1. Graduate Forecasting & Planning System (GFPS) Expansion to SoM & GSE
December 14, 2016

2. Student Expense & Funding Plan
What is GFPS?
5-Year Forecast
Admissions Cycle
Financial Planning
Annual Budget
GFS Uploads
Student Expense & Funding Plan
Tidemark Upload (annual budget)
Scenario-Building
Variance Analysis
Supports entire academic/fiscal year cycle
Integrated with other enterprise systems:
GFS – student payment system
Tidemark
Oracle
Peoplesoft

3. $100M essential business function
Business Problems
$100M essential business function
Complex
5-year funding commitment when admitted
Multiple funding sources: internal & external
Many policies & regulations
Uneven management of risk
Large unspent balances
Unmanageable deficits
Inefficiencies
Duplicate entry into multiple systems
Shadow systems
What business problems caused us to build GFPS?
Grad aid is one of the largest critical functions in H&S
24 departments + 1 program
Other schools have expressed similar issues:
Many details; difficult to track
Reliance on native knowledge: long-term employees using home-grown systems

4. Project Goals Active management of grad aid
Optimize resource use
Annual & multi-year perspective
Include all expenses and all funding sources
Informed management of risk
Efficient system & skilled staff

5. A Proven System 2013 2014 2015 2016 Pilot Group 1-Year Forecast
Fully implemented across 25 departments/programs
Have completed 2 ½ annual cycles
We meet with each department twice/year to review their forecasts
Annual Budget
Annual Budget
Annual Budget

6. A Proven System Department’s Executive Summary Trends Sustainability
Conversations focus on these strategic areas
Environmental Scan
Resource
Use

7. Why Expand to SoM & GSE? SGG Discovery Project: Proof of concept
Similar business problems
Minor enhancements required
Proof of concept
SoM: Dispersed management + highly complex
GSE: Centralized management + less complex

8. Expansion Plan Expand to SoM & GSE
Minor system enhancements from discovery project
H&S IT support during implementation; transition to AS afterwards
Establish system governance
H&S, SoM & GSE expand system to support postdocs & masters students
Expand to Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences and School of Engineering
Additional Budget Group funding request
Phased expansion & funding approach recommended
Allows time to demonstrate GFPS will meet other school’s needs
Allows larger # of users to participate in major enhancements
If successful, move IT support from H&S to Administrative Systems
Per Jon, vendor costs (Axiom & Retikal) are on the high end of the spectrum; still in an ‘acceptable’ range, but not cheap
Platform has done a great job of meeting user requirements
Retikal has a long & excellent track record of responsiveness, ability to make system meet our needs
Phase 2: expansion to SoE & EEES
Concurrently, H&S, SoM & GSE expand system to support postdocs & masters students
Budget Group cost: recurring annual vendor cost of ~$45K (get more detail from Sean & Jon)
Phase 3: possible expansion to GSB & Law
Addition of masters & postdocs may make the system more attractive to them