An Addendum to the Guidelines for the Review of Academic Planning Proposals
I. General
A. Revenue and expenditure projections should be provided for at least three years. These projections should not include increases in revenue due to planned increases in tuition or increases in expenditures resulting from inflation or planned salary increases.
B. Include the cost of any resources directed from other programs (e.g., the salary of a faculty member who is teaching in an existing program but whose time will now be allocated to the proposed program).
C. When calculating projections, distinguish between regular operating costs and one-time start-up costs.
II. Direct Revenues
A. Tuition-based upon a responsibility center's expected tuition rate times the projected number of net new students enrolled at the university. Projected FTE should take into account any expected decline in FTE from other programs resulting from students "shifting" into the new program. (Student enrollment is categorized according to full-time versus part-time status and in-state versus out-of-state residency.)
B. Program Specific Fees – exclude general student fees
C. Other Revenue Sources
1. Endowment funds
a. Discretionary
b. Program specific
2. Sponsored Research (government or private)
3. UPMC Funds
4. Gift Funds – include only gifts specifically designated for the new program
III. Direct Expenditures
A. Accreditation Costs
B. Additional Faculty
1. Projected salary (salaries) is (are) based upon:
a. full-time versus part-time position(s)
b. required academic credentials
c. current market conditions
2. Review the impact of the new program on other programs and/or schools (i.e., will additional faculty be required to teach core classes?)
C. Additional Staff Members – (secretaries, etc.)
D. New Graduate Student Employees
E. Fringe Benefits – based on the appropriate rate for each employee's classification
F. Association Fees/Dues
G. Travel Costs
H. Development Costs (e.g., workshops, seminars, continuing education)
I. Library Requirements
J. Computer Hardware/Software Requirements
K. Furniture
L. Equipment/Laboratory Supplies
M. Miscellaneous Supplies (e.g., postage, photocopying)
N. Other Operational Costs – (e.g., laundry)
1. Consider whether costs will increase proportionally as enrollment increases.
O. Financial Aid
1. Will additional University funds be required?
2. For financial aid pertaining to graduate students only:
a. Although the fringe benefit rate charged for graduate students is 34% of stipends, the actual cost of benefits for these students is about 118.76% of stipends. The actual cost of the benefits should be considered in the analysis.
P. Services for employment and graduate study opportunities
Q. Additional costs for recruiting students
R. Costs associated with internships or fieldwork sites
S. Costs associated with sponsored research – the indirect cost rate and its ability to cover actual indirect costs should be discussed in the commentary to the financial analysis.
IV. Other Resource Requirements
A. Capital Requirements
1. Renovations
a. Time period for completion
2. Additional classroom space
3. Capital equipment
4. Available revenues to fund the capital requirements (e.g., discretionary endowment funds)
B. General Administration
1. Although general University overhead cannot be specifically calculated for a new program, any foreseen incremental administrative costs should be identified (i.e., any significant increase in demand for central services, such as computing and information services, library, or academic affairs).
2. The general administrative rate allocable to Instructional programs is 7–8% of Modified Total Direct Cost.
C. Facilities Related Costs
1. Contact the Office of Space Accounting to obtain costs for the square footage proposed by the new program.
D. UPMC Cross Allocations
1. Usage of such facilities as the WPIC Library, Scaife Hall Space, Creative Services, etc., should be noted as this will change the annual cross allocation fee.