This program offers strategies for higher education goal setting and resource management. Focusing on institutional planning, this must-attend event provides content to help business officers and their teams use data and allocate resources—including financial, facilities and infrastructure, and human resources—to support their institutions and students.

(This session will be a recording from the in-person program with live Q&A). In September, NACUBO will again release a list of the top business issues confronting colleges and universities. How are the challenges evolving at different institutions? What issues may stay with us for the foreseeable future? In this lively discussion, institutional leaders at the cabinet level will examine these pressing issues and share how they—along with their presidents—intend to address them. The panel will also explore some potential opportunities hidden in this sea of questions.

Every institution is facing internal and external pressures that are accelerating the need for substantial and rapid change. In this session, panelists will share how they ushered in meaningful change through intentional culture development, data infrastructure, and strategic planning to build a common and integrated institutional perspective and goal for the future. Panelists will share lessons learned on the importance of developing and refining institutional systems and procedures to support continuous quality improvement and monitoring for institutional and financial health.

Enhancing access to higher education and increasing affordability for students and families is a key priority across institutions. The 2023 NACUBO Tuition Discounting Study (TDS) describes rising tuition discount rates at private institutions, demonstrating that tuition discounting is one avenue many institutions leverage to improve access and at the same time increase enrollments. However, what do tuition discounting practices and findings from the NACUBO TDS mean for different institution types? In this session, panelists will review the current landscape of tuition discounting practices and explore potential avenues for turning tuition discounting data sources to actionable insights.

To address a range of scheduling constraints including day and time distribution, room capacity to course enrollment, priority scheduling, evolution of traditional class period times, and the concern of reduction of seat capacity due to classroom renovations focusing on flexible and accommodating furniture, one university’s institutional space planning and management office partnered with institutional research to create an instructional space utilization dashboard. This dashboard provides a robust analysis that serves to optimize course scheduling by rightsizing courses to classrooms, facilitate targeted conversations with academic partners, and to inform decision making for future classroom renovations and new construction. Explore the varied metrics that were developed to assist in developing a similar tool at your institution.

Many higher education institutions have considered redesigning their budget model and rethinking annual budget development processes. Hear from one institution that is nearing the end of its five-year budget reform journey. Their story, however, bears lessons for any institution considering big bang vs. incremental changes to their budget. Within this session, participants will hear lessons learned from their journey, including how to identify opportunities for change, sequencing change initiatives, designing a new budget model that is customized to the institution, increasing transparency, and bringing stakeholders along on the project.

(This session will be a recording from the in-person program with live Q&A). Artificial intelligence (AI) has already changed how learning and work occur at colleges and universities. Some have reacted to this change with excitement—noting that AI can help institutions better support students, use data more effectively, and enhance staff performance. Others have voiced serious concerns—citing fears of academic dishonesty, staff losing jobs, unethical use of information, and data security and privacy concerns. With technology rapidly evolving, how are institutions supposed to keep up? Panelists will discuss how business officers can support their institutions in leveraging AI while developing policies, practices, and cultures that foster ethical and secure use of AI.

What are the underpinnings of an effective financial reporting process? Hear how one institution developed enhanced financial reporting of its undergraduate and graduate school programs. The presenter will discuss how they identified data needs, describe methodology, and define key performance indicators resulting from the cost allocation model. This session will also cover the tools and techniques used to present the analysis to key stakeholders throughout the process and show how it effectively promoted buy-in and improved financial transparency within the institution.

Communication is a key building block of anyone's work, but it can also be a recurring stumbling block that can be improved with some mindful and deliberate actions in crafting your presentations. In this session, panelists will share insights on how to develop a presentation with an emphasis on clarity, conciseness, style, and delivery. Attendees will take away practical and useable tools and methods to incorporate into presentations.

NACUBO recently released two new resources to support colleges and universities. The NACUBO Student Success Hub contains eight toolkits to help institutions strategically finance equitable student outcomes. The Change With Analytics Playbook contains 16 plays to help institutions build capacity and a culture for data-informed decision-making. Used together, these resources provide tactical tools for data use and practical approaches to change management. Panelists will provide an overview of both resources and will share examples of how the resources were used at their institutions.