STRATEGIC THEME 3
Secure and deploy resources commensurate with the pace of CDU ’ s transformational growth .
Rationale
Few institutions in the nation can boast of having excess resources beyond their needs . Public institutions lament decreasing government appropriations relative to their growing cost , while private sector institutions struggle to improve their revenue as they try to keep tuition increases down . Yet , irrespective of the sector , pursuit of excellence invariably results in cost escalation in a highly competitive marketplace . The financial scenario is made more complicated at research-focused institutions where the indirect cost obtained from grants is insufficient to cover the true cost of research work . In addition , institutions that seem to benefit disproportionately from fundraising are those that have the required level of investment to raise private funds .
The experience at CDU in the past five years reflects similar experiences of institutions across the nation with respect to increasing costs . While the leadership has been effective in keeping cost reasonably down , cost increases are inevitable in some part of university operations . However , the University has had significant improvement in non-tuition revenue generation . A major improvement comes from state grants , although these tend to be one-time funds . In addition , the University continues to maintain high level of research grants , although most of these are center grants .
The future of CDU requires continuing expansion of sources of funding and optimizing revenue generation from each source . In the next five years , the University will need to expand its external donor network , improve IDC rates and continue to increase tuition revenue generation . CDU will undertake major projects in the next five years . Among them : establishment of an independent medical education program ; construction of a multimillion-dollar medical education building ; and the build-out of several structures on the newly acquired Compton site . These projects would have to be paced commensurately with resource availability to ensure that the institution stays financially afloat . In addition , the University must adopt financial practices that improve budgetary transparency and help foster community trust and empowerment .
STRATEGIC GOAL 3 : CDU will optimize resource generation and judicious allocation of resources to instigate and sustain growth .
Strategic Objective 1 : Invest in , diversify , and strengthen sources of funding to the University .
Strategic Objective 2 : Develop and expand the physical campus landscape and facilities for a midsize university .
Strategic Objective 3 : Cultivate and strengthen external constituents ’ relationships to support critical university goals such as clinical education .
Strategic Objective 4 : Adopt strategic and transparent budget practice that links unit level revenue to cost to growth plan and to outcomes .
Strategic Objective 5 : Provide funding to incentivize innovative program development and enrollment growth .
Strategic Objective 6 : Ensure adequate resources and infrastructure to accomplish institutional goals and growth .
CDU 2021-2026 STRATEGIC PLAN | PG . 13