Our division is sensitive to the RIT community’s need to understand the university’s financial situation and the availability of resources. The more informed the community is, the better the decision-making process will be.

The budgeting process at RIT starts from the grassroots up. Each year the colleges and divisions determine what they need funding for at the operating level. The deans and vice presidents then present a prioritized list of their budget requests to the RIT Budget Committee.

The RIT Budget Committee—composed of the President, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Senior Vice President of Finance and Administration and the Budget Director—listens to over 20 budget hearings each year, supported by representatives from the Academic Senate, Staff Council and the Budget Office. Through the advice of RIT’s governance groups, the Budget Committee decides how to divide RIT’s budget. This is a competitive process and unfortunately we can’t satisfy everyone, but with careful planning we can advance the university by putting our resources behind the greatest areas of need.

This summer Dr. Watters will release a series of video tutorials to explain RIT’s financial planning process in greater detail. Topics he plans to address include:

• Annual operating budget
• Endowment assets
• Debt financing and credit ratings

Feedback Form

If there are additional topics you would like Dr. Watters to consider explaining, please let us know.