Staff and faculty are invited to a town hall meeting on Queen’s activity-based budget model as part of a review focused mainly on the details of the methodology used to attribute revenue and costs to faculties and schools.   

“When Queen’s implemented the new model in 2013, a commitment was made to a review in the third year,” says Alan Harrison, Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic). “The review is being conducted now, following the approval by the Board of Trustees of the budget for 2015-2016, and before we become too busy with the development of next year’s budget.”  

Prior to 2013, faculty and school budgets were historically determined with increases usually linked to incremental enrolment and decreases applied across the board.  The activity-based budget model, often referred to as responsibility centre management, attributes revenue directly to the faculty or school that generates it, with each unit then responsible for paying not only its own direct costs but also its share of indirect costs, such as those associated with the delivery of shared services.

An internal review committee, chaired by Megan Sheppard, Executive Director of Planning and Budget, is supported by Huron Consulting Group, a firm with considerable experience working with universities that have adopted similar budget models.

Huron Consulting will facilitate the town hall meeting on July 7 from 2-3:30 pm in Dunning Hall Auditorium. Faculty and staff may also send written submissions to provost@queensu.ca no later than July 14.

For more information about the budget process at Queen’s, visit the Provost’s website.