December 5, 2014
Dean
School of Sample
University of Michigan-Flint
303 E. Kearsley Street, 444 FH
Flint, MI 48502
Dear D e a n :
It is time once again to begin the process of developing the budget for FY16. In an effort to strengthen our strategic
planning, we have built upon lessons learned from the FY15 budget process. We are confident this will be another
step towards the most efficient utilization of the limited resources available to the Flint campus. Our ultimate goal
is to put forward a strong business case to gain the approval of the Budget by the Regents in June of next year.
The goals of the budget process continue to be to support the strategic plan of the University to:

Encourage programs that stimulate academic excellence and enrollment growth

Protect our human capital and physical infrastructure that support the academic mission

Be fiscally responsible and efficient with the resources available in order to better leverage funding (75% of
project costs) from the State Building Authority & other resources

Continue to allow decentralized flexibility in allocating resources within each of our schools and cost
centers

Be simple and transparent
With these principles in mind we are requesting information that will aid in better understanding of our mutual goals
and establish a supporting plan to attain them. The information being requested is centered on the themes below
with staggered timelines to ease administrative burden:
A) January 16, 2015 - Facilities - describe any facilities and related equipment challenges you face or that you
see around campus.
B) February 2, 2015 Key Initiatives –
a. Follow up from FY15 - Many initiatives were brought forward last year and a short status update would
be appreciated.
b. New Initiatives for FY16 - discuss your key initiatives in FY16 and the resources that are being used or
requested in order to complete them.
C) February 2, 2015 - Enrollment Projections – provide your projection of enrollments for FY16 as well as fee
changes.
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Although we will not be requesting the budget cut scenario or information on cost containment efforts that was
requested last year, please include any significant changes that may warrant discussion. To aid in consistency in the
development of strong business cases, we have included an example for your reference.
Please submit all required documents electronically to Jerry Glasco (gglasco@umflint.edu). This will give us
time to review your materials and to work with you and your staff to resolve any issues prior to budget
decision making. Please note that this information may be shared with faculty advisory groups (Budget and
Strategic Planning, Admin. Services, etc.).
Please feel free to contact Jerry and his staff for any assistance in the budget process, or provide additional
information around your school.
Sincerely,
Greg Tewksbury
Vice Chancellor for Business and Finance
Cc:
Chancellor Borrego
Provost Voland
Gerald Glasco
Attachments:
Budget Narrative Sections (A, B, C)
Attachment A – Fee Proposals and Changes FY16
UM-Flint Budget Time Line
Excel file with templates
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School/College of
FY 2016 Budget Narrative Questions
Instructions: Please complete the sections below within the stated parameters, including the original question
with your answers. You may choose to add additional information as attachments.
SECTION A – Facilities and equipment challenges
Describe your unit's current facilities and related equipment challenges in the categories below. If these
challenges are a high priority for your unit, they should also be prioritized in your initiative requests.
A) Space needs or changes for your unit. This should include any cross functional needs (specialized
classrooms, smart boards/carts, etc.) that may be for the greater University good.

Please include a short narrative of the challenge and how renovations would positively impact
enrollment/faculty/student experience. Please also include any indirect impact for support that would be
needed (DPS, ITS, etc.)

Detail of space needed (See Excel Spreadsheet “Space Request”):
Instructions:
A. Select Building from drop down list
B. Enter Department Name
C. Select Type of Space from drop down list
D. Enter Occupancy (office individual should be 1)
E. Select proposed Funding Source from drop down list
F. Enter one line explanation on the need for this space.
B) Equipment needs related to space
 Please include a short narrative of the challenge, impact, and any resources that you would provide
to accomplish the goal. (Example – Smart Carts, specific desks or seating requirements, etc.)
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SECTION B – Narrative of Key Initiatives, Goals, Progress and related funding
Outline your long-term goals and timeline. For each goal, summarize the following:
a. Previous initiatives - Follow-up on initiatives presented last year. Please update the status of the
initiative (implemented, cancelled, resubmitted).
b. Commitments - Provide an update on your unit’s financial performance. Excel Workbook
“Financial Performance” gives a history since FY10 of your unit’s financial performance. Please
provide commitments against your FY14 General Fund resources (including FY15 results). This
would include both base and one time commitments. If this has been recently submitted to the
Provost, please submit an updated version.
c. New Initiatives - Summarize the financial impact of these new investments on your existing
resources and any incremental funding requests. Instructions:
o Write a narrative that explains the new program or initiative being launched. Below is a
sample business case for a new initiative.
o Provide detailed budget information on the new program or initiative using Excel Workbook
“Budget Requests”. There is a sample budget provided that relates to the sample business case
below.
Example of Business Case Narrative:
Priority #1 – Financial Services & Budget is requesting funding for one financial analyst position.
Impact on Students/Faculty/Alignment with Strategic Plan
Financial Services & Budget currently has two budget analysts assigned to overseeing the annual
budget process and subsequent reporting of budget vs. actual. There is a limited amount of time
available to work on other financial projects or non-financial analytical projects. The addition of one
additional analyst would provide greater flexibility to expand the data analysis we can provide.
Projects would include, but are not limited to comprehensive reporting on campus space data, auxiliary
operation forecasting, procurement & contract processing and student payment and collections.
This request is in support of Strategic Priority #9 (Create a more integrated and systematic accounting
of institutional data: use technology to provide a competitive advantage in recruiting and retention).
Funding Rationale – Financial Services is leveraging existing discretionary base and one-time costs in
support of this initiative. Full support is not available with existing resources.
Impact on indirect services: None
Impact if not funded
If we were not to receive additional funding, we would reassess our current priorities to see if resources
could be shifted. However, we would have limited ability to take on any projects that we aren’t
currently doing.
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SECTION C – Enrollment Planning for FY 2016
Use the table below to convey your enrollment plans.
(Note: List your plans by program, level, or any other category that aligns with your unit’s specific enrollment
plans. The counts in the table below may be expressed in terms of credit hours.
Program, Level or Other
Category
Target
Fall 2014
Actual
Fall 2014
Plan for
Fall 2015
Briefly describe the rationale for any changes in your enrollment goals.
Feel free to attach additional detail if needed to fully explain your unit’s enrollment plans.
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ATTACHMENT A – FEE PROPOSALS AND CHANGES FY16
DEPARTMENT/PROGRAM NAME: _________________________________________________________
CONTACT PERSON:
_____________________________ PHONE: ______________
EMAIL_____________
FEE REQUESTED:
____________________________TYPE/PURPOSE OF FEE: ________________________
(e.g., course, lab, etc.)
CURRENT FEE AMOUNT____________________ PER TERM
 PER COURSE  PER CREDIT
(ZERO, IF NONE)
REQUESTED FEE AMOUNT:
____________________ PER TERM
 PER COURSE
 PER CREDIT
FEE PURPOSE:
FOR REQUESTED INCREASE PLEASE COMPLETE BOTH TABLES
FOR NEW REQUESTS ONLY COMPLETE TABLE 2
TABLE 1 – HOW FEE HAS BEEN USED
FISCAL YEAR
2013
2014
2015
(estimated)
Fee Revenue
Uses:
Travel / Training
Supplies
Equipment
Subtotal Uses
Net Surplus (deficit)
TABLE 2 – FORECAST USE OF FEE
2016
FISCAL YEAR
2017
2018
Fee Revenue
Uses:
Travel / Training
Supplies
Equipment
Subtotal Uses
Net Surplus (deficit)
ONLY ONE REQUEST PER FORM
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University of Michigan – Flint
Budget Time-line
FY 2016 Budget
Target Date
Oct 31, 2014
December 5, 2014
December 19, 2014
February 2, 2015
February 2, 2015
March 6, 2015
March 13, 2015
March 2015 (TBD)
March 2015(TBD)
March 27, 2015
April 6, 2015
April 16, 2015
April 24, 2015
May 1, 2015
May 11, 2015
May 21, 2015
May 29, 2015
May 29, 2015
June 8, 2015
June 18,2015
July 1, 2015
July 31, 2015
Description
State Appropriation and Capital Outlay Requests
VCBF issues request for budget information. Space due January 16,
balance due February 2, 2015. Follow-up meetings with Budget units
on FY16 budget request– discuss requested budget information,
obstacles, clarify information
VCBF request enrollment forecasts from Admissions and Graduate
Programs. Due February 2, 2015
Enrollment assumptions from Admissions and Graduate Programs due to
Financial Services and Budget.
Requested budget information is due to VCBF
Chancellor seeks input from Chancellor Advisory Budget Priorities &
meets with Deans and EOs on budget assumptions
Preliminary Budget Meeting w/ Chancellor, VCBF and Financial
Services
Governor’s Budget Address
House and Senate Hearing (after Governor’s Address)
Update meeting between Chancellor, VCBF and Financial Services on
draft budget parameters for preliminary meeting with Regents.
Deadline to submit items to the Regents for April Meeting
Regents’ Meeting: Preliminary Budget Meeting w/ Regents
Preliminary decisions on tuition rate increases, enrollment assumptions,
state appropriation assumption, merit salary program, mandatory fees
and funding initiatives.
Preliminary General Fund budget and final budgets for all non-GF areas
due to the Office of Financial Analysis
Deadline to submit items to the Regents for May Meeting
Regents’ Meeting: Presentation of “proposed budget” to Regents in
closed session
Final Budget due to Office of Financial Analysis
Final decisions on tuition rate increases, enrollment assumptions, state
appropriation assumption, merit salary program, mandatory fees and
funding initiatives.
Budget package for June 18 Regents’ Meeting due
Regents’ Meeting: Regents vote on budget
Communication of FY16 (Budget Memos)
Load FY16 Budgets into People Soft Budget Ledger
Complete
X
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