Course Overview:
This three week short course is geared to entry-level and mid-level professionals and will provide participants with the opportunity to focus on many aspects of budgeting in an easy to understand format.
Methods of analysis and use of budgets as planning tools will be explored through presentations, recommended readings, participation on a discussion board, and actual budget analysis. Participants will learn practical techniques that will enable them to successfully plan for their next fiscal cycle and overcome "fears of budgeting".
Learning Outcomes:
- Understand how your institutional characteristics influence budgeting
- Learn the terms of budgeting that allow you to better communicate with budget officers and others about the budget
- Learn about various budgeting models including
- Incremental Budgeting
- Planning, Programming Budgeting
- Zero-Based Budgeting
- Performance Budgeting
- Formula Budgeting
- Cost Centered/Responsibility Centered Budgeting
- Understand the context of your budget in relation to the greater university budgeting structure
- Gain skills to analyze your budget, rebuild/reorganize your budget, and plan for your next budget cycle with resources and assistance
- Learn to use the budget as a planning document
- Learn strategies for asking for additional resources and collaborating with others to achieve you goals
- Network with others and share experiences to learn better business practices
Participant Expectations:
Participants should expect to devote about 5 hours during each of the three weeks of the course in order to make a solid contribution to the class. Assignments will include recommended readings, analysis of your institution/budget, questions for discussions in discussion threads, and at least one on-line chat. This is a discussion-based course that is dependent upon each student being prepared and actively participating in an open and honest way with regard to their views of the material.
Active participation in the discussion board and budget analysis exercise will significantly enhance the learning experience and help bring the course material to life.
Individuals registering for CEUs will receive 1.0 CEU upon successful completion of the course.
Instructor Bio:
Allison Steffensmeier is currently the Financial Advisor to the Provost at the University of Hartford where she monitors spending and allocations for all academic and related functions. She has also served as a Budget Analyst at Clemson University where she helped monitor university-wide budgeting and fund management. She has a Masters Degree in Higher Education Administration from Loyola University Chicago and an Undergraduate degree in Finance from Drake University. Her business background combined with her knowledge and experience in higher education's unique business environment offers practical insight into the budgeting process.
