Office of the Executive Vice President, Finance and Administration

The institutional indirect cost analysis has been completed and we are now looking at the figures over a three-year historical period and comparing various allocation methodologies to build a sounder financial understanding to make decisions with regard to choices associated with the self-reflective review process. The committee reviewed the analysis by academic unit. After building and extending on the analysis, the committee is now using the agreed-upon methodology. The committee will be drilling down from the academic unit level to particular departments, divisions, centers, institutes and programs. This will help inform the activity-based costing which is necessary and an integral part of the self-reflective review and synthesis.

Building on the foundational work of the indirect cost review, a mock-up straw-man proposal of how the academic units should financially relate to central administration will be created. Short-term and long-term budget models will be reviewed.

FY16 research center reviews have been completed. FY15 and FY17 were added to the analysis to see representative results. Library methodology was fine-tuned and the capacity was built to test other methodologies, other than allocating operating expenses, such as salary wages, FTE and headcount. A facilities component was added to the analysis so space costs can be allocated. The result is better space use. An analysis has been done at a high-level. The next step is to create mechanisms to charge it out.

A pre-existing budget model has been integrated with the Incandescent model to now have a very robust tool that can be used to plan out 3-5 years. This will support much of the self-reflective review to ensure a financial plan that stands together with the academic plan.

In the spring of 2013, a student group, Brandeis Climate Justice, took up the energy divestment initiative as introduced to the broader educational community by 350.org. In February 2015, the faculty formed a group called Faculty Against Climate Threat. Recently in October of 2017, the Faculty Senate passed a resolution asking the Board of Trustees to take up the issue and divest the endowment from fossil fuels. It has been finance and administration's goal over the past five years to support a productive dialogue between students, faculty, trustees and the administration. This includes presenting the potential impact of various forms of fossil fuel divestment on the investment strategy of the endowment, and the resulting current and future budgetary trade-offs across potential economic scenarios.

Ensure consistency across gift and endowment funds regarding language on spending rate, restrictions and other terms.  Institutionalize concepts such as IDC charge, equal endowment draw.

Based on the indirect cost review work develop a university wide financial policy regarding the implementation of a policy to recover overhead costs on gift and grant expenses

Make the FY19 budget process more transparent and improve and formalize the capital budget process. Incorporate other financial planning tools (indirect costs etc.) in the planning process.

Continue the decrease of the endowment spending rate from 5.9% to 5% by reducing the rate over ten years (or sooner) by building the FY19 budget with a 5.7% draw rate.

Information Technology Services is reviewing all vendor contracts, looking for opportunities to save and expand where necessary. During FY18 and FY19, ITS will talk with departments and vendors to ensure the proper product mix and favorable terms for Brandeis, find partnerships and reduce redundancies.

The IPS contains endowment investment goals and objectives; guidelines for investment, asset allocation and liquidity; and an explanation of the roles and responsibilities of the Investment Committee and the Investment Office. The Investment Committee reviews the IPS annually. In FY18, the statement underwent significant revisions, which were approved by the Investment Committee and require approval by the Board of Trustees. (This is a one-year goal, because major revisions to the IPS are infrequent; the most recent major revision was made in 2010.)

In general, the asset allocation chosen by the Investment Committee is expected to generate a real return of 5 percent over multiple decades, assuming the university invests in passive indicies. The Investment Office spends significant time looking around the world for talented money managers who can generate excess returns — that is, above the return of passive indices — by identifying undiscovered growth, fixing broken assets and taking advantage of structural inefficiencies in global capital markets that result in assets selling for low prices. This is a multidecade goal because it takes significant time and resources to identify and build relationships with these managers, and make investments. Few institutions have been able to achieve 2 percent excess returns during the past few decades. Over the past seven years, our office has increased the expected excess return from 1.0 percent in 2011 to 1.7 percent today and is working diligently to increase this to 2 percent over the next few years.

Plans are in place for the creation of the Brandeis University Staff Advisory Committee (BUSAC), an elected body that represents the interests and ideas of university staff members. The committee’s goals are to influence university policy; develop and enrich staff; and promote ongoing, meaningful improvements to the staff experience. Staff nominated prospective committee members in December 2017, and elections for seats on the committee were held in January 2018 and members have been selected. 

A vision plan was introduced and was implemented on January 1, 2018. An alternative work schedule policy will be considered. We will also consider introducing a 457b plan in FY19. Additionally, our medical and dental plans will undergo a comprehensive competitive review, and recommendations will be made, including adding an option for plus-one medical plans.

An internal review of our current staff performance appraisal process has been conducted. Input on revamping the appraisal process will be sought, including the incorporation of a 360 appraisal process.

An internal review of staff on-boarding processes has been conducted. A survey of recently hired staff will be administered in spring 2018 to further identify areas that could be improved. Human Resources will partner with faculty to identify what their needs are and how the office can offer guidance.

Human Resources will review current bonus programs and will explore implementing a spot bonus program that recognizes and rewards exemplary performance with on-the-spot cash awards. Funding will be considered, and, upon approval, a policy will be developed. 

An internal review of the staff recruitment and retention program is being conducted. Human Resources added a talent acquisition specialist position in October 2017. A comprehensive recruitment and retention plan that enriches the lives of staff and positively impacts the university’s business practices will be established in FY19. A succession program for “leaders of tomorrow” will also be created.

In November 2017, Finance and Administration began providing the community with updates on the advancement of key initiatives. The EVP Finance and Administration website will be kept current so that it provides the most-up-to-date information. Open community meetings will also be videotaped and made available.

Beginning in FY19, with the assistance of BUSAC, community engagement events will improve staff members’ work experience and community engagement. Improvements will include enhancing the Employee Recognition Luncheon and implementing staff enrichment programs that are aligned with Brandeis’ mission and vision.

Over the next three years, Workday will be implemented at Brandeis to enable the integration of systems that support student administration, human resources management, financial management and business analytics environments, which are currently supported by separate and sometimes incompatible information packages. The human resources and finance systems will be deployed before the end of the 2018 calendar year. The student administration component will begin an 18-month implementation at the end of 2018.

The residence-hall construction process is on schedule for 50 percent completion by the end of the spring semester. Steel erection is completed, and 90 percent of the project is contracted for. Geothermal heating and cooling, solar panels on the roof, and other features will make the residence hall highly efficient and sustainable. The Upper Campus Commons wing on the first floor will provide multipurpose space for student activities. A model of the project is on display in the Shapiro Admissions Center lobby.

Along with the new residence hall, Brandeis will make other major steps forward in reducing accumulated deferred maintenance. Planned spending of $10-15 million will be concentrated in the areas of building envelopes and systems, which are in most need of repair, to gradually improve campus comfort and sustainability.

Brandeis is working closely with Sodexo to create new programs that meet campus needs, build more levels of flexibility into the meal programs, offer more options to community members and provide a higher quality product. Special attention has been paid to Louis’ Deli as well as desserts in the dining halls.

Since 2015, overall spending on utilities is down $1.5 million, due to a reduction in the usage of gas, electricity and water; a reduction in the cost of natural gas; and better utility purchasing and execution. The university’s carbon footprint is down approximately 10 percent, thanks to a plan instituted three years ago. A short-term plan to make another 5 to 7 percent reduction over the next two to three years is in place.

Over the next four years, improvements in technology infrastructure will be made. Projects include improvements in data network speed, a telephone system update, a wireless network update, a data storage update, network load balancing and the build out of a secondary data center for data protection. 

A campus policy will be implemented to reduce vehicular traffic on internal walkways. This will increase pedestrian safety, and reduce wear and tear on walkways, and adjacent lawn and landscape areas; progress will be visible early in the spring semester. A campus-wide active-shooter drill will be held this academic year. Efforts to identify and implement other best practices in emergency response are underway.

All ITS offerings will be reviewed to assess their alignment with community needs, allowing ITS departments to consolidate and focus on key areas of service. This review, the first one of its kind at Brandeis, began with an internal audit of services, which found more than 300 services that were being provided to the community (a number too high for a school Brandeis’ size). Discussions with departments about their needs will begin in the winter and conclude in summer 2018. From these discussions, an IT Service Catalog will be created and shared with the community.