Budget Transformation Core Objectives

As the univerity embarks on this Budget Transformation Initiative, it is important to remain centered around why we are doing this. This initiative is about more than mitigating financial pressures — it is building a sustainable foundation upon which we will realize our Next-Gen K-State goals and aspirations.

Core financial objectives

Our People
Icon outline of three peopleWe are laying the foundation for competitive, market-aligned pay for faculty, staff and graduate students.
Strategic Alignment
Two arrows centering on a balanced lineWe are powering our Next-Gen K-State goals and strengthening how we align our budget to our future.
Student Affordability
Icon of a graduation capWe are continuing to prioritize student affordability, ensuring, among other initiatives, that we maintain a strong scholarship program.
Financial Stability
Icon of a balanced scaleWe are prioritizing stability and preserving our resilience to factors that apply pressures to our budgets.
Infrastructure Investment
Icon of a block chain linking blocks togtherWe are investing in the facilities and technologies that advance our mission for the state, nation and world.
Operational Excellence
Icon showing three squares merging into oneWe are prioritizing efficiency and ongoing improvement in all that we do — ensuring every effort carries meaning and purpose.


Factors applying budgetary pressure

For any given higher education institution, there are always factors, both internal and external, applying pressure to budget planning. We have done the work to put strong estimates toward many pressures and opportunities, allowing us to construct a new budget framework directly designed to address these challenges and meet our core objectives.

Key challenges — and opportunities for investment — include:

  • Continuing to grow our fund allocations in support of student recruitment and retention efforts
  • Prioritizing research funding and support in an ever-changing funding landscape
  • Prioritizing competitive market pay and a market-aligned job architecture for faculty, staff and graduate students
  • Addressing aging technology to modernize and empower the institution
  • Addressing deferred maintenance needs and aging infrastructure
  • Meeting the needs necessitated by the new reality of the Intercollegiate Athletics landscape — particularly, student athlete scholarships
  • The natural ebb and flow of state and federal support levels
  • Ongoing cost escalation