Budget Transformation Charge

There are two main components to the Budget Transformation charge, which includes:

  • A revised budget model that will drive the strategic direction of K-State, and
  • A new budget framework to address additional financial challenges (both known and unknown – allowing us the nimbleness needed).

Both efforts are intended to support the needs of the Next-Gen K-State Strategic Plan.


Revised Budget Model

  • The Budget Transformation Leadership Team will consider work completed to date from our budget model review to establish a new budget model that incorporates metrics to foster research innovation, academic programs, engagement/Extension, and university operations aligned with the Next-Gen K-State strategic plan.
  • Metrics should stimulate growth, support excellence and be accountable.
  • Experimentation and simulation of the revised budget model is expected to begin by January 2026.


Budget Framework

A new budget model alone will enable us to structure our funding toward driving metrics of the Next-Gen K-State Strategic Plan forward, but it will not be enough. A wrap-around budget framework is needed to create agiilty and foster nimbleness in our core areas of mission — academics, research and engagement— as well as operational excellence and other areas of financial consideration.

Thinking proactively, there are several additional considerations that have been identified for further discussion, and solutions/recommendations provided for transformative business practices will include but not be limited to:

  • A new and adaptable SRO (sponsored research overhead) budget distribution model (can adapt to various levels of grant return) that will facilitate the university to allocate appropriate resources to enable our research to grow, and support our faculty, staff and students.
  • A continuous process to support student recruitment and retention where the university can re-invest in student support programs based on revenue created through tuition and fee income, etc.
  • A mechanism that identifies a compensation resource pool so the university can begin implementing to meet competitive compensation for our faculty, staff and graduate students.
  • A more efficient and strategic financial system to support Extension and engagement, both on campus and off campus, which satisfies the needs of our stakeholders, improves efficiency and broadens our impact.
  • Options that will allow the university to have strategic and flexible resources for rising operational costs, limited institutional flexibility and maximizing resource utilization. The university will require a central pool of funding that can be used to drive new and existing initiatives and take advantage of those opportunities that need a quick response (i.e. artificial intelligence).
  • Ideas for partnering with Athletics to help support the growing financial needs of college athletics.
  • Consideration of a new process for hiring faculty that is strategic to the current needs of the university.
  • Since new resource allocations will require new sources of funding, more difficult conversations will need to be held that address the following:
    • What are we going to stop doing to open up untapped resources? We have underperforming programs that need to sunset. If we do not do this, we will never achieve the growth and excellence we desire.
    • How can we adjust university policies to streamline decision-making?


Project Timeline

The Budget Transformation Initiative Leadership Team, including its five functional working groups, are charged to complete their work by providing recommendations to the President by December 8, 2025.

By January 2026, implementation of the new budget model will be underway, and recommendations for the budget framework will be spurred into action.