The Process

The University is gathering data and evaluating multiple paths to accomplishing a cumulative $65M reduction in our budget over the next several years. These efforts are happening across the University: in academic units and schools and colleges, through enterprise-level business processes, and in administrative units.  

• Provost’s Council advises on strategies for how best to evaluate budget reductions in academic units.  
• Deans identify possible modifications to academic programs or offerings as well as budget cuts under various cut scenarios. 
• Deans meet with university leadership (president, provost, and senior vice president for finance and administration) to share their insights. 
• Provost’s Council discusses overall approach to possible academic program changes and budget cuts, and school and college leadership and faculty engagement plans. 
• The AMAC provides confidential feedback.  
• The provost, Provost’s Council, and the AMAC are expected to consider several versions of proposals from August through October, evaluating possible impacts and implications of any academic modifications.   
• Deans continue to engage with school and college leadership and engage with faculty upon their return, through October, regarding potential academic modifications.  
• The draft plan for academic modifications is made available on the AMAC webpage in late October for public comment. 
• Public comment gathered by the AMAC is shared with university leadership.  
• Deans meet with university leadership to refine and finalize plans.
• Final decisions will be made by President Scholz toward the end of Fall term. 

• Vice presidents undertake a budget scenario exercise. For data-gathering purposes, vice presidents reporting to President Scholz create budget scenarios, including 5%, 10% and 15% reductions.  
• Vice presidents meet with university leadership to discuss tradeoffs, opportunities and other factors, answer questions and receive feedback. 
• Vice presidents continue to consider alternative savings opportunities, both within and across administrative portfolios throughout the fall.  
• Vice presidents will meet with university leaders to help confirm and refine final decisions.  
• All final decisions will be made by President Scholz toward the end of Fall term.

In addition to the budget reduction work being conducted within academic and administrative units, we are launching several initiatives to assess savings opportunities that cut across the entire institution. Some of these may be more immediate, and some may become actionable over one or more years.

One initiative already launched is the Accounting & HR Business Process project. We have formed an advisory group for this project with representatives from across the university – schools and colleges, auxiliary units, research centers and institutes, business hubs, and central departments.

The advisory group is charged with providing feedback on changes the institution could consider related to how we organize and process key business and HR transactions. The advisory group will be finding opportunities to engage with groups on campus to inform its work. 

The objective of the project is to explore options to: (1) achieve significant efficiencies and related budget savings through implementation of best practice business processes, technology, and scale economies, and (2) implement standardized business processes across the institution that best position the UO for future technology deployment at the University (e.g., Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, currently Banner).