Obstacles to Strategic Financial and Fiscal Planning

Internal Factors That Might Impede the Development of a Successful Financial Strategic Plan:

The University of California is one of the largest, highest-quality public university systems in the United States. It has been a source of affordable public education for generations of Californians. However, because of the state's recent financial crisis, these premiere universities have been forced to severely cut back on services to students and there are worries about retaining the system's quality and low cost for California residents. The need to improve financial efficiency while maintaining services is something that all government institutions are required to do, but the need becomes especially acute when dealing with the access to education (Quehel 2008).

The University of California's Commission on the Future recommended that the university system "encourage more students to graduate in three years; create a pilot project to offer 30 to 40 classes online system-wide to help overcrowding; pursue greater private fund-raising; double the number of out-of-state students, who pay significantly higher tuition, from 7,600 to 15,200; increase UC tuition from 5% to 15%, but adopt a multi-year fee schedule to help parents" (O'Shaughnessy 2010).

These suggestions are unpopular for obvious reasons, given that many residents are facing cutbacks in their own budgets thanks to California's worsening economy and have seen college savings plans emptied due to the uncertain stock market. Furthermore, increasing the number of out-of-state residents attending the university could shut out many California residents who have more need than ever to have access to an affordable education. Expanding online education cannot replace all of the courses, and while suitable for some students (such as older professionals) online education is no replacement for the face-to-face engagement of the classroom.

Cutbacks are necessary, and these even these cutbacks are not enough most likely to save the university system alone. One reason that it is so difficult for the University of California to develop a successful strategic plan is that it is internally divided between many forces. Some would say that its task is an impossible one. It is faced with the need to satisfy the state's demand to meet certain budgetary benchmarks while it must still serve the needs of students, including poorer students. The university system is vast and serves students spanning from the children of recent immigrants to highly competitive out-of-state students attracted to the name of institutions such as Berkeley and UCLA. Other internal tensions within the university system include those pressuring to retain the research aspects of the university that have made it famous, versus those who are more focused upon student-centered services.