Indiana University’s work on the first phase of its budget redesign initiative is complete.

A new model, known as the “UA assessment,” was introduced to determine and allocate the costs of shared services across all campuses. This assessment ensures that University Administration units — such as Human Resources, Public Safety, UITS and Finance — receive the necessary funding to operate effectively.

While Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Jason Dudich cautioned that the new model will likely still require ongoing tweaks, he said it represents a clear plan for budgeting that will use known data metrics.

“Thanks to the great work of the UA assessment task force, this model for fiscal year 2026 is based on data specific to each campus,” he said. “Our previous model was outdated, lacked consistent data driving the allocation method, and lacked information regarding how the assessment supported each campus.”

Dudich and his team presented the new UA model to financial and academic leaders, as well as faculty-facing organizations, to ensure broad awareness of the changes and gather valuable feedback from these groups. Visit the resources section of the budget redesign website to learn more about the UA allocation.

Campus-level budget model work

Campus leaders are also working on new budget models for each campus. This work started in summer 2024 and aims to encourage innovation and collaboration while supporting campus priorities.

The new models will be evaluated during the 2025-26 academic year, with full implementation planned for 2026-27. This does not include IU School of Medicine, which already implemented its budget model redesign and will not be running a parallel model.

During the evaluation period, campus leadership will work to educate each campus community on expected changes as well as make any necessary tweaks.

The new models vary by campus but include an allocation for campus administrative costs that mimics the UA assessment. The methodology uses several markers in determining the breakdown of revenue sources between the campus and the school/college/unit, including:

• Undergraduate, graduate and professional student tuition.
• State operating appropriations.
• Gifts.
• Indirect cost recovery.
• Investment in strategic initiatives or programs at the campus level.
• Incentive-based funding for schools/colleges based on alignment with metrics and performance associated with the IU 2030 strategic plan.
• Centralized specific school/college administrative operations and functions, along with costs at the campus administrative level.

Dudich said his office will collaborate closely with campus leaders and financial support teams to evaluate the new budget models. Updates will be shared through the office’s website and other channels to keep the IU community informed of the progress.