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Announcing a new organization: Finance, Planning & Budgeting

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Effective January 16, 2024, UW Finance and the Office of Planning & Budgeting have united as one team. Sarah Norris Hall will serve as Senior Vice President of Finance, Planning & Budgeting (FPB). This organizational chart reflects the new organization with leadership updates and high-level reporting structures.

FPB Org Chart March 2024
FPB Org Chart March 2024

Message from Sarah Hall: 

I am truly honored to have been asked by President Cauce and Provost Serio to lead our new Finance, Planning and Budgeting team. I am excited for us to pool our expertise, efforts and creativity as a new organization and build on our work in service to a great public university that is deeply committed to its student access, excellent teaching, public service, discovery, and health missions.  

I want to extend my gratitude and congratulations to Brian McCartan, who has not only been a thoughtful and strategic partner in our shared work, but also supportive and gracious as we prepare for this transition. I wish Brian all the best in his retirement.  

Together we now have the opportunity, and the mandate, to urgently address the challenges we continue to encounter with Workday Finance, and to provide a level of strategy, analysis and decision support to our President, Provost, and Board that we were previously unable to provide. The imperative to stabilize our implementation of this software is both an opportunity and a responsibility that we all take seriously. I know we have a lot of work to do and I’m confident we can make further progress together.  

By uniting our teams, we can create more efficient and mutually supportive relationships and leverage expertise which may have been duplicative or not fully utilized in the past.  This will allow us to focus on our shared work and provide excellent analysis, reporting, planning, controls, and support to the broader UW.  

Moving ahead, I look forward to aligning our shared goals, growing together, supporting each other through this initial transition, and creating an organizational alignment that serves the University and our community. There’s a lot at stake, and we will need everyone’s help. 

Between now and June 2024, we will undergo an assessment and consultation to further integrate our teams. We will do this in an organized way, taking into account how we might pool our resources and expertise to align further in support of each other, and our work on behalf of the UW. We will use a mix of qualitative and quantitative measures to land an integration plan by June 2024. I will work closely with those in leadership positions to co-create an integration plan that sets us up for success long-term. 

I look forward to listening, learning, and collaborating to evolve our Finance, Planning and Budgeting Team with a shared vision to serve and support the instructional, research, service, and patient health missions of the University. Thank you in advance for your patience, your hard work, your deep commitment, and your collegial partnership.   

Sincerely, and gratefully, 

Sarah 

UW finance, planning and budgeting merge to better serve faculty, staff and students

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From 1/12/24 UW News

President Ana Mari Cauce and Provost Tricia Serio announced an organizational and leadership restructuring in the areas of finance, planning and budgeting aimed at improving the effectiveness and efficiency of these areas’ service to the University community. The changes, which take effect Tuesday, Jan. 16, come after an external review determined a unified organization will better serve faculty and academic personnel, as well as staff and students.

The newly configured Office of Finance, Planning and Budgeting combines UW Finance with the UW Office of Planning and Budgeting. The UW’s payroll department will also move out of Information Technology and into Finance, Planning and Budgeting.

Photo collage of Jessica Bertram, Sarah Norris Hall and Jason Campbell
Photo collage of Jessica Bertram, Sarah Norris Hall and Jason Campbell

This new organization will be led by Sarah Norris Hall, who was named senior vice president and chief financial officer. Reporting to Hall will be Jason Campbell, the UW’s new vice president for Finance & Budget Strategy and deputy chief financial officer and Jessica Bertram, who will be vice president for University Business Services. Previously, finance and business services fell under Vice President Brian McCartan, who is retiring. Also reporting to Hall will be Erin Guthrie, associate vice provost for Institutional Analysis and University Data Officer, and Jed Bradley, executive director for Planning, Policy and State Operations; both functions were part of Planning & Budgeting.

Read the rest of the news release on UW News.

Income Share Agreement Update

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Income Share Agreements (ISAs) have grown in popularity in recent years. They have been lauded by some as a solution to the student debt crisis, and criticized by others for further complicating the education finance market. Given the continued interest in ISAs, we have updated our 2016 brief on the topic. Here are some key takeaways:

  • While our 2016 brief compared ISAs to the federal Income Based Repayment (IBR) plan, it is now clear that ISAs typically supplement subsided loans rather than replace them, and are thus better compared to private loans than public loans.
  • More colleges and universities have begun offering ISAs directly, as have more coding academics and other non-traditional institutions.
  • Some members of the Washington state legislature introduced a bill that would create an ISA pilot program and establish ISA regulations for Washington state. There continues to be interest in ISAs on a federal level but also within our state.

For more information and to read the updated brief, please see our OPB Briefs page.

2016-17 Cost of Attendance for First-Year UW Undergrads

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The estimated annual cost of attendance for first-year UW undergraduates is now available for the 2016-17 academic year.  Cost of attendance shows estimated expenses by campus for:

  • Tuition
  • Student fees
  • Room & board
  • Books, personal, & transportation

Cost of attendance (COA) is defined by the Higher Education Act.  It is a statutory term that typically refers to the estimated cost for a full-time student to attend an institution of higher education for a standard nine-month academic year.

After accounting for grant and scholarship aid, UW students (particularly resident undergraduates) often pay far less than the estimated COA.  In 2014-15 (the most recent year for which net price data is available), the published price for resident undergraduates at Seattle was $27,112, whereas the net price for first-time, resident undergraduates at Seattle was $9,744.

We will annually update the COA information on our website.

2015 Bill Summary Now Available

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Under the “Briefs” tab of the OPB website, you will find the 2015 Bill Summary, which provides a list of all the bills we tracked during the 2015 legislative session that passed into law.  Links to veto messages are displayed for any bills that were partially vetoed by the Governor.

Of the 538 bills that OPB tracked during the 2015 session, 74 passed into law.

As a reminder, any bill that did not pass into law during the regular session will be reintroduced at the beginning of the supplemental session, next year.

Report confirms continuing economic recovery and restoration of state funding for higher education

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State Higher education Executive Officer (SHEEO) announced its annual release of State Higher Education Finance (SHEF) report for FY14, which provides a comprehensive review of state and local funding, tuition revenue, and enrollment trends for public higher education.

National trends and Current status of state funding for higher education

On average, state and local support per full time equivalent (FTE) student was $6,552, a slight increase from $6,215 in 2013. Net tuition collections per FTE student is at $5,777, a 2.7 percent increase from 2013. Two rather interesting findings were highlighted in the report:

  • State and local support was 57.3 percent in 2014 as a share of per-student total educational revenue available to public institutions of higher education.
  • The explosive enrollment growth at public institutions from 2008 through 2011 tapered off in 2012 and is continuing in the downward trend. In 2014 enrollment fell another 1.3 percent from 2013.

Washington State compared to U.S Average

As a reminder, the SHEEO SHEF report combines community and technical college and college/university enrollment, state appropriations and tuition revenue for purposes of this report. In it, they found that enrollment (FTE) increased by 3.5 percent from 2009 to 2014, which is close to U.S. average (3.9 percent). They also found that public higher education in Washington improved in a number of other dimensions; including:

  • 15.3 percent increase in educational appropriations per FTE since 2013, higher than the U.S. average of 5.4 percent;
  • 3.7 percent increase in net tuition revenue per FTE from total educational revenue, higher than the U.S. average of 2.7 percent; and,
  • Total educational revenue per FTE increased by 9.4 percent, which was higher than the U.S. average of 4.1 percent.

However, two years of per-student funding increases might have meant that national average was on the path to exceeding pre-recession funding levels, which was not the case. Educational appropriations per student in FY14 remained 18.9 percent below 2008 pre-recession levels.

Read the full report for more data, analysis and methodological details.

Rankings Abound

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The Equity Line, among others, highlights how the recent NYT rankings of colleges by enrollment of Pell Grant recipients is a nice gesture, but lacking in many ways. The University of Washington (and most public institutions!) was not evaluated as part of the effort, though one-quarter of its undergraduate population received Pell Grant funding last year.

Equity Line contributor Jose Luis Santos notes that, “…the rankings only capture a tiny number of undergraduates enrolled in four-year colleges who receive Pell Grants (just 1.6 percent!), leaving out more than 4.2 million students. This distorts the picture of low-income enrollment, and it distracts the public and policymakers from the real problems with higher education access and success.”

US News & World Report released its much anticipated set of annual rankings this week; the UW fared better this year. Additional analysis about the UW’s position in US News will be posted to the blog as it becomes available.

Pew Center’s 5 Facts About College Graduates

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With graduation season upon us, the Pew Research Center has created a roundup of “5 Facts About Today’s College Graduates.” The article draws from several national databases and surveys, including the National Center for Education Statistics, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and Pew surveys.

1.       Only about 56% of students actually graduate within six years. Students at four-year, private, nonprofits schools have the highest graduation rates (72.9%) while those at public, two-year schools are least likely to complete their degree program (39.9 %) within six years.

2.       Business tops the list of most popular major, again. Since 1980-81, business has been the most common major. In 2011-12, one fifth of Americans earning bachelor’s degrees majored in business.

3.       Many recent graduates have trouble finding full-time jobs that require a college degree. In 2012, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that 44 percent of recent graduates were underemployed (i.e., working jobs that did not require a college degree). Of that group, only 36 percent made more than $45,000 per year.

4.       Despite this, college graduates continue to make more than people without degrees. A Pew study of Millennials who worked full-time found that the median salary for college graduates was $45,500, while those with some college made just $30,000 and those with a high school diploma made just $28,000. The gap has continued to widen over the years, as described in our recent post.

5.       Graduates still say that college was worth it. 88 percent of Millennial college graduates believe their degree either has paid off (62 percent) or will pay off in the future (26 percent). Among those with advanced degrees, 96 percent say their education was worth the investment.

To read the full Pew Center article, please click here.

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Higher Education and Career-Ready Graduates: New Surveys Offer Insight into America’s Opinions

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The results of two new surveys released Tuesday reveal some of America’s views on both the future of higher education as well as its role in producing desirable outcomes, particularly career-ready graduates. Under Northeastern University’s sponsorship, FTI Consulting surveyed 263 hiring managers in July as well as 1,000 adult Americans in August.  Here are some of their findings: 

  • Americans continue to see the value in higher education, but are concerned that the system does not adequately prepare graduates for their careers. Respondents ranked “level of education” as the most important factor in determining a job candidate’s success; yet, 62 percent said colleges currently do only a fair to poor job of preparing graduates for the workforce. That said, 79 percent believe their own college education prepared them well.
  • Americans are conflicted about who has the greatest responsibility to train recent graduates for the workplace: employers (36 percent), colleges/universities (29 percent) or the graduates themselves (35 percent). When Americans were asked why U.S. companies are struggling to find good job candidates, the most common response was that companies are not investing enough in training new hires. However, 87 percent of Americans assert that higher education must change in order to maintain an internationally competitive workforce.
  • Americans and business leaders value “soft” skills, like problem-solving and communication, over “hard” industry-specific skills. Most Americans (65 percent) and business leaders (73 percent) believe that, for people on the job market, “being well-rounded with a range of abilities is more important than having industry experience because job-specific skills can be learned at work.”
  • Americans and business leaders agree that experiential learning is highly valuable to students’ careers. Nearly all Americans (89 percent) and business leaders (74 percent) believe that students are more successful in their careers if they have work experience from a field-related internship or job. Both groups agree the most important step the U.S. can take to better prepare colleges students is to broaden the professional work programs available to them.
  • Although most Americans (67 percent) think colleges should adopt new technologies and interactive teaching methods, they have doubts about MOOCs and online degrees. Less than 30 percent of Americans and business leaders believe MOOCs are of the same quality as in-person courses, and only 37 percent of Americans would consider completing a postsecondary degree solely online. However, about half of all respondents believe MOOCs will transform education in the US and that online degrees will be equally accepted by employers within 5 to 7 years.

My take-away from all this, to summarize, is:  Americans and business leaders believe that people on the job market need a college education, some professional work experience, and a well-rounded skill-set and in order to succeed. However, they also believe that colleges, businesses, and the government must play a role in helping students garner those qualifications.