Penn State's Open Budget Now Available On The Web

2-21-97

University Park, Pa. -- Penn State's budget has been available to the media and the public in libraries across the state since the 1980s, but this month, it just became even easier to access through the World Wide Web.

"Penn State's open budget is one of the most comprehensive, detailed documents of its type in higher education," said Graham B. Spanier, president of the University.

"We believe that moving the 500-plus pages of budget information onto the World Wide Web will open it up to wider audiences, and give the public additional information about how the University operates."

The budget can be found by pointing a web browser, such as Netscape, to Penn State's home page, http://www.psu.edu.

From there, hotlinks will lead electronic visitors to the budget. Those wanting to review the document will need to download a reader, Adobe Acrobat, which is provided free of charge.

The largest portion income in Penn State's total operating budget is generated by tuition, 27.2 percent, with the second largest source coming into the University through research funding -- largely from sources outside of the Commonwealth, which the University brings into Pennsylvania. The smallest of the three main sources of operating income is through the annual state appropriation.

For approximately a decade, Penn State's budget and related documents totaling thousands of pages of information have been placed in the libraries of its 23 campuses.

Each copy of the budget and the related documents cost about $100 to photocopy. Making the volumes of information available on the Web will save the University thousands of dollars annually.

In addition to the open budget, Penn State also produces an annual expenditures report totaling hundreds of pages, which is also placed in each of its libraries around the state. Press releases and the public information staff of the University provide other financial information about the university throughout the year, ranging from fund-raising results to the cost of new buildings.

"This is our first attempt to organize the hundreds of pages of budget detail for World Wide Web users and we hope in coming months to make the volumes of information increasingly easier to explore," said P. Richard Althouse, the University's budget officer.

Examples of budget information that can be found in the Web documents range from budgets for the faculty senate and Bryce Jordan Center to the cost of fire insurance and hazardous waste disposal.

Many thousands of other pages of information about Penn State are also accessible through the University's main home page on the Web.

"I doubt that there are many universities in the country as large as Penn State that provide this kind of easy access to this much budget information." Spanier said. "The budget available in all of our libraries and now on the Web is a copy of the same budget that sits in my office."

"Penn State is a world leader in the use of information technology and this seemed like a good time to turn to the Web to help us make this information more widely available," Spanier said.

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Contact:
Bill Mahon (814) 865-7517 (office) np3@psu.edu
Christy Rambeau (814) 865-7517 (office) cmr7@psu.edu