The UW System Board of Regents unanimously approved a system-wide report detailing the fund balances of the different state campuses at a meeting Thursday in an effort to improve the system’s overall level of financial transparency.
The Program Revenue Fund balances report provides the fund balances at the UW institutions, as well as details on the generation, management and planned usage of those funds at each system location.
The UW System must report program revenue estimates—comprised from areas like tuition, residence halls and food—to the board each year in order to create the next year’s system budget and to determine future tuition rates.
The UW System, its campuses and the Wisconsin state Legislature joined together to create the 250-page report, according to the report’s presenter, UW System President Raymond Cross.
“We have been responsive to what our Board of Regents, our legislators, and the public told us they wanted; The UW System has delivered,” Cross said. “From now on, program revenue fund balances will not be a separate conversation, but considered a normal and regular part of our financial discussions and decisions.”
Cross added that going forward, program-revenue reporting and analysis will be a standard step in the system budget planning process.
Of the many findings detailed in the report, UW System institutions are found to have $175 million in reserves, roughly 3 percent of the total $6 billion that makes up the system’s operating budget.
Both the report and numerous regents said the level of transparency and detail provided with the report is “unprecedented” for the UW System or any Wisconsin agency.
“This report is a significant step forward,” Board of Regents President Michael J. Falbo said. “We listened to the concerns expressed by the Legislature and the public, we acknowledged the need to make improvements, and we have worked hard to strengthen the transparency and accountability of our budgeting and financial planning processes. There is still work to do, but we are well on our way.”
