A. Financial Planning and Budgeting

(Note: OLPM sections on this page may be cited following the format of, for example, "BOT.IV.A.1.1". These policies may be amended at any time, do not constitute an employment contract, and are provided here only for ease of reference and without any warranty of accuracy. See OLPM Main Menu for details.)

A. Financial Planning and Budgeting

State Delegation of Authority
1. State law (RSA 187-A:16) delegates to the Board of Trustees powers for "... the management and control of all property and affairs of the University System of New Hampshire, the University of New Hampshire (including the New Hampshire college of agriculture and the mechanical arts), and all its divisions and departments, the Keene State College, the Plymouth State University, and the Granite State College." Further, the law specifically authorizes the University System to accept and retain "all monies appropriated by or received from the government of the United States or the state of New Hampshire, all dividends and interest accruing to these institutions, all gifts of securities and property, real and otherwise, all grants and matching funds from any source, ... income received and due from all sources, including bequests, trusts, student fees and tuition charges, rents, sales, and any other income from whatever source derived, and to authorize the use thereof in such manner as the trustees may determine or as may be provided by law or by the conditions incident to the trusts, gifts, and bequests involved."
Trustee and Financial Affairs Committee Authority
1. In cases of conflict among policies, the most restrictive policy will govern. Institutional policies may be more restrictive than USNH BOT policies but in no case may they be more lenient.
2. The Board of Trustees, upon recommendation of the Financial Affairs Committee, retains sole responsibility for approval of tuition and fees, annual operating budgets, proportion of nonresident students attending UNH if greater than 25%, and certain other authorities as it deems necessary.
3. The Board of Trustees delegates to its Financial Affairs Committee responsibility for all other financial planning and budget matters, including overseeing the development, coordination, implementation, and monitoring of all long-range financial planning for USNH and its component institutions.
4. The Financial Affairs Committee will be engaged at the beginning of each budget cycle by reviewing and approving certain global and institution-specific preliminary financial planning and budget assumptions, parameters and targets to be used in the development of the budget and multiyear financial plan.
5. The final assumptions, parameters and targets will be approved by the Financial Affairs Committee before the start of each fiscal year, and will include significant drivers of the budget including:
  •   global assumptions, such as state appropriation, inflation, investment earnings, and fringe benefits rate;
  •   campus parameters, such as price of attendance, aggregate increase to total non-grant non-union benefits-eligible salaries, and annual transfer to plant funds for renewal and replacement ("R&A") to address deferred maintenance;
  •   campus targets, such as operating margin and unrestricted financial resources to debt ("UFR:Debt"); and
  •   campus-specific drivers, such as enrollment, enrollment mix, financial aid, and grants revenue.
6. Use of beginning unrestricted net resources that were not approved as part of the original operating or capital budget for the fiscal year are limited to the greater of (a) 3% of the most recent final audited institutional unrestricted financial resources ("UFR"; previously known as unrestricted net assets, or "UNA") with System-wide balances allocated, or (b) $2 million, in aggregate by institution unless approved in advance by the Financial Affairs Committee. In addition, uses of unrestricted net resources greater than $1 million that were not approved as part of the original operating or capital budget are to be communicated to the Treasurer's Office as far in advance as possible to permit accurate assessment of future cash flows and fund balance impacts.
Financial Affairs Committee Delegation of Authority to Chancellor
1. The Financial Affairs Committee delegates to the Chancellor, in consultation with institutional presidents, the responsibility for determining the format, content, process, frequency and timing of institutional and USNH consolidated financial plans and budget reports to enable appropriate oversight, control and decision-making on behalf of the Financial Affairs Committee.
2. At a minimum, the Financial Affairs Committee shall require a financial plan for each institution and consolidated USNH that utilizes at least a five-year planning horizon, is updated at least semi-annually on a 'rolling' basis, and models all planned revenues, expenses, liquidity, unrestricted financial resources and debt.
3. Institutional and consolidated USNH financial plans and budgets will be developed on an 'all funds' basis in a format that is easily reconcilable to the audited financial statements and that will enable comparison to projected ratios commonly used by independent rating agencies to assess the financial strength, trends and debt capacity of the institutions and USNH.
Financial Affairs Committee Delegation of Authority to Presidents
1. The Financial Affairs Committee delegates to the Presidents the responsibility for developing (utilizing the format and instructions as determined by the Chancellor) and maintaining multiyear financial plans and budgets that fully incorporate all financial implications of multiyear capital plans and fundraising plans, and that support and articulate with the institution's multiyear strategic plan.
2. Presidents are responsible for recommending annual operating budgets in accordance with assumptions, parameters and targets as established by the Financial Affairs Committee.
3. Presidents are responsible for management of operations in accordance with approved budgets, strong internal controls, and good business practices.
4. Presidents are responsible for monitoring budget to actual results and adjusting expenditures during the year as necessary to enable achievement of approved targets. Periodic reporting of budget to actual results, projected full fiscal year results, and analysis of significant variations to budget and management actions to align operations to the approved target will be made to the Financial Affairs Committee at least three times annually.