Public Accountability at UVic Measuring Our Performance

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Public Accountability at UVic Measuring Our
Performance

• CAUBO Conference June 21, 2005
• Murray Griffith, CMA
• Executive Director, Financial Services
• University of Victoria

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UVics Approach

• UVic has always had a strong commitment to public
  accountability
• Financial statements always included detailed
  schedules of functional and departmental
  expenditures
• With introduction of CICA 4400, financial
  statements prepared on multi-column deferral
  basis with full fund accounting schedules and
  reconciliation of two methods of accounting)

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UVic Ranking in Survey
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Accountability is driven by our Strategic Plan

• As the objectives of this plan and the
  associated action items have tangible outcomes,
  the Office of Institutional Analysis will be
  responsible for designing tools to measure our
  progress toward our goals. Progress will be
  reported annually to the Senate and the Board of
  Governors by the President in consultation with
  the Planning and Priorities Committee. Those
  reports will include an assessment of our
  progress on specific objectives. They will also
  assess the implications of current resource
  constraints and other environmental variables on
  our ability to meet our goals.

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How it Developed

• New President (David Turpin) arrived in 2000
• Initiated strategic planning process
• Anticipated increased accountability by looking
  to Alberta and Ontario which led the development
  of our accountability framework
• In developing framework 90 of the performance
  measures identified by the Province were
  anticipated
• Felt that if passive accountability would be
  imposed

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General Environment

• Accountability increasing due to
• Enron, Worldcom, Sponsorship scandals
• Sarbanes Oxley Act in US
• Board members requiring higher levels of
  accountability
• Just good management

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B.C. Experience

• Government Reporting Entity requires BC
  universities to report financial results and
  budget projections on a quarterly basis to
  province
• Requirement for annual service plans (similar to
  government ministries)
• Tuition fees in BC have risen leading to
  increased student interest in university affairs

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UVic Reporting

• Do not provide single comprehensive report
• Have single webpage linking all reports
• Prominently linked to main University web page
• Want information to be sensitive to audience so
  have different reports for different stakeholders
• Allows for more timely information

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What is Reported

• UVic's Statement of Objectives
• Strategic Plan, A Vision for the Future
• UVic Service Plan submitted to the B.C. Ministry
  of Advanced Education
• General Reviews
• UVic Report 2004
• 2004 Research Report
• Work Plan Reporting on Strategic Plan
  Initiatives (2004 version forthcoming)
• Academic Programs and Support
• Academic Programs and Course Offerings UVic
  Calendar 2004-2005
• Strategic Research Plan
• Multi-year Enrolment Plan (forthcoming)
• Study on Access and Affordability 2004
• Student Support Services
• Information Technology
• Information Technology Plan
• Computing Services
• Office of International Affairs
• Reporting on Performance
• Assessment of our programs

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What is Reported continued

• Campus Planning
• Campus Plan
• 2005-06 Five-Year Capital Plan submitted to the
  Ministry of Advanced Education
• Sustainability Report (pdf)
• TDM (Transportation Demand Management) Report
  (pdf)
• Contributions to the Wider Community
• Educational Continuing Studies
• As a social, cultural and athletics resource
• Economic Impact reports
• Economic Impact of UVic (forthcoming)
• Continuing Studies Economic Impact Reports
• Government and Community Relations
• Governance
• University Act
• Board of Governors
• Senate
• Chancellor
• UVic Executive
• General Information

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Future Directions

• Continue to develop webpage
• Web communicates directly to stakeholders rather
  than just reporting exercise for survey
• Resources allocated to accountability
• Need to balance program delivery with
  accountability requirements
• Does it lead to improvements in service delivery?