Decision Framework for Budget Cuts in Career Services

This guide presents a two-level decision framework designed to assist in navigating budget cuts, staffing reductions, and program prioritization within career services. The framework begins with mapping programs across two dimensions to identify areas of capacity strain. It defines 'Reach' as the breadth of access to services and 'Effort' as the ongoing staff time and resources required to maintain service quality. The document outlines a Reach/Effort Matrix to categorize programs based on their scalability and sustainability. Additionally, it introduces an Importance/Sustainability Matrix to assess the strategic value of programs and their ability to continue without excessive effort. The guide provides a structured approach for assessing each program's reach and effort, plotting them on the matrices, and identifying high-effort, low-reach items that require immediate attention. This systematic evaluation aims to facilitate informed decision-making in resource allocation amidst fiscal constraints.