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Where We Are Now

Â鶹¾«Æ·ÊÓƵis currently in the Administrative Efficiency, Academic Program Costing, and Model Refinement (Phase 2B) of the budget model redesign. This phase will analyze the true costs of operating academic programs and ensure that expense growth remains sustainable and aligned with the University’s long-term goals.

Background

In 2022, Â鶹¾«Æ·ÊÓƵbegan a process to modernize its budget model to better align financial planning with the University’s strategic goals and academic mission. Led by University President Adam Hasner and Jayson Iroff, Chief Financial Officer, this initiative was launched to increase transparency, improve decision-making, and empower faculty and university leaders to advance the academic mission and student outcomes.

Several important developments have continued to shape this effort. With the arrival of Adam Hasner as the new University President and the development of a new strategic plan, Â鶹¾«Æ·ÊÓƵhas renewed its commitment to aligning resources with institutional priorities.

Â鶹¾«Æ·ÊÓƵcontinues to build a budget model that allocates resources transparently, provides a single source of truth for financial information, and enables continued investment in academic, research and student success priorities.

What We Have Completed

Phase 1: Current State Assessment

• Identified strengths and weaknesses of the current model.
• Assessed readiness for transformative change.
• Outline goals and key needs for the future model.
• Conducted a budget maturity assessment.

Phase 2A: Budget Model Design & Consensus Building

• Facilitated Steering Committee decisions to produce a revenue distribution model that supports FAU’s institutional goals.
• Built a flexible test model that allows Â鶹¾«Æ·ÊÓƵstakeholders to review multiple output scenarios.
• Socialized the redesigned model with shared governance groups (e.g., Dean’s Council, Faculty Senate, Executive Leadership Team) and gathered campus feedback.
• Developed an implementation Plan for the new model.

Guiding Principles

Align Funding with University Mission and Strategic Plan
Work together as a team to create a dynamic model that advances FAU’s values and vision.

Integrate State University System (SUS) Metrics and Priorities
Incorporate key performance metrics and priorities into planning and decision-making to ensure alignment with statewide goals and performance standards.

Incentivize Growth Commensurate with Quality
Incentivize enrollment, student credit hours, and other measures (e.g., research) while advancing a culture that rewards performance.

Reward Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Promote investment in operational and entrepreneurial activities aligned to strategic priorities that advance student outcomes and success.

Enable Transparency and Simplicity
Provide visibility into sources and uses of funds and the drivers behind financial decision-making while fostering accountability.

How the Model Reflects these Principles

• Aligning funding with the university’s mission and strategic plan enables collaborative, team-based decision-making that ensures resources are invested in initiatives advancing the University’s core values and long-term vision, making the budget model more dynamic and purpose-driven.
• Integrating State University System (SUS) metrics and priorities into the budget model ensures that planning and decision-making directly support statewide performance standards and goals, fostering alignment and accountability across the university’s initiatives.
• Incentivizing growth commensurate with quality in the budget model motivates increases in enrollment, student credit hours, and research productivity, while ensuring that rewards are tied to high performance and educational excellence.
• Rewarding entrepreneurship and innovation through the budget model encourages investment in operational and entrepreneurial initiatives that align with strategic priorities, ultimately advancing student outcomes and institutional success.
• Enabling transparency and simplicity in the budget model ensures clear visibility into the sources and uses of funds, and clarifies the drivers behind financial decisions, thereby fostering accountability across the university.

Project timeline and Updates

Â鶹¾«Æ·ÊÓƵhas partnered with a consulting firm on a collaborative, multi-phase effort to redesign its budget model. The first phase, completed in late 2022, involved a comprehensive review of the university’s exiting budget processes and practices.

The previous phase, Phase 2A, focused on creating a new budget model framework that creates incentives for performance and better advances FAU’s mission. This phase concluded in the fall of 2024.

The current phase, Phase 2B, which began in August 2025, centers on administrative efficiency, academic program costing, and model refinements. This work will deepen the university’s understanding of how resources are used across units and ensure that expenses remain sustainable, strategic, and aligned with institutional priorities. This phase is estimated to be complete in April 2026.

The Budget Model Redesign is guided by input from the Â鶹¾«Æ·ÊÓƵCentral Finance Office, Academic Deans, Administrative VPs working in partnership with academic and administrative leadership across the university to ensure a balanced, mission-aligned approach.

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