Improving Budget Request Processes for Non-Financial Leaders at Sam Houston State University
Impact at a Glance
Created a more focused and consistent budget request process
Better aligned requests with institutional priorities and available resources
Encouraged systems thinking across departments
Strengthened analysis of the full costs of budget requests
Built a more collaborative approach to budget planning
The Challenge
Sam Houston State University, a Hispanic-Serving Institution in Texas, enrolls approximately 21,000 students across eight colleges. The university wanted to improve how deans and departmental leaders—many of whom are not finance professionals—developed and presented budget requests.
Historically, leaders presented requests during content-dense meetings that left limited time for questions and discussion. The university wanted to:
- Give leaders clearer guidance before submitting requests
- Create more time for meaningful discussion and collaboration
- Improve consistency across budget submissions
- Better align requests with institutional priorities and available funding
- Encourage consideration of student outcomes and cross-functional resource needs
The goal was to make budget development more focused, transparent, and useful for resource allocation decisions.
The Action
Sam Houston State customized NACUBO’s Budget Builder Discussion Guide to support leaders in preparing and prioritizing their budget requests.
The university:
- Asked leaders to identify their top three to five priorities
- Provided information about available funding before budget meetings
- Shared prior-year request totals to provide additional financial context
- Used prompts to connect requests with student outcomes and engagement
- Encouraged consideration of sustainability and scalability
- Examined the cross-functional impact and resource needs associated with requests
Providing this information in advance helped leaders submit requests that were more closely aligned with institutional priorities and resource availability.
The Results
Immediate Impact
- Improved alignment between budget requests and institutional priorities
- Generated requests more consistent with available resources
- Created more focused discussions around the highest-priority requests
- Increased consideration of student outcomes, sustainability, and cross-functional impacts
Process Improvements
- Established a more collaborative budget development process
- Enabled deeper conversations about why one initiative should be prioritized over another
- Strengthened analysis of interdependent financial factors
- Improved cost analysis, including the full resources required to onboard new employees
- Revised expense allocations to better reflect costs borne by individual departments or divisions
Ongoing Momentum
- Continue using Budget Builder in future planning and budgeting cycles
- Align resource decisions with strategic and operational objectives
- Maintain a strong focus on initiatives linked to improved student outcomes
- Build capacity to develop pro forma budgets
- Continue strengthening systems thinking and collaboration in budget planning
“We recognized we needed to be more transparent about the dollars available to be allocated, and to honor people's time by providing them with better guidance in advance of, and throughout the budget development process. ...”
Amanda WithersChief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President for Operations
Related Use Cases
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Strengthening Decision-Making and Resource Prioritization Practices
