University receives prestigious NACUBO innovation award for second consecutive year

The following content first appeared on the news page while UMass Global operated under its former name of Brandman University.

Doug Renner and Philip Doolittle with Jill Yates, representing NACUBO.

Brandman University is a repeat winner in the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) Innovation Award Program. The custom-designed Student Accounts Receivable (SAR) performance metrics and collections system earned the university the honor – its second NACUBO award in two years.

The system increased cash balances and decreased SAR balances – days before student payments are received – and reduced the amount of staff time spent on follow-ups.

NACUBO’s annual awards honor individual and institutional excellence in higher education business and financial management.

Phil Doolittle and Doug Renner accepted the 2017 award on behalf on behalf of the university at the association’s annual meeting taking place in Minneapolis.

Renner, the assistant vice chancellor for accounting and controller for the university, said the latest innovation enables the institution to collect 99 percent of its total tuition charges each trimester.

“The SAR enhances efficiency, which, at the end of the day, benefits everyone, including students. It allows Brandman to get its funds soon, improving the cash flow and overall financial position while reducing administrative costs, improves the use or our resources and allows us to direct more of the resources and efforts to serving students,” said Doolittle, the executive vice chancellor of Finance and Administration and chief financial officer.

Last year, Brandman received the innovation award for its One Stop Middleware Portal, developed to integrate business functions for Brandman MyPath ™’s nonterm structure. Brandman MyPath ™ is a competency-based program that gives students the flexibility to work at their own pace and start courses at any time during the year.

“With this year’s annual meeting focused on the role of the chief business officer in guiding teams toward the future, I am honored to recognize these professionals and institutions, each of whom has demonstrated time and again the power of hard work, innovation, and perseverance,” said John Walda, president and CEO of NACUBO. “Their impressive results speak for themselves: This group sets the standard for excellence in higher education.”

More information is available on the NACUBO website.