Financial Stewardship Institute

Are you, or someone you know, interested in:

  • Enhancing skills in strategic thinking, proactive risk management, and decision-making around budget and finance issues?
  • Gaining experience in diagnosing and consulting on real life issues facing higher education?
  • Having opportunities to network with colleagues and subject matter experts in financial stewardship?

If so, please consider participation in the Financial Stewardship Institute.

Program Overview

The Financial Stewardship Institute is an engaging professional development program with unique workshops that require analysis and interpretation of key principles related to why we do what we do and what we do when it comes to stewarding the finances of the University of Oregon.

The cohort is comprised of individuals from departments across campus with varying levels of experience in higher education, business practices and budget planning. All faculty and staff are eligible. The program is a five month commitment, and to optimize the learning experience, enrollment is limited to 25 participants.

  • Session 1: University of Oregon Financial Overview; Essentials of University Budget Planning – Tuesday, October 3, 2023
  • Session 2: University Accounting; Payables, Receivables and Collections – Tuesday, October 17, 2023
  • Session 3: Human Resources and Payroll; Financial Reporting and Analysis – Tuesday, October 31, 2023
  • Session 4: Fundamentals of Sponsored Projects Administration; Small Group Project Assignments – Tuesday, November 14, 2023
  • Session 5: Safety and Risk Services; Contracting – Tuesday, November 28, 2023
  • Session 6: Small Group Project Check-in with FSI Design Team – Tuesday, January 9, 2024
  • Session 7: Internal Controls and Fraud Awareness; Records Management and Information Security – Tuesday, January 23, 2024
  • Session 8: Financial Stewardship Institute Capstone – Tuesday, February 27, 2024
    FSI Small Group Project Teams will present their recommendations to the FSI Design Team and project sponsors.

Nomination Process

Nominations for the 2023-24 cohort are now closed. 

Please check back in August of 2024 for information on how to submit a nomination for the 2024-25 cohort.

 

Small Group Projects Proposals

An essential element of the FSI involves the application of financial stewardship principles taught in the workshops to real issues at the UO. To provide this experience to FSI participants we have them lead consulting projects for UO departments.

Proposing is easy: Simply provide a project title, a contact person/sponsor, a 1-2 paragraph problem statement/description, and a brief charge/goal for the FSI project team. The deadline for submitting a proposal to the 2023-24 Institute is October 16, 2023.

Submit a Proposal

Guidelines for identifying a project to submit:

  • Focus of the project
    • The project must focus on an issue with the potential to have a financial impact on the overall UO budget.
    • The project should involve a complex issue that would benefit from the advice of a consulting team and require strategic thinking to be resolved.
    • Participants in the FSI will serve as consultants, focusing on applying principles of financial stewardship (e.g., related to accounting, payables, receivables, and collections, contracting, sponsored projects, risk services, internal controls and fraud prevention, financial reporting and analysis, records management, HR and payroll) to your project.
  • Role of the sponsoring department
    • Submit a project
    • Identify and electronically submit a project for FSI participants using the online form.
    • Work with the FSI small group
      If your proposal is selected, meet with your FSI project team to provide an overview of the project and answer any questions. Be available to answer questions from your FSI project team members as they analyze the issues and prepare their recommendations.
    • Attend Capstone Presentation

Examples of Prior Projects

    • Researching shared services structure and recommend a model for implementation
    • Job advertisement and cost efficacy
    • Funding advisors in student conduct and Title IX cases
    • Evaluating remote working policies across campus
    • Feasibility of campus-wide translation and interpretation services
    • Analysis of recruitment versus retention costs
    • Analysis of UO Conference Services

Questions

If you have any questions about the nomination process, please contact Sheena Kindred, Learning & Development Coordinator, at 541-346-5116 or skindred@uoregon.edu