Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024

Dear UNT Community,

I am pleased to share an important update on our ongoing efforts to advance our budgeting processes at UNT.

On behalf of our three committees, I want to thank the hundreds of faculty, staff, and students who contributed their valuable insights through the discussion groups we hosted in October. Your feedback has been instrumental in helping shape the direction of this initiative. Summaries of these discussions are available on the Strategic Budgeting Resources webpage. Your input offered new insights while also reaffirming key points for moving forward.

In response to your feedback, we also are implementing new ways to share budget information to further support transparency, collaboration, and accountability across the university community.

From these discussions, the Strategic Budget Steering Committee has developed a draft framework for a new strategic budget model. This incentive-based model combines elements of our current approach with aspects of other higher education funding models to address the unique needs of our campus. The committee's proposed recommendations will be submitted in mid-December for review by the Executive Sponsor Committee.

The implementation of the new strategic budget model is expected to begin in the spring to inform the FY 2026 budget cycle. Although the fall semester phase of the Steering Committee’s work is complete, we will continue to move forward using this semester’s efforts as a strong foundation.

Aligned with community feedback, this new strategic budget model will emphasize a transparent process that provides a direct line of sight from revenue generation to the support of our collective university priorities. In consultation with peer institutions that have implemented similar models, we have identified key performance metrics to guide expectations and support accountability. While these metrics initially focus on academic units, we anticipate developing additional measures to assess success across all areas as the model evolves.

We recognize that effective communication is a critical part of this process, and we are committed to keeping you informed. Once the model has been approved by President Keller and the Executive Committee, additional updates in spring will ensure you remain engaged and supported throughout the implementation process.

I extend my deepest gratitude to the Strategic Budgeting Steering and Technical committee members, who began their work Sept. 5, for their dedication to identifying a new budget model and process to better serve our university. 

Thank you for your continued commitment to UNT’s mission and for your collaboration on this important initiative. 

Dr. Albert Bimper
Executive Dean, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
Chair, Strategic Budgeting Steering Committee