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University of North Dakota
  • Employee Resources
    • Job Openings
    • Benefits
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    • Staff Senate
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    • University Council for Women+
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    • Procurement & Payment Services
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  • Operations
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    • Policy Office
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FAQs About MIRA

General FAQs

MIRA is the Model for Incentive-based Resource Allocation also called responsibility centered management (RCM) at many institutions. It is a more transparent and decentralized form of financial planning than is UND’s traditional, incremental budgeting model.

UND moved to MIRA after going through a four phase budget model redesign process. During that process, a decentralized approach to resource allocation was preferred. Having a model that assigns greater control over resource decisions to deans and directors was also important. The change was guided by 5 principles consistent with our core mission and values:

  • Ensure that resource management, planning and allocation aligns with the University’s mission in liberal arts, public service, and discovery as a Carnegie Doctoral Research Institution with an international reputation for research and scholarship.
  • Provide a clear link between resource allocation and the success in implementing an agreed-upon list of strategic goals for both UND and individual units.
  • Provide incentives for promoting flexibility, efficiency, innovation and entrepreneurship through the use of data-based decision making.
  • Incorporate collaborative governance and stakeholder engagement to promote fiscal trust, responsibility, accountability, and transparency.
  • Use a fair and consistent methodology which balances economic reality with simplicity.

  • In incremental budget model, programs are funded based on the amount they received the previous year adjusted by any budget requests granted and/or any budget cuts made. These changes are incremental, based on the budget from the prior year. They are not based on activity only historical allocation.
  • MIRA takes into consideration revenue changes from year to year due to enrollment changes, cost of instruction, demand, and other operational changes. The application of such allocations to both revenue distributions and cost assessment will provide transparency in the budget-setting process.

Primary units are UND units that are focused on activities that in turn generate revenue, such as teaching courses, conducting research, running residence halls, etc. There are currently 24 primary units. Eight Academic Primary Units and 16 Auxiliaries, Centers, and Institutes. The following is an alphabetical list of UND’s Primary Units.
  • Academic Primary Units
    • College of Arts & Sciences
    • College of Business & Public Affairs
    • College of Education & Human Development
    • College of Engineering & Mines
    • College of Nursing & Professional Disciplines
    • School of Aerospace Sciences
    • School of Law
    • School of Medicine & Health Sciences
  • Auxiliaries
    • Athletics
    • Bookstore
    • Chester Fritz Auditorium
    • Children’s Learning Center
    • Dining Services
    • Golf Course
    • Housing
    • Memorial Union
    • Office of Extended Learning-Auxiliary
    • Parking Services
    • Student Health Services
    • Wellness Center
  • Centers & Institutes
    • Center for Innovation
    • EERC
    • Human Nutrition Center
    • Technology Accelerator

Service Units are UND units whose primary focus is to provide services to Primary Units. There are six groups of service units called cost pools. Both types of units are equally important and work as a team in MIRA. 
  • Academic Administration/Student Services
  • Business Administration
  • Deferred Maintenance
  • Facilities
  • Operations/Information Services
  • Research

No. You still develop fund/department level budgets to be uploaded in PeopleSoft Financials using the Budget Module launch for the annual budget process. You still run your monthly financial monitoring reports in PeopleSoft Financials. MIRA does not change that process. MIRA impacts the amount of spending authority a unit has available. MIRA is consolidating the funding information into one model statement for aid in planning and making financial decisions as a unit. MIRA does not break down to the department or program level.

All revenues (including indirect cost recovery) for sponsored revenue (grants & contracts) flow to the unit that is awarded the grant & contract.

MIRA is not a drastic change for most auxiliaries and centers. Auxiliaries and centers normally budgeted, received and managed their direct revenues and direct expenses. The main differences are the allocation of the service unit costs, participation fee, and institutional support. This shift to a more fully costed model for these units increases transparency and provides information to the UND community related to these essential functions on the University.

Interdisciplinary Academic Collaboration

The model allocates tuition dollars based on credit hour production. For undergraduate tuition credits, the tuition dollars are allocated to the college of instruction and the college of record. So both colleges involved share in the revenue. Graduate tuition goes directly to the college of record. Knowing how the revenue flows in MIRA allows for primary units to analyze the potential financial outcomes of collaboration. This data-driven approach encourages collaborations that are beneficial to all parties involved. Even if the revenue does not flow to the collaborating units through the MIRA calculations, memorandums of understanding can be used to transfer funds between collaborating units.

Service Agreement FAQs

Service agreements outline what a Service Unit does. The service agreement also provides information on how these services can be requested and who is eligible to request those services. For those units with high demand, the service agreement also specifies how decisions are made to prioritize services. The service agreement also differentiates between core and premium services which help our primary units understand additional costs that services may require outside the allocation amount.

Core services are provided to the customers defined as a part of the allocated dollar amount for the service unit. Recharge is a mechanism to recover costs for services between one department and another based on a set rate. Premium services are those services offered to specific customers that require different levels of service outside of the core services. The premium services are defined between departments in a service level agreement.

Contact the person listed for the unit and communicate your concerns.

Service agreements are organized by cost pool and driver for the allocation. They are not representative of organizational or reporting structure.
Resource Planning & Allocation
Twamley Hall Room 414
264 Centennial Dr Stop 8233
Grand Forks, ND 58202-8233
P 701.777.2165
UND.rpa@UND.edu
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