āBusiness Officer Magazineā asks Nicole Trufant to pen article on UNEās financial success
An article by Nicole Trufant, vice president of Finance and Administration, was published in the July/August issue of Business Officer Magazine, a publication of the National Association of College and University Business Officers.
In āRevenue Regeneration,ā Trufant describes the transformation of the Ā鶹“«Ć½ over the past decade from a school with āconsiderable deferred maintenance issues, a negligible endowment, and no cash reservesā into a āvibrant, financially healthy university,ā with three campuses, six colleges, a national reputation for excellence in the health sciences and a doubled student headcount.
She credits the transformation to President Danielle Ripichās 10-year strategic plan, āVision 2017,ā as well as to University leaders who remained flexible and adaptive and who welcomed a ānew culture of data-driven decision making to support the strategic plan.ā
Specifically, Trufant notes the Universityās swift creation of an online niche that has been instrumental in UNEās growth and development. A Revenue Data Review table included in the article outlines the growth of tuition revenue over the past six years from the Online Graduate Programs in Public Health (a 733 percent increase) and the Online Master of Social Work program (a 1,741 percent increase). The data shows an overall tuition revenue increase over the past ten years of 181 percent.
āBecause we knew we had to accomplish our online expansion without making budget cuts to existing programs or incurring additional debt,ā Trufant explained, āit was essential that we develop financially self-sustaining programs. We implemented the basic concepts of performance-based budgeting, using a model focused on mission, goals, and objectives.ā
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