WNCC 2010 Self-Study Report - Western Nebraska Community ...

facilities, personnel, and program planning and strategies discussed previously demonstrate that
WNCC looks forward even as it ensures quality and consistent operations for the present.
Budget Planning and Construction
Budgets are composed of restricted and non-restricted components, and each area (such as
Educational Services, Outreach Services, and Student Services) is allowed to propose
individualized budget needs for operational expenses (excluding salary and benefits lines) based
upon projected needs. Those budget requests are forwarded to the appropriate Vice President for
review, and then to the Dean of Administrative Services for recommendation to the President’s
Cabinet. A cross-sectional committee is convened to review the budget before it finally goes to
the Board of Governors for ratification. Final responsibility for the overall construction and final
composition of the institutional budget rests with the Dean of Administrative Services.
Recognizing that instructional and academic support personnel are essential components for
student success, WNCC dedicates the majority of its fiscal resources to personnel expenses such
as wages, retirement, FICA, insurance, unemployment, tuition assistance for employees, and early
retirement funds. Every year, members of the President’s Cabinet analyze requests from
instructional or support areas for additional personnel or for status and wage changes in order to
compare potential institutional advantages against probable revenues. Equipment requests are
handled in the same way, with instructional utility prioritized and substantiated by a narrative
explaining the educational need. One thing which will be done in the future is to establish clearer,
more explicit links with specific needs for the assessment of student learning to the budget. That
way, purpose is tied to performance, rather than simply having a block of money allocated for use.
For instance, four full-time faculty positions were not filled in the 2008-2009 academic year
because the potential applicants did not match the College’s needs. However, those positions
were filled during the late spring of 2009 in order to prepare for the 2009-2010 academic year. In
the 2009-2010 budget, a total of $14,239,598 is dedicated to personnel expenses, from an overall
budget of $22,905,994 (RR 63).
Construction, remodeling, and maintenance projects are supported institutionally through the
budget process, as is evident in the 2009 proposed budget, which includes a section detailing
allocated funds for infrastructure needs like remodeling for a total of $3,673,063. In addition, the
revenue sources are identified to fund those projects (RR 64).
The need to create a stable fund through which to support ongoing maintenance issues presents a
challenge. Resource allocation is sometimes difficult to explain or justify to constituents who do not
have access to all the information shaping the budget strategies related to maintaining and
improving the physical plant components. In order to mitigate these problems, the Dean of
Administrative Services is working closely with Board members, who represent service area
constituents, to explain the need for maintaining the maximum levy rate in order to create a pool of
resources to be used for predicted maintenance demands as well as for contingency purposes
when adverse weather or other situations cause losses or expenses (such as hailstorms in the past
or flooding during the spring and summer of 2009 caused by extraordinary rainstorms).
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Western Nebraska Community College