Report 2016-130 Recommendation 29 Responses

Report 2016-130: The University of California Office of the President: It Failed to Disclose Tens of Millions in Surplus Funds, and Its Budget Practices Are Misleading (Release Date: April 2017)

Recommendation #29 To: University of California

To ensure that its spending aligns with the needs of its stakeholders, including campuses and students, by April 2019 the Office of the President should publish the results of the review of systemwide and presidential initiatives, including any funds the Office of the President anticipates reallocating to the campuses.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2018

Following a review of UCOP programs and initiatives, a comprehensive item was presented to the UC Regents in March 2018, as well as submitted to the CSA as part of the one-year update in April 2018. These materials included:

-a listing by category of FY2017-18 programs and initiatives, and their associated budget allocations;

-a more detailed summary of each program, including its purpose, stakeholders, and the funds used to support it;

-a detailed description of the nine presidential initiatives, including an overview of the origin, intent and activities of the initiative and funding commitments.

The Office of the President also published the results of the AB97 proposal to redirect $15M to the campuses to fund additional undergraduate enrollment in FY18-19, which included reducing the funding for presidential initiatives by $2M and other UCOP-budgeted programs by $0.5M.

A subsequent review of program and initiative budgets was conducted as part of the FY2018-19 budget process, resulting in an additional net decrease of $10.5M from the previous year (FY2018-19 Budget pg. 11 and Schedule C). Reductions were made to several program and initiative budgets and the UC Education Abroad Program (UCEAP) budget was moved to the UC Santa Barbara campus. This move creates efficiency in service provision, as UC Santa Barbara is located within a few miles from where UCEAP currently operates and its leadership team play a central role in managing this systemwide program.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Fully Implemented

The Office of the President presented its review of systemwide programs and presidential initiatives to the regents in March 2018. As part of this review, the Office of the President developed a comprehensive list of systemwide programs and presidential initiatives. The review identified 31 Office of the President affiliated systemwide programs, one systemwide initiative, and nine presidential initiatives. According to the Office of the President, it plans to review systemwide programs and presidential initiatives as part of its annual budget process to identify any funds that it anticipates reallocating to campuses.

1-Year Agency Response

The Office of the President published the results of the AB97 proposal to redirect $15M to the campuses to fund additional undergraduate enrollment in FY18-19 which included reducing the funding for presidential initiatives by $2M and other UCOP-budgeted programs by $.5M.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Pending

The status of this recommendation is pending any additional funding the Office of the President identifies for reallocation to campuses by April 2019.

6-Month Agency Response

Implementation of this recommendation will be dependent on actions taken in response to the April 2018 recommendations.

The systemwide and presidential initiatives workgroup will develop reports to enhance transparency. The workgroup will continue to engage the Executive Budget Committee. The workgroup will determine review criteria and a frequency to periodically review items. Governance will be established to enable review and to facilitate prioritization and trade-off decisions, as needed. The workgroup will publish its results.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending

The status of this recommendation is pending the Office of the President's development of a comprehensive list of systemwide initiatives and presidential initiatives due April 2018.

60-Day Agency Response

Implementation of this recommendation is dependent on actions taken in response to the April 2018 recommendations.

The systemwide and Presidential initiatives work group will develop reporting to enable transparency. The work group will engage the Executive Budget Committee and develop an approach to evaluate the review of the portfolio of projects and initiatives. Governance will be installed to ensure review so that less impactful items may be discontinued. The work group will publish their results.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

The status of this recommendation is pending the Office of the President's development of a comprehensive list of systemwide initiatives and presidential initiatives due April 2018.

All Recommendations in 2016-130

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.