Minutes of the University Budget Committee

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, FRESNO
5241 N. Maple, M/S TA 43
Fresno, California 93740-8027
Office of the Academic Senate
Ext. 8-2743

Members Present: J. Constable (Chair), N. Bengiamin, P. Newell, A. Parham, J. Parks, J. Waayers.

Member Absent: J. Kus (excused).

Visitor: Provost Covino.

The meeting was called to order by Chair Constable at 3:38 p.m. in TA #117.

  1. Minutes. MSC to approve the Minutes of 3/10/10.

  2. Agenda. MSC to approve the Agenda as distributed.

  3. Communications and Announcements.

    1. It was noted that there has been a re-arrangement of University Financial Services, but at this time the potential impact is uncertain. The re-organization places Mr. C. Moffitt in the role of Interim University Controller until the current search for the position is filled.

    2. A new ASI member has been elected to the UBC, she is Patricia Carolina Diaz. The chair will contact Ms. Diaz regarding the weekly meeting time and location.

    3. Dr. P. Trueblood of the DPT program has contacted the Chair of the UBC and will schedule to meet with the Committee the first week following spring break.

  4. New Business – None.

  5. Discussion of the Role of the University Budget Committee with Provost Covino.

    The discussion initiated with an overview of recent budget activity identifying the significant progress made regarding model operations proposed by J. Waayers and accepted by the Provost to minimize dramatic swings in College and School budgets between years (per Memo to the Provost dated 8 March 2010). Concern was presented by the UBC regarding its involvement with the current University budget process (per Memo to the Provost dated 12 March 2010).

    Subsequent conversation addressed the budget situation as it is currently understood with the caveat that the situation was still fluid and expected to change. At present, the University is expecting a reduction in funding of ~$8.5M and a reduction in enrollment of ~9.5%. However, this is anticipated to be somewhat offset by restoration of ~$2.9M in one time dollars from the Chancellor’s Office for the 2010-2011 academic year that are targeted exclusively for use to enhance class availability and support student graduation.

    Funds to support the Provost’s goals in faculty development, an Undergraduate research fund, and a graduate research fund have been primarily supported by non-state funding sources (e.g., Division of Continuing Education). It was encouraged to schedule a meeting between the Provost, the UBC and members of the Provost’s Leadership Team to more aggressively discuss the budget. The Chair of the UBC will contact K. Pawlowski to schedule a meeting.

    The Provost also indicated that it is a priority to formalize both a Strategic plan and an Academic plan for Academic Affairs. As these plans are likely to have Fiscal implications the Provost will seek the input regarding these plans from the University Budget Committee.

    A brief discussion followed regarding the concept of cohort hiring. Concerns voiced by the UBC included:

    • The appropriateness of cohort hiring under a limited budget scenario when more pressing programmatic hires exist that may not fit easily into the thematic areas of the proposed cohorts
    • The mechanism of cohort hiring evaluation for retention and tenure. Particular concern involved how would the desired interactions among the cohort members be assessed and would these interactions be required for promotion? It was noted by the Provost that the probationary plans of the cohort members would be written by the home department of each cohort member and would have “no strings attached.”

    In response to the UBC’s memo to the Provost regarding the role of the UBC in a post-model development period, the Provost noted the accomplishments of the UBC in developing the model. It was similarly noted that the model results in a more structured financial allocation system thereby resulting in a reduction in active budget debate – an area where the UBC’s role is important. The chair of the UBC charged the remaining committee members to identify potential mechanisms through which the UBC could enhance its access to budget information and its role as an unfettered information conduit between the faculty and both the Provost and the President.

  6. Discussion of the Budget and enrollment of the MBT Program.

    Discussion was postponed until the next UBC meeting.

  7. Discussion of the response from M. Babick regarding the Parking Policy.

    Discussion was postponed until the next UBC meeting.

MSC to adjourn at 5:07 p.m.

The next University Budget Committee meeting will be on Wednesday, March 24, 2010 at 3:30 p.m. in TA #117.

Agenda

  1. Approval of the Minutes of 3/17/10.

  2. Approval of the Agenda.

  3. Communications and Announcements.

  4. New Business.

  5. Discussion of the Budget and Enrollment of the MBT Program.

  6. Discussion of the Response from M. Babick Regarding the Parking Policy.

  7. Discussion and Operation of the New Budget Model.

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