TO: Deans & Directors FROM: Rayburn V. Lavigne, Interim Vice President for Administration Robert B. Low, Provost RE: FY 1997 - FY 2000 Budget and Planning Process DATE: September 8, 1995 It is time to begin the budgeting and planning process for FY 97 - FY 00. Over the summer, we assessed last year's budget process and are now melding several changes designed to put greater emphasis on strategic planning and enhanced communication. To encourage strategic thinking and extended planning time frames by grounding proposals in the long-range plans for each unit. * To emphasize the budget as a strategic document and tie short-term plans to long term strategies. * To give you an annual opportunity to review your programs, assess last year's progress, restate goals, present timetables for achieving goals, and develop methods of assessing outcomes. * To begin from established four-year budget targets and strategic plans and develop a revised FY 97 to FY 00 plan for each unit, and for the University as a whole, including programmatic, staffing, and resource dimensions. The Process We believe that these purposes can best be met by a combination of written narrative, one-on-one meetings, and group presentations. Specifically, these exchanges win be based on your vision of your unit in the year 2000 which we see as a concrete and reasonably comprehensive articulation of the outcome of your current planning efforts. Narrative Portion. The process will begin with your written narrative. Central to the narrative is your vision for the year 2000, in which you describe the operation and environment of your unit, including a one-page summary that can be shared with others at UVM. Help us understand how your FY 97 plans will move you in the direction of this future scenario and why that scenario is the preferred one. Think of the one-page summary as "Scenario 2000": We are entering the fall 2000 semester. Describe your customers, your staffing, your external and internal environment, your curriculum, your structure, how you do your work. This is an opportunity to share your excitement about the future you are creating in your unit. The narrative should also address the 4-year period of FY 97 - FY 00. Please discuss both the activities you perform within your mission and the resources you require to accomplish that mission. Academic units should include sections on teaching, research and scholarship, and public service. They should also describe current and future efforts and needs relating to student retention and recruitment including optimal size and enrollment trends. Resource discussions should include people, facilities, infrastructure, extramural funding, General Fund and other support. In addition, you should address the following key issues in your narrative: Technology at UVM. Technology will be an increasingly critical tool for advancing our educational and management goals. Please summarize your plans for using technology (computers, multimedia, telecommunications, World Wide Web. etc.) in your unit. What budgetary approaches will you use to implement these plans--salary savings, general operating, establishment of reserve accounts, or external grant support? As recommended in Doing IT at UVM, the Information Technology Executive Council (ITEC) has been established to provide University-wide oversight and consultation and will review your technology plans for the Provost. Development Priorities. Please provide a list of protects you would like considered for support by University Advancement, and rank or group them in priority order. We expect to concentrate this year on planning for future campaigns, so your priorities and goals will be crucial in deciding how to best deploy our advancement resources. Innovation and Change Efforts. Given the environment for higher education, innovation is no longer an option, but is a necessity. Innovation is happening at UVM now and we anticipate an increasing pace in the years to come. Please provide a description of your innovations and other change efforts underway or proposed, including benchmarking, and process redesign. Human Resources. Human resources make UVM happen, and continuing careful and thoughtful planning is essential. Include an update of your strategic staffing plan and discussion of other human resource issues, including a summary of your current and future efforts and needs in training and professional development for faculty and staff. Diversity. We believe efforts must be made at every level to achieve progress in further diversifying this community. Please highlight your plans and accomplishments in this regard. You do not have to limit your remarks to the above items. Add other topics as necessary to convey an accurate summary picture of your unit, but limit your response to ten pages. In addition, please include your one-page Scenario 2000 summary and an executive summary which pulls together highlights of your comments on the above key issues and the basic matters of mission and resources. Please provide 8 copies of your submission to the Office of Financial Analysis and Budgeting by October 16, 1995. Some or all of the material provided win be shared among Deans and Directors to enhance communication and awareness of planning across the University. Meeting Portion. In addition to the narrative, there will be several meeting opportunities. Current plans include the following: * regular scheduled dean or director meetings - as opposed to a series of Budget hearings - to review basic issues. * several larger meetings of related units to present and discuss scenarios in a more open fashion, allowing for greater awareness across units and enhancing opportunities for synergy in our actions. To facilitate doing so, we will be distributing your "Scenario 2000." * two comprehensive sessions: one including academic deans, the provost, and vice presidents/provosts for enrollment management, administration, academic support, and advancement; and one including academic and administrative directors, the provost, and the vice presidents/provosts. We will share summaries of everyone's submissions to facilitate an open dialogue.