Hundreds of student experiences are propelled by the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh’s stewardship of fund balances.

These resources and accounts responsibly managed by the state’s third-largest University fuel academic programs, innovative laboratories, community partnerships, some student, staff and faculty pay and benefits and a host of other concrete initiatives and campus improvements.

The succesful Studen Titan Employment Program (STEP), which provides paid, major-and-career-path-connected campus jobs to hundreds of students, is one of several UW Oshkosh programs and initiatives funded by “planned” balances. The strategic investments in the planned and other fund-balance categories will help, for example, UW Oshkosh purchase wall-mounted emergency defibrillators, renovate the campus planetarium and secure pay and benefits for the overseers of the University’s nationally renowned transformation of general education.

Over the last one to two academic years, the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents and state legislators have instructed UW System institutions to more transparently, clearly and uniformly detail fund balances. What the latest, point-in-time analysis of UW Oshkosh’s fund balances shows is more of the same: The vast majority– 80.7 percent –is either “obligated” or are, like STEP’s funding, “planned.”

Only 3 percent of the $49.7 million UW Oshkosh fund balance total for FY 2014 is “undocumented,” or yet to be committed to specific programs and purposes.

UW Oshkosh administrators said the new accounting processes have helped the institution strengthen its tradition of transparency while uniformly categorizing and reporting the balances. They also are a powerful reminder of the hundreds of student, staff and faculty learning opportunities, research endeavors, academic programs and partnerships fueled by the sound stewardship of the accounts.

“When we dive into the numbers and see the stories embedded within our careful, thoughtful stewardship of obligated, planned, designated, reserve fund balances, it is remarkable to see the breadth and diversity of campus successes and rich academic experiences these investments nurture within UW Oshkosh and for our students,” UW Oshkosh Interim Chancellor Petra Roter said.

In the most recent fund balance analysis:

34.2 percent (up from 9.8 percent in FY 2011-12) of UW Oshkosh balances are “obligated,” or found to be most committed – encumbered for or more strictly assigned to purposes that make it difficult for the institution to repurpose them.

• These funds, for example, pay for salaries and fringe benefits of the faculty and staff affiliated with the Environmental Research and Innovation Center (ERIC) – the innovative campus laboratory involved in the science of renewable energy production tied to the UW Oshkosh campus biodigester. Faculty, staff and students at the ERIC study how best to maximize biogas production, further freeing the campus of costly fossil-fuel energy dependence. ERIC also tests drinking and recreational beach water for communities and serves as a home to a new Engineering Technology program. The program offers a trio of degrees that are regional skills-gap closers, developed in consultation with the 13 Northeast Wisconsin Regional Educational Resource Alliance (NEW ERA) colleges and institutions and New North manufacturers.

• Obligated funds also include University Studies Program (USP) salaries and fringes – the pay and benefits for the UW Oshkosh faculty members and pioneering staff who helped launch and continue to oversee our campus’s nationally-recognized transformation of general education. This fall, the USP hits the community in “Quest III,” a phase of the program that sends a wave of sophomores in newly designed, high-impact courses out into the community to collaborate and learn through the work and missions of local and regional nonprofit agencies, cultural organizations, businesses and entrepreneurial endeavors.

• These funds also cover pay and fringe benefits for our UW Oshkosh Business Success Center (BSC). The BSC helps match external business and organizations’ needs for expertise or research with faculty, staff and students who can deliver. It is a very self-sufficient, Wisconsin-Idea-centric operation, sharing the wealth of knowledge UW Oshkosh has to offer with neighboring, regional and state enterprises eager to innovate, modernize and grow their operations and influence.

46.5 percent (up from 40.5 percent, as reported in a January audit of FY 2011-12 balances) of UW Oshkosh’s balances are “planned,” or held for a purpose indicated in documentation, such as a budget or a Chancellor memorandum.

• Again, the STEP program is just one of many examples of programs and initiatives supported by planned fund balance monies. So too is the College of Nursing Accelerated Online Bachelor’s to BSN Option (ACCEL), a nationally successful program helping propel people into in-demand nursing careers. ACCEL is a self-sufficient program, and, this year, is celebrating its 10th anniversary. It continues to serve as a fully accredited, national model for online nursing education. Students from around the country enroll in the program and, at intervals throughout their studies, visit UW Oshkosh for face-to-face lab experiences with College of Nursing faculty members.
• More than 80 of UW Oshkosh’s Study Abroad/Away program budgets, developed and led by faculty, are also funded by planned fund balance monies. These educational experiences are transformative for students, and students themselves are the first to tout the life-changing impact they have on their academic journey and career aspirations:

8.6 percent of are balances in “reserves” (down from 11 percent in FY 2011-12), meaning they are held for emergencies, or, as described earlier this year circumstances when “unexpected and sharp declines in student enrollment to fiscal crisis that might befall the state.”

7.7 percent of the balances are “designated” (down from 38.2 percent in FY 2011-12). This means the funds are held for purposes related to an original funding source. However, the funds may not have specific documentation of an obligation or spending plan. Examples at UW Oshkosh have included fee balances supporting student centers and programs including the Undergraduate Advising Resource Center, the campus Counseling Center and Career Services, which recently hosted the “Career Fair on the Fox,” attended by more than 150 local, regional and state employers:

“As we move forward, the new processes and categories the state Legislative Audit Bureau and UW System have helped us integrate into our budgeting and accounting practices are really going to help us better illustrate the wide-ranging impact our responsibly-managed fund balances have on the academic mission at UW Oshkosh,” said Thomas Sonnleitner, vice chancellor for Finance and Administration.

Learn more:

• Audit confirms nearly 100 percent of UWO fund balances, reserves committed to academic programs, initiatives (UW Oshkosh Today, January 2014)