Phased Rollout of Bruin Budget Model Begins in FY 2023-24

Dear Colleagues:

For the past several years, UCLA has been developing and refining a new framework for how we allocate core funds from the central campus to our various academic and administrative units. This new framework, called the Bruin Budget Model (BBM), aims to establish a system of funding flows that is more transparent, more empowering of our schools and colleges, and more responsive to changing budgetary circumstances than the one UCLA currently has in place. 

At the recommendation of the BBM Coordinating Group (PDF), chaired by professor and Special Advisor to the EVCP for Academic Planning and Budget Jeff Lewis and tasked with finalizing and preparing the Bruin Budget Model for launch, the campus will begin a phased implementation of the model this coming fiscal year. We are taking a deliberative multi-year approach to putting the model in place. Coupled with ongoing oversight and assessment, this will help ensure that the new system can be adjusted as needed to eliminate unintended effects and make certain that it is meeting its goals of providing greater clarity, accuracy, predictability and accountability in university budgeting.

The first phase of the revised Bruin Budget Model’s implementation will focus exclusively on the allocation of one component of UCLA’s operating revenues, known as General (19900) Funds, which comprise state appropriations, base tuition and nonresident supplemental tuition. Under the new model, incremental changes in the allocation of General Fund dollars to academic units will align more closely with incremental changes in the amount of enrollment and/or instructional activity within those units — in essence, when a school or division is serving more students, it will receive more funding to support the higher workload. This is an important change from our existing model in light of the enrollment growth we expect to see at UCLA in the coming decade.

You can learn much more about the first phase of the revised Bruin Budget Model in a detailed implementation plan recently published by the BBM Coordinating Group (PDF). The group continues to meet to discuss aspects of the budget model and subsequent phases of implementation. If you have specific questions about the model or this transition, please reach out to apb@ponet.ucla.edu.

Academic Planning and Budget, the office of the EVCP and the office of the CFO have been working closely with deans, divisional finance leads and the Academic Senate’s Council on Planning and Budget to prepare for the launch of the Bruin Budget Model this summer. We strongly believe that the adoption of the model, and this phased approach to its implementation, represent a prudent course of action that will help UCLA maximize the use of limited resources and will help secure a healthy financial future for our institution.

Sincerely,

Darnell Hunt
Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost

Allison Baird-James
Interim Vice Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer