Budget Decisions for Fiscal Year 2018

Budget Decisions for Fiscal Year 2018

October 17, 2017
Dear Members of the A&M-San Antonio Community:

I am pleased to announce the budget recommendations received from the University Resources Commission (URC) for fiscal year 2018 have been implemented. Despite the uncertainty of state funding in the next biennium, it is important that we continue to right-size our expansion and focus on becoming a national model for student and academic success. The FY18 budget includes additions to recurring base budgets and funding for one-time items, including merit payments for staff and faculty.

A total of $1,869,839 in new funding was available for allocation to recurring base budgets. Of this amount, $1,865,816 (all but $4,023) was allocated to the University's divisions:

• Academic Affairs (faculty) - $863,991
• Academic Affairs (administration) - $224,746
• Student Affairs (student success) - $747,867
• University Advancement - $29,212

These allocations are used almost entirely to hire new faculty and staff to support the University's growth.

A one-time merit pool of 3 percent ($1,000,500) has been adopted for staff and faculty. Performance appraisals, done last fiscal year, will be used as a basis for awarding the one-time bonus each individual will receive. Human Resources will work with each vice president to finalize the one-time payment allocations to ensure bonuses are awarded before the end of the calendar year.

And finally, a total of $2,278,036 was available to fund one-time requests. $1,230,004 was allocated for approved requests:

• Academic Affairs - $270,000
• Student Affairs - $409,382
• Business Affairs - $286,250
• University Advancement - $82,400

The remaining funds are being retained to fund other one-time expenses throughout the year. 

I have charged the URC and the vice presidents, over the course of the coming year, with various responsibilities relating to on-going budget management and review, as well as making recommendations for modifications to our budget processes and methodologies. Among these charges are ensuring we are appropriately budgeting for strategic priorities (enrollment, pedagogy, student success, etc.); technology priorities; reviewing allocation methodologies for student fees; and ensuring appropriate one-time funding sources are available to implement the campus master plan as required to support campus growth.

The University will hold an open budget forum in November to discuss the budget decisions noted above. Please visit the URC website to see more details or contact a URC member for further details or questions.

Sincerely,

Cynthia Teniente-Matson
President