Institutional Strategic Finance is for Everyone

From cabinet members and campus leaders to faculty and staff in every office, all professionals at a college or university have a critical role to play in understanding and communicating the institution’s finances. A new online course from the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) can help.

Whether explicitly outlined in the job description of a business officer or more subtly incorporated in the day-to-day decisions of deans, directors, and department heads, all higher education employees help to maintain the financial wellbeing of their institution as it strives to balance its mission with its financial health.

As many members of the public continue to question the price and value of college—despite the clear returns on investment—understanding strategic finance is important for everyone on campus. While questions about what students pay for their education are common, it is critical to also understand the significant costs that institutions incur to deliver on their missions. And college costs (what institutions invest to provide services) and prices (what institutions charge students) have both increased significantly over the years.

Effective strategic financial planning can help to address affordability concerns, rising costs, and a strong return on investment. Using a strategic finance lens and implementing best practices can help colleges and universities ensure they are allocating resources to programs, services, and activities that allow them to fulfill their mission while recognizing limitations with current funding sources and opportunities for innovation.

NACUBO's self-paced online course, Strategic Higher Education Finance and Planning, breaks down these concepts. Course participants will learn about the importance of and processes involved with strategic planning, the value of and how to approach data-informed decision-making, challenges and opportunities in generating revenue and allocating resources, and how to use effective communication and leadership skills in conversations about strategic finance and during institutional strategic planning processes.

Although budget and planning processes typically are led by an institution’s chief business or finance officer, engagement from the entire campus community makes financial planning effective.

Case studies, video and podcast clips, and campus examples throughout the course demonstrate the importance of communication, leadership, and collaboration as institutions engage in strategic planning, data use, revenue generation, and resource allocation.

“This course has broad appeal—for those with high-level planning responsibility as well as those who are more hands on. The case studies and the workbook are excellent,” an associate vice president from a public research university said.

From a business office perspective, having broad stakeholder engagement in strategic finance efforts helps leaders manage resources in a way that ensures long-term financial health while also allowing the institution to fulfill its mission, particularly as it relates to student success. For professionals outside of their institution’s business and finance offices, learning how to engage in institutional planning and strategic finance efforts can help them better understand institution planning processes and budget models, why colleges may seem expensive to operate, challenges related access and affordability, the types of finance and non-finance data that support strategic planning, and how to translate these issues to specific institution types.

NACUBO’s self-paced, online course does this through its four modules:

The Finance Leadership Role in Strategic Planning

Making Data-Informed Decisions to Support Institutional Mission and Strategy

Revenue and Resource Allocation in Support of Mission and Strategic Goals

Strategic Financial Leadership and Institutional Success

“I would encourage higher education professionals from across the institution—at multiple levels—to take the course. Doing so could help the institution make more significant progress towards meeting institutional goals, particularly during strategic planning,” said a chief business officer at a private comprehensive university.

Whether your institution is at the beginning of a strategic planning process, addressing new challenges in a post-pandemic environment, tackling long-standing resource concerns, revitalizing how it invests in student outcomes, or taking on a challenge unique to your campus, this course offers theories, examples, and best practices for institutional planning and strategic finance in support of your institution’s mission. Strategic finance is for everyone, and this course can help.

This content was paid for and created by NACUBO. The editorial staff at The Chronicle had no role in its preparation. Find out more about paid content.