Strengthening Institutional Quality, Stewardship, and Continuous Improvement – Baker Tilly Internal Audit

Dear WesternU Community,

At Western University of Health Sciences, our mission requires that we continually strengthen the quality, effectiveness, and sustainability of our academic, clinical, administrative, and operational programs. As a health sciences university committed to humanism, academic excellence, student success, and service to our communities, we have a responsibility to ensure that every college and unit is supported by sound data, strong stewardship, and a culture of continuous improvement.

In keeping with recognized practices across U.S. higher education, WesternU regularly engages in internal review, fiscal oversight, operational assessment, and audit-related processes to support quality, accountability, compliance, accreditation readiness, risk management, and responsible alignment of resources with institutional priorities.

As part of this ongoing commitment, WesternU has engaged Baker Tilly to conduct a focused internal audit efficiency and operational optimization review. Baker Tilly has communicated with Deans and Unit Chiefs and has outlined the anticipated scope of work, including interviews, document requests, and data needed to support the review process.

This engagement is intended to be collaborative, forward-looking, and constructive. It is not a punitive exercise, nor is it designed as a retrospective critique of any college, unit, program, or individual. Rather, the review is intended to help WesternU identify opportunities to strengthen revenue, align costs, improve operational efficiency, support data-informed decision-making, and preserve academic excellence, accreditation standards, student outcomes, and mission fidelity.

The review will focus principally on two areas: revenue optimization and cost alignment. This may include evaluation of enrollment and retention trends, tuition and net revenue, faculty workload and instructional capacity, adjunct and full-time faculty utilization, administrative processes, research and clinical revenue opportunities, and potential areas for shared services or reduced duplication.

This focus on efficiency also serves a broader purpose. Like all universities, WesternU must maintain sound operating efficiency to sustain a strong institutional credit standing. This matters directly to students: a healthy credit profile allows WesternU to secure financing at lower interest rates, reducing debt service costs and easing pressure on tuition. It also supports continued investment in our physical campus and academic infrastructure. Operational efficiency reviews like this one send a clear signal to financial markets that WesternU is a fiscally responsible institution which ultimately benefits every member of our community.

This work is also consistent with national governance expectations and WesternU’s internal governance framework. Board audit committees have a fiduciary responsibility to support risk-based oversight and may request targeted analyses of specific programs, functions, or operational areas. WesternU’s Audit Committee Charter similarly supports special reports and independent review when needed to address institutional risk, sustainability, academic quality, operational effectiveness, or reputational considerations.

At the same time, we recognize and affirm the importance of shared governance. Faculty engagement remains essential in discussions involving academic programs, resource allocation, educational quality, and institutional sustainability. Independent analysis provides a neutral and credible evidentiary foundation for these discussions. It does not replace faculty judgment, academic governance, or the role of college and university leadership. Rather, it supports more transparent, informed, and collaborative decision-making.

As this process moves forward, WesternU will continue to communicate clearly, listen carefully, and engage constructively with college leadership, faculty, staff, and appropriate governance bodies. Our shared goal is to strengthen WesternU together: protecting academic quality, supporting our students, stewarding our resources responsibly, and ensuring that our University remains resilient, innovative, and mission-driven for the future.

Plan for Campus Engagement

 

Category	Key Action	Campus Community Message
Purpose of the Review	Baker Tilly will conduct an internal audit efficiency and operational optimization review.	WesternU is engaging an independent third party to support institutional quality, accountability, operational effectiveness, and long-term sustainability.
Nature of the Engagement	The review will be collaborative, forward-looking, and improvement-oriented.	This is not a punitive or retrospective exercise. It is intended to strengthen colleges, units, and mission fulfillment.
Higher Education Practice	U.S. universities regularly conduct internal audits, operational reviews, and targeted assessments of colleges, programs, and administrative units.	This process reflects standard higher education practice and supports quality, compliance, accreditation readiness, and continuous improvement.
Governance Foundation	The review is consistent with national expectations for risk-based oversight and institutional stewardship.	WesternU’s approach reflects responsible governance and fiduciary oversight.
Audit Committee Role	The Audit Committee may request special reports, targeted reviews, and independent analyses when appropriate.	The Board and Audit Committee have a responsibility to ensure appropriate oversight of institutional risk, sustainability, academic quality, and operational performance.
Independence	Baker Tilly’s work will provide an independent assessment separate from the external financial audit.	Independent analysis strengthens objectivity, credibility, and confidence in the process.
Shared Governance	Faculty and academic leadership will remain essential participants in discussions involving academic quality, program sustainability, and resource allocation.	Independent analysis supports shared governance; it does not replace it.
Primary Focus Areas	The review will focus on revenue optimization and cost alignment.	The goal is to strengthen revenue fundamentals, improve efficiency, and responsibly align resources with institutional priorities.
Revenue Optimization	Baker Tilly may evaluate tuition, enrollment, retention, net revenue per student, research, contracts, clinical activity, and other mission-aligned revenue opportunities.	WesternU is seeking to strengthen financial resilience while supporting student success and academic excellence.
Faculty Workload and Capacity	The review may include faculty teaching loads, course utilization, adjunct and full-time faculty mix, and instructional capacity.	The process will help identify opportunities to align faculty effort with teaching, research, service, clinical activity, and student needs.
Cost Alignment	The review may include expense trends, instructional cost, faculty-to-student ratios, staffing models, and administrative processes.	The focus is improved resource alignment and operational discipline, not a reduction in academic quality or mission capacity.
Shared Services and Coordination	Baker Tilly may explore opportunities to reduce duplication and improve coordination with central administrative services.	The goal is to strengthen service delivery, improve consistency, and make better use of shared institutional resources.
Data Collection	include strategic plans, five-year contribution history, revenue by course, enrollment data, salary and benefit costs, operating expenses, and central cost allocations.	The review will be grounded in institutional data and validated through leadership engagement.
Shared Services and Coordination	Baker Tilly may explore opportunities to reduce duplication and improve coordination with central administrative services.	The goal is to strengthen service delivery, improve consistency, and make better use of shared institutional resources.
Stakeholder Engagement	Interviews and focus groups may include Deans, Associate Deans, Unit Chiefs, business officers, and key operational leaders.	College and unit leaders will participate directly in the process and help ensure that findings are contextualized and accurate.
Shared Services and Coordination	Baker Tilly may explore opportunities to reduce duplication and improve coordination with central administrative services.	The goal is to strengthen service delivery, improve consistency, and make better use of shared institutional resources.
Preliminary Observations	Baker Tilly will identify themes, opportunities, and areas requiring further analysis.	Initial findings will be reviewed carefully before any recommendations are finalized.
Draft Recommendations	Draft recommendations will be discussed with appropriate leadership and governance structures.	WesternU will seek accuracy, fairness, and mission alignment before moving toward implementation.
Final Report	A final report will be presented to the Audit Committee for review and approval.	Findings will be elevated through the appropriate governance structure.
Timeline	Each review is expected to take approximately 10–12 weeks.	The engagement will proceed in a structured, time-limited, and transparent manner.
Post-Review Follow-Up	WesternU will evaluate recommendations and develop appropriate action steps.	Any next steps will be considered thoughtfully, with attention to academic quality, shared governance, institutional sustainability, and student outcomes.

 

Proposed Plan for Sharing Baker Tilly Report Data with University Stakeholders After Audit Committee Review

Following the presentation of the Baker Tilly report to the Audit Committee, WesternU will work with college leadership to develop implementation plans in consultation with appropriate governance bodies. WesternU will implement a structured, transparent, and responsible communication plan to share appropriate findings, data themes, and next steps with University stakeholders and constituents.

The goal will be to promote institutional understanding, support shared governance, encourage constructive engagement, and ensure that the review strengthens WesternU’s mission, academic quality, student success, and long-term sustainability.

For easy readability, the proposed plan for sharing the Baker Tilly Report Data with University stakeholders after the Audit Committee Review will be presented as follows:

I. Guiding Principles

The communication and engagement process are guided by the following principles:

1. Transparency with Responsibility

WesternU will share report findings and data themes as openly as appropriate, while protecting confidential, personnel-related, student-specific, contractual, financial, legal, and privileged information.

2. Mission Alignment

All communications will reinforce that the review is intended to strengthen WesternU’s academic, clinical, administrative, and operational effectiveness in service of students, patients, clients, communities, faculty, staff, and alumni.

3. Shared Governance

Faculty, academic leaders, staff leaders, and governance bodies will have meaningful opportunities to review relevant data, ask questions, provide context, and contribute to thoughtful next steps.

4. Data Accuracy and Context

Data will be presented with appropriate explanation, definitions, limitations, and institutional context to avoid misunderstanding or misinterpretation.

5. Constructive Engagement

The process will be evidence-based and improvement-oriented. The purpose is to identify opportunities for alignment, sustainability, efficiency, quality enhancement, and mission fulfillment.

6. Equity and Consistency

Stakeholders across colleges, campuses, administrative units, and governance bodies will receive information through a consistent and coordinated process.

II. Step-by-Step Communication and Engagement Plan

Step 1: Audit Committee Review and Direction

After Baker Tilly presents the final report to the Audit Committee, the Committee will review the findings, recommendations, and any areas requiring additional clarification.

Campus message:

The Audit Committee will first review the report to ensure that the findings are accurate, appropriately contextualized, and handled in accordance with WesternU’s governance responsibilities.

Step 2: Data Classification Review

The report data will be classified into categories:

 

Data Category	Sharing Approach
University-wide themes	Share broadly with the campus community
Aggregated financial and operational data	Share broadly with appropriate context
College-level data	Share with relevant college leadership, faculty, and governance groups, as appropriate
Unit-specific operational findings	Share with affected units and responsible leaders
Personnel-related information	Do not share publicly
Student-specific information	Protect in accordance with applicable law and policy
Contractual, legal, privileged, or sensitive financial information	Share only with authorized individuals
Recommendations requiring governance consultation	Refer to appropriate shared governance bodies
Recommendations requiring administrative action	Refer to responsible senior leadership

 

Campus message:

WesternU will be transparent about the findings while protecting confidential information and ensuring that data are shared responsibly.

Step 3: Leadership Briefings

WesternU will brief key leadership groups so they are prepared to answer questions and support constructive dialogue.

These briefings will provide leaders with:

• The campus summary
• Core talking points
• Anticipated questions and suggested responses;
• Timeline for stakeholder engagement;
• Guidance regarding confidentiality and data interpretation.

Campus message:

University leadership and governance representatives will be briefed in advance so that they can help support accurate communication, thoughtful engagement, and constructive dialogue.

Step 4: Stakeholder-Specific Data Briefings

WesternU will provide tailored briefings to major stakeholder groups. Each briefing will be appropriate to the group’s role, responsibilities, and need for information.

 

Stakeholder Group	Recommended Format	Focus
Faculty Senate	Briefing and Q&A	Academic quality, workload, program sustainability, shared governance, student outcomes
Staff Council	Briefing and Q&A	Operational efficiency, administrative processes, shared services, support structures
Deans and College Leadership	Detailed working sessions	College-level findings, academic operations, enrollment, revenue, cost alignment, faculty capacity
Unit Chiefs	Detailed working sessions	Administrative operations, service delivery, cost alignment, process improvement
Students / SGA	Student-centered briefing	Student success, academic quality, support services, tuition stewardship, continuity of programs
Board of Trustees	Full governance update	Risk oversight, sustainability, implementation priorities, accountability metrics
Campus Community	Town halls and written summary	University-wide themes, next steps, engagement opportunities

 

Campus message:

Different stakeholders will receive information appropriate to their role, with opportunities to ask questions, provide input, and understand how the findings relate to WesternU’s future.

Step 5: Development of an Action Planning Framework

After stakeholder briefings, WesternU will develop an action planning framework to determine which recommendations require implementation, further study, governance consultation, or no action.

Each recommendation will be categorized as follows:

 

Category	Description
Immediate Action	Items that can be addressed promptly and administratively
Further Analysis Required	Items requiring additional data, modeling, or validation
Shared Governance Consultation	Items affecting academic programs, faculty workload, curriculum, or educational quality
Budget Planning Integration	Items to be considered through the annual budget process
Strategic Plan Alignment	Items to be incorporated into Tomorrow’s WesternU planning
Long-Term Structural Review	Items requiring phased evaluation or multi-year planning
No Action / Deferred	Items not pursued after review and consultation

 

Campus message:

Recommendations will not be implemented automatically. They will be reviewed thoughtfully, with appropriate governance, operational, financial, and academic consideration.

Step 6: Regular Progress Updates

WesternU will provide periodic updates to maintain transparency and accountability.

Campus message:

The University will provide regular updates so the community may track progress, understand decisions, and remain engaged.

III. Campus Message

WesternU is committed to sharing appropriate findings from the Baker Tilly review in a transparent, responsible, and constructive manner. After the report is reviewed by the Audit Committee, the University will brief key leadership and governance groups, and develop an implementation roadmap informed by data, institutional priorities, shared governance, and community feedback.

This process is intended to strengthen WesternU’s academic quality, operational effectiveness, financial resilience, and long-term ability to serve our students, patients, clients, communities, faculty, staff, alumni, and partners.

The Baker Tilly review will not replace shared governance, faculty expertise, or institutional judgment. Rather, it will provide a neutral evidentiary foundation to support thoughtful discussion, responsible planning, and mission-centered decision-making.

WesternU will proceed carefully, transparently, and collaboratively. WesternU’s colleges and supporting units look forward to engaging with Baker Tilly responsibly, transparently, and in alignment with national standards and our shared institutional mission.

Thank you for your continued commitment to WesternU and to the students, patients, clients, communities, and colleagues we serve.

Robin Farias-Eisner, MD, PhD, MBA
President
Western University of Health Sciences