Financial Resources Goal

Maximize Illinois Wesleyan’s financial base and focus the use of financial resources on supporting strategic goals.

 

Strategy A: Managing Tuition and Financial Aid.

VI.A1:  Design tuition and financial aid policies that permit us to generate needed revenues, to be accessible for qualified applicants, and to recruit a strong and diverse student body.

Outcome: Move to a net tuition revenue (NTR) model for enrollment management and budgeting to most effectively generate maximum levels of net revenue and maintain the University’s Mission.

Strategy B: Increasing Philanthropic Support and Growing the Endowment.

VI.B1:  Consistently and substantially increase philanthropic support for Illinois Wesleyan to augment tuition as a source of operating funds, and grow the endowment fund to provide an ongoing financial base for the University.

Outcome: Upon completion of the Transforming Lives campaign in 2014, retain existing staff and resources in order to continue the pursuit of major gifts, scholarship support, endowed faculty positions, and to prepare for the next capital campaign.

Outcome: Invest in staff and resources to expand annual giving participation and dollars raised, with a particular focus on alumni donors, using a multi-faceted grassroots approach, working in tandem with a comprehensive alumni engagement program.

Outcome: Invest in staff and resources to expand the individual and collective efforts of the faculty and professional staff to obtain funding and external fellowships from federal, state, private, and other external sources for research and scholarship, teaching, professional development, service, and departmental and institutional goals and priorities; and support the post-award administration of these grants.

Outcome: Because IWU’s current financial situation precludes adding numerous additional staff, it is important to recognize, nurture and celebrate the significant role that volunteers play in fund-raising and in support of the University’s mission through a more formalized program of recruiting, retaining and engaging volunteers, coordinated as part of ongoing alumni engagement activities.

Outcome: To support all of these efforts, provide resources to enhance the University’s advancement data management program, which will provide staff and volunteer fund-raisers with comprehensive, timely and accessible information.

Strategy C: Using Existing Resources Strategically.

VI.C1:  Systematically review resource allocations to ensure resources are being expended in the most cost-effective and sustainable manner and consider adjustments in support of the University's strategic goals.

Outcome: Intensify efforts to increase the flexibility of resource allocations to meet strategic objectives.

Outcome: Continue to monitor the allocation of endowment investments to balance the twin goals of achieving reasonable returns and low risk.

Outcome: Reexamine priorities for major gifts in preparation for the next capital campaign.

Outcome: Conduct a careful review of the allocation of resources for construction and maintenance of physical structures, keeping environmental sustainability initiatives in mind.

Outcome: Because of the intense competition between universities for qualified students, ensure that resource allocations in the admissions area allow for appropriate responses to emerging opportunities.

Outcome: Make wise and forward looking decisions regarding the allocation of information technology resources.

Strategy D: Developing New or Enhanced Sources of Revenue.

VI.D1:  Continuously explore potential additional revenue sources to enable the University to further its mission.

Outcome: Study efforts that would require faculty input/action related to academic programs. Such efforts could include, but not be limited to:

• • Determining the viability of continuing to offer May Term courses, including but not limited to travel courses, in the current or a new/revised format.
  • Exploring the feasibility of offering summer courses.
  • Exploring the possibility of reinstituting a summer studies program where high school students can accrue University credits, such as the former College Credits in Escrow program.
  • Reviewing current curricular offerings to consider adding new programs or areas of study that would attract additional students.

Outcome: Investigate non-curricular program or product opportunities that could provide additional revenues and are consistent with a university-based endeavor.

Such opportunities could include but not be limited to:

• • Conducting a feasibility study to determine viability of expanding summer conferences.
  • Encouraging staff and faculty to develop summer camps for high school students which could help support recruitment efforts as well as generate revenues.
  • Changing the on-campus student residency requirement from two to three years.
  • Exploring creation of an Innovations Center to review, approve and provide start-up funding for ideas identified that would increase revenues or would enhance the efficiency of current operations in a way that reduce expenses.