenue streams, demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the basic concepts that comprise the annual budgeting process (including reforecasting activities), evaluate and interpret financial statements specific to the higher education environment, and then reflect on the budget process and how it addresses college priorities. For your initial annual budget, utilize the following assumptive facts (you may also identify and introduce additional assumptive facts into your planning as you deem appropriate):

• You are the director of the Office of Student Leadership and Engagement within the Division of Student Affairs at a large, public university. • You have four full-time staff members, one part-time (10-hours per week, non-benefited) staff member for social media, 10 student workers on Federal

Work-Study, two part-time graduate student educators, and your position as director. • Consider fringe benefits to be 32% of each annual salary. • Your current budget (including staff) is $1,628,000. • The college created its original budget based on 16,280 full-time enrollments (FTEs). • The fall enrollment was down 10% from the budget, only 14,652 FTEs. • Your facility and technology expenses are paid from a budget outside of your area.

• Your department receives all funds based on enrollment at $100 per FTE. • Line items in your budget include many individual items and activities.

o Office supplies o Student staff training o Staff professional development—two staff to attend NACA, one staff to attend ACPA or NASPA o New student orientation o Marketing materials o Institutional membership to American College Personnel Association (ACPA), National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA),

and National Association for Campus Activities (NACA) o Two students to attend Social Justice Training Institute (STJI) o Travel o Meals and entertainment o Staff salaries

 Director: $75,000 x 32% (fringe benefits, such as medical, dental, etc.) = $24,000 + $75,000 (base salary) = $99,000 total  Assistant director: $65,000 x 32% = $20,800 + 65,000 = $85,800 total  Two entry-level coordinators: $55,000 x 32% = $17,600 + $55,000 = $72,600 x 2 (coordinators) = $145,200 total  One part-time social media position: 10 hours per week x $20 an hour for 32 weeks = $6,400 total  Two part-time graduate student staff: 10 hours per week x $15 an hour for 32 weeks = $4,800 x 2 (staff) = $9,600 total

o Salaries and benefits are $1,113,400. o The 10 work-study staff salaries are paid via their Pell Grants; therefore, there is no cost to the department.

Note: Based upon our classroom discussions, certain assumptive facts may be identified that have not been provided here. Consequently, your instructor may ask you to incorporate new facts at any time prior to the submission of your initial budget or reforecasted budget milestones. These possible last-minute changes to your budget are reflective of the real-world higher education environment, and budget managers must be able to demonstrate fiscal flexibility in light of new changes in the financial landscape.

Rubric

Guidelines for Submission: Submit your budget using the Budget Template document and include, at the bottom of the budget or in a separate document, explanations of budgeting choices for each line item and the information and data that informs those choices.

Critical Elements Proficient (100%) Needs Improvement (70%) Not Evident (0%) Value Budget Creates a detailed budget for the upcoming

fiscal year that reflects planned expenses and revenues and addresses relevant regulatory and compliance requirements

Creates a cursory or inaccurate budget for the upcoming fiscal year that reflects planned expenses and revenues but may not address relevant regulatory and compliance requirements

Does not create a budget for the upcoming fiscal year

50

Annotations

Annotates line items with explanations of budgeting choices and the information or data that informs those choices

Annotates line items with explanations of budgeting choices but information or data is cursory or inaccurate

Does not annotate line items with explanations of budgeting choices

50

Total 100%