Budget Process Assessment
The Budget Process Assessment toolkit helps colleges and universities evaluate how stakeholders understand and experience institutional budgeting processes.
Through a customizable assessment and supporting guidance, the toolkit helps institutions identify communication gaps, strengthen collaboration, and improve how budget decisions align with institutional priorities and equitable student outcomes.
What You'll Find in This Toolkit
Budget Process Assessment Survey
A customizable survey to evaluate stakeholders' understanding and perceptions of budgeting processes, including how resource allocation decisions support student success.Implementation Guidance
A user guide to help institutions administer the assessment, review results, and evaluate changes in stakeholder perceptions over time.Student-Centered Decision-Making Resources
Guiding questions to support discussions about budgeting practices, resource allocation, and opportunities to improve equitable student outcomes.
Who This Toolkit Is For
- Chief Business Officers (CBOs)
- Finance and Budget Office Teams
- Institutional Leadership and Strategic Planning Teams
- Institutional Research and Effectiveness Professionals
- Academic and Administrative Department Leaders
- Student Affairs and Student Success Professionals
- Budget Managers and Other Stakeholders Involved in Resource Allocation
What This Toolkit Can Help You Achieve
- Understand stakeholders' perceptions and knowledge of institutional budgeting processes.
- Identify communication gaps and opportunities to improve budget transparency.
- Evaluate changes in stakeholder understanding and perceptions over time.
Strengthen collaboration and engagement in budgeting decisions.
Improve alignment between resource allocation, institutional priorities, and equitable student outcomes.
How to Use This Toolkit
You don't have to change your entire budgeting process to get started. This toolkit offers opportunities to gather initial stakeholder feedback, strengthen existing assessment practices, and take a more comprehensive approach to evaluating and improving institutional budgeting.
Quick Start
—Gather feedback from stakeholders to better understand their experiences with the budgeting process and identify initial opportunities to improve communication and transparency.
Deeper Integration
—Examine stakeholder feedback more closely, involve relevant departments in evaluating findings, and identify ways to strengthen budgeting practices and alignment with institutional priorities.
Full Implementation
—Integrate ongoing stakeholder assessment and feedback into institutional budgeting cycles to monitor progress, improve communication, and support more transparent, collaborative, and student-centered resource allocation decisions.
See This Toolkit in Action
Learn how institutions have used Budget Process Assessment to improve student outcomes.
Ready to get started with Budget Process Assessment Toolkit?
Access the full toolkit in the NACUBO Student Success Hub account.
Questions about accessing the Hub? Contact Us