Discussion 7

 Internal and external factors heavily influence the academic budget cycle at a college. Some examples would be:

• Faculty positions for the fall are listed the previous fall
• Student affairs positions are listed from Jan 1-April 1
• States don’t release funds until the month after approvals, usually 2-6 months into the budget cycle

Pick one of the three budget models below and review their budget communication in light of these factors: a decentralized budget, an incremental budget, or a zero-based budget. Then, analyze the key components that school used to construct their budget process.

• Kent State: decentralized budget: https://www.kent.edu/budget/rcm-manual

• California State University: incremental budget:  https://www2.calstate.edu/csu-system/about-the-csu/budget/2018-19-operating-budget/Documents/2018-2019-Operating-Budget.pdf

• Richland Community College: zero-based budget: https://www.richland.edu/app/uploads/2020/06/rcc_fy2019_budget.pdf

Textbook: Budgets and Financial Management in Higher Education, Chapter 6