Initial Recommendations to RCM Presented at December Forums
 
By Lori Wright, Media Relations

UNH will present the initial recommendations for modifications to the Responsibility Center Management (RCM), a decentralized budgeting system implemented July 2000, at two public forums in December. The results follow a year-long review of the system.

The forums will be held Tuesday, Dec. 13, and Thursday, Dec. 15, from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in MUB Theatre II. The forums will include a presentation by the RCM steering committee and a period of questions and feedback from the UNH community. All members of the UNH community are encouraged to attend.

The goal of the RCM review is to assess the effectiveness of RCM as the university’s budget management and resource allocation system. With the Academic Plan as the foundation, the review committee is analyzing the extent to which RCM has helped or hindered achievement of greater efficiency and effectiveness in curriculum, research/outreach, and administration under RCM.

During this past year, the RCM steering committee solicited information from vice presidents, deans, associate deans, department chairs, faculty, staff, Faculty Senate members, research directors from both inside and outside colleges, staff councils, RCM unit heads and other interested parties.

Over the past three months, the RCM steering committee and seven subcommittees have been reviewing quantitative and qualitative data, which will culminate in an initial set of recommendations developed by the steering committee. The initial set of recommendations will be shared with all participants of the subcommittees Dec. 7 and with the UNH community at the December open forums.

The steering committee and subcommittees will continue to meet and refine the recommendations during December and January. The refined recommendations will be submitted to the Central Budget Committee in January. The Central Budget Committee will review recommendations and present a final set of recommendations to President Ann Weaver Hart in February. By the end of February, the president will announce her response to the recommendations from the Central Budget Committee. Any changes will be implemented for the FY07 budget.

For more information on RCM and the five-year review, visit http://www.unh.edu/rcm/. For more information on the Central Budget Committee please visit http://www.unh.edu/budget/cbcindex.htm.

Questions about the forums and the RCM review process should be directed to David Proulx, assistant vice president for financial planning and budgeting, at david.proulx@unh.edu.