Financial performance and cost transparency are driving issues in higher education – internal and external pressures are mounting due to the rising cost of tuition. Undergraduate costs at public four-year universities climbed 139% between 1990 and 2010 according to the nonprofit College Board. Legislators, trustees, administrators, faculty, students and parents are all looking for a better approach to the financial health of higher education, without compromising the quality of education delivered. Acorn’s Profitability and Cost Management solutions are specifically designed for the unique challenges of universities, colleges and other institutions.
Case in Point: Academic Efficiency
Jack is the IT Director at a well-known, 4 year university. Jack’s wife works for a Fortune 50 company that has agreed to match all endowments received by the university over the previous quarter. Their only prerequisite is that the university provide financial accounting of each donation and a forecast of where the anticipated funds will be spent. The university chancellor is meeting with company executives in just a few days. Jack and his staff will be scrutinizing mountains of spreadsheets, trying their best to track down the figures and cross reference budgetary projections. Jack knows the information will only be 70-80% accurate at best. Recognizing the impact this incremental revenue opportunity will mean to the university, Jack realizes he needs an easier, more efficient system.
Acorn’s Profitability and Cost Management solution places the numbers at Jack's fingertips, providing real-time access to consolidated information, previously scattered throughout various organizations and spreadsheets. Even better, Jack can create dashboards to reveal expenditures, analyze budget projections and track endowments.
Acorn’s unique blend of packaged software and flexible methodology provides continuous, institution-wide visibility enabling universities to lower costs while providing the best education and services to students. The result is better management of strategic, financial and operational performance.