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Strategic Planning and Budget Advisory Committee Notes This group is a key component of the University's shared governance structure which means it is made up of representatives from all University constituencies (students, faculty, staff, appointed personnel, deans, dept heads, Vps, etc. ); my role is to represent classified staff. Please visit the SPBAC website for further information http://spbac.web.arizona.edu/ 2/14/09 Here is a quick highlight of today's SPBAC meeting: * Budget: Things are looking far worse that anticipated, no question that program elimination needs to be undertaken. To that end, the Provost and her team have compiled data on "low degree" producing programs, "low-degree" producing as defined by ABOR. These data have been shared with deans. This week the Provost will send deans a list of departments slated to be closed. There will be a process for deans to submit justification for retaining/closing programs. This process will be on a fast track with programs closing by July 1.
* There was a FOI
(freedom of information) request for data on
low degree producing programs, UA has complied and,
it my understanding, that the list will be published
in the local paper soon.
* The JLBC (Joint
Legislative Budget Committee) is expected to make
public on Friday the level of cuts required to
balance the FY 09 budget.
* I learned that if
ABOR declares "financial exigency" due to the
severity of our financial situation, tenured and
tenured-track faculty can have their contracts
terminated.
* Also, FY10 is
looking more dire each day.
12/2/08 The new Strategic Plan is now posted on the web -- it has it's own page, which will be linked to the SPBAC website shortly. Meanwhile, you can find it at: http://plan.web.arizona.edu/ 11/10/08 The recommendations that the SPBAC Transformation Subcommittee submitted to the Provost are now posted on the Provost website 11/3/08 The SPBAC Transformation Subcommittee submitted its report to the Provost this morning. It is my understanding that the recommendations will be posted on the Provost website soon. I plan on attending Wednesday's SAC meeting and will provide my perspective on the transformation white paper vetting process.
9/4/08 I urge you to read Dr. Shelton's message to the University community regarding "Advancing Arizona's World-Class University." The University is expected to undergo significant reorganization, this was a prime topic of discussion at yesterday's SPBAC meeting; I did not have a chance to prepare and send the minutes but Dr. Shelton's email provides the pertinent information I would have shared with SAC. Deans are to submit their plans for reorganization to the Provost; SPBAC will play an important role as these plans are vetted. My job as SPBAC staff representative is to ensure that staff are engaged and informed. I will work closely with SAC Executive Board to develop our communication plan. [And in no way is SAC your only avenue for providing feedback; you can always send your concerns directly to Dr. Shelton, robert.shelton@ARIZONA.EDU.] In a perfect world, and if time allows, it would be great for SAC Exec Board to meet with College SACs after their respective reorganization plans have been made public to offer a forum for staff to voice their concerns and provide that feedback to the Provost and SPBAC. In the meantime, please, please attend our Town Hall Meeting with President Shelton on Tuesday, September 23 at 3:30 in Main Library Room A313. Be involved; be part of the solution. PLEASE DISTRIBUTE THIS AS WIDELY AS POSSIBLE TO ALL CLASSIFIED STAFF. August 26, 2008
CLASSIFIED STAFF AND SERVICE PROFESSIONAL RETENTION Classified
staff and appointed professionals contribute
significantly to The University of Arizona’s mission
and there is a correlation between adequate staffing
and faculty productivity and satisfaction. We view
competitive compensation for our staff as an
essential strategy for reducing turnover and
supporting faculty success. While the
Arizona Legislature’s FY 2007 and FY 2008 salary
packages increased our competitiveness, the lack of
dollars for FY 2009 has compromised our market
position and we worry that our success in reducing
turnover will be reversed. Among classified staff,
turnover dropped from 17.7% in FY 2006 to 14.1% in
FY 2008 and we credit more competitive salary
packages for this positive trend. Still, salaries
for classified staff lag the market by 14.2% and are
especially behind in academic and student support
positions. Recently
announced budget reductions will impact these
employee groups most significantly, increasing
workloads as layoffs occur and vacancies are left
unfilled. The promise of competitive compensation
will be required for us to retain these employees
who provide critical teaching, research and student
support. May 14, 2008 At the SPBAC meeting we were joined by President Shelton and Provost and Executive Vice President, Meredith Hay. Provost Hay had asked SPBAC to develop a protocol for shared governance development of proposal for cuts in academic programs. A preliminary protocol was drafted in accordance with the differentiated roles of the Faculty (through the Senate) and SPBAC. A SPBAC subcommittee was created to work on developing the protocol further, one important item to note is that the criteria will be based on the mission, vision, priorities and strategic directions articulated in the 5-Year Strategic Plan. As the plan is developed and can be made public, I will share it via this listserv. The UA likely faces significant budget cuts in permanent state funds for FY 2009. We've had 15 cuts in the last 16 years, departments have been severely wounded and a new round of cuts will be devastating, and of significant impact to the most vulnerable group, classified staff. PRESIDENT SHELTON WANTS TO HEAR FROM YOU: President Shelton mentioned that staff members often times bump into him "intentionally" to speak with him about the UA and their ideas. He is impressed with the knowledge and ideas staff have shared with him and he wants to hear more. I had the distinct impression that he enjoys talking to folks who are in the trenches. I had an opportunity to speak and I was blunt I told him that it is panic time for staff because we are the most vulnerable group, units have been cut to the bone and we don't know how we can continue to operate, especially as the University is so decentralized and more and more work keeps getting pushed down to units. If you have any ideas on how the UA can handle budget cuts, I urge you to send Shelton an email at: robert.shelton@arizona.edu. Dr. Shelton reads and responds to his own email. Please share this email with your co-workers, staff colleagues in your departments, units, centers, colleges, etc. Let's get this circulated as widely as possible within the UA classified staff community; it would be great for Dr. Shelton to receive as much input from staff as possible. April 9, 2008 Today President Shelton met with SPBAC for a discussion on the budget. As you know, the State faces a severe budget ($3B) shortfall this and next year. It is widely expected that there will be a budget rescission for the current and next year but the Legislature and the Governor have yet to agree on how to balance the budget for 2008. Once an agreement is reached, between the Governor and the Legislature, and the amount of the cut to the University system known, ABOR will decide how to allocate it to the universities. This may not happen until early June; way too late in the fiscal year to expect units to return funds, therefore, there is a tentative plan for UA administration to cover most, if not all, centrally. This is a temporary bailout because the '08 cut would be added to the '09 cut. This means that the FY09 cut will be significant. President Shelton expects to use the strategic plan to guide budget cut decisions. January 7, 2008 As you know, President Shelton asked SPBAC (The Strategic Planning and Budget Advisory Council) to develop a new strategic plan for the University. This was a nearly a year-long process and an excellent example of shared governance in action with all stakeholder groups having an opportunity to provideinput via focus group discussions. I am happy to report that the SP was completed in late fall and was presented to ABOR (Arizona Board of Regent) in early December and approved. As staff representatives it is important that we know a few things about the University's SP: Number 1: That the University has a strategic plan for 2009-20013 Number 2: That the SP is guided by three priorities: · Academic excellence · Access and success · Quality of Life and Societal Impact And, Number 3: That the strategic directions for 2009-2013 are: 1) Preparing Arizona's Youth and Ensure Access and Success; 2) Engage and Graduate Students Who Can Contribute to the State, Nation, and World; 3) Provide World-Class Research that Improves the Human Condition in Arizona and Beyond; 4) Partner with and Serve the People of Arizona. This is what Dr. Shelton said about the SP at his State of the University address: "The strategic plan that SPBAC has developed over the course of the past year reflects the values that guide us as a university: the quest for academic excellence; a desire to provide access for students from across the state and to ensure their success; and a commitment to improving the human condition and quality of life for all the citizens of Arizona. The plan provides an important roadmap for guiding our decisions through the decade ahead. It is a terrific example of shared governance, drawing on the creative talents of faculty, staff, students and alumni leaders." AND, very importantly: "The budget decisions that we make in the future will be guided by the priorities articulated in the strategic plan. Its focus is on students, faculty, professionals, staff and the citizens of this great state. Serving the people of Arizona more effectively and with the highest quality is what we aspire to as an institution." The entire SP document is available at http://spbac.web.arizona.edu/planning.shtml You may read the transcript, or view the video, of Dr. Shelton's State of the University Address at: http://uanews.org/node/16848
SUMMER As you know, SPBAC is tasked with creating the University's strategic plan. A master SP is usually created every few years with revisions made on a yearly basis. This year Dr. Shelton asked SPBAC to start over. We met during the summer to work on the new SP which is to be presented to ABOR in December. A lot of progress has been made, President Shelton met with the group several times and he has provided feedback to ensure that we are articulating his vision for the strategic direction of the University. Additionally, feed back was solicited, and obtained, from all constituents to ensure that their perspective is taken fully into account. Classified staff were represented by members of the SAC Executive Board who participated in a staff focus group discussion with an outside consultant who was hired to meet with stakeholder groups. I was not allowed to participate but was told by those participating that they found the meeting interesting and very productive. The three major themes
of the SP plan are: Restating what I've communicated to the group in the past: The strategic plan will be a very important document during the Shelton presidency as he has indicated that he will use it to guide the allocation of resources and to make "differentiated decisions based on the strategic priorities" articulated in the SP. * FALL: Discussions continue on the SP with the focus now on ensuring that our plan melds well with ABOR's SP and the Governor's own "Arizona University System 2020 Strategic Plan," and coming up with performance indicators. Another topic of discussion is the fact that in the past the SP is DEAD ON ARRIVAL, we brainstormed on the process for disseminating the SP and its importance. We can only have a successful implementation of the SP if President Dr.Shelton is true to his word of linking resource allocation "decisions to the SP" otherwise SPBAC's work will be a colossal waste of time. NEW SPBAC Subcommittee: SPBAC's new chair proposed creating a sub-committee to focus on mastering the University's budgeting process. The goal is to better understand how money is currently allocated, the continuation and marginal budgets, revenue modeling, and finally cost out the SP. We (yes, I volunteered to serve on it!) will become experts on the University's budget; this is right up my area of interest and am happy to work on it. We are off to an exciting year! 3/21/07 Recent meetings that were missed revolved around the new strategic plan that Dr. Shelton has tasked SPBAC to develop by September. Once the plan has taken shape highlights will be shared with SAC. One thing is for sure: the strategic plan will be a very important document during the Shelton presidency as President Shelton has indicated that he will use it to guide the allocation of resources and to make "differentiated decisions based on the strategic priorities" articulated in the SP. Today's topic: FY 08 Budget Reduction - President Shelton, Provost Davis and Senior VP for Business Affairs Joel Valdez Highlights: * Provost and his Executive Team have held 27 budget hearings with Deans and an additional 10 hearings were held at the VP-level * Provost yesterday presented to Academic Council a 45-minute PowerPoint presentation outlining the FY08 budget reduction process * Same was presented to SPBAC today:
* Presentation will be made to Finance Committee tomorrow [The above process is part of the Provost's plan to use a "consultative" process to budget reduction planning. Additionally, in an effort to keep this process as transparent and possible, SPBAC has requested that he post his PowerPoint presentation to the SPBAC website--I will send an email to SAC once it is up.] * President Shelton will make decision on the level of cuts over the weekend * Provost will inform Deans and VPs of the amount of their respective cuts on Monday 12/13/06
Discussed budget cuts for
FY08 (effective July 1, 2007). Some of you might have already
read the article in the Az Daily Star
http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/160203.php
Here are some highlights from our meeting:
This budget reduction is bad news for classified staff because we are always the group hardest hit. President Shelton said he did not see this round of budget cuts as "a crisis," but as an opportunity to assess our programs and become leaner and more efficient (or something to that effect, by then I was too upset to listen). I told him that from a staff perspective this was a CRISIS because many staff members will lose their jobs. My comment was backed up by two faculty members who asserted that staff members where the most vulnerable group. Dr Shelton was urged to ensure the budget reduction process is transparent and fully communicated to the University community. The HR VP (Allison V.) mentioned that her group will provide transitioning and job placement assistance to those individuals being laid off. Dr Shelton wants SPBAC to play an active role in providing input during this round of cuts; Provost Davis will brief us on of how Deans are proposing to meet their budget reduction. We've been given a time-line for the budgeting process and SPBAC is to make its recommendations in early May. Today was supposed to be our final meeting of the semester but given the situation, we agreed to meet next week.
I'd like to encourage my fellow council
members to write to Shelton and share with him how you, or your
unit, have been impacted by budget reductions. I will continue to keep you posted on any
further developments.
11/15/06 Strategic Themes and Goals - Provost George Davis
Graduate College - Andrew Comrie, Graduate
College Dean
George Davis requested input from SPBAC on a
draft of a presentation the president will give at next ABOR
meeting where they will hold a study session on the UA Strategic
plan. Biggest push is to emphasize students, students,
students. It's all about students!
Andrew Comrie briefed us on the Graduate College, background, priorities and opportunities. They are focusing on becoming a more "student centered" proactive, service unit. 11/1/06 Deans from SBS and CoS gave us their perspective on budget cuts.
Message is: budget cuts have severely hurt
colleges, they are having to increasingly utilize indirect and other
sources of funds to support academic/instructional mission. UA
needs to find new way to meet budgetary shortfalls, NO MORE ACROSS
THE BOARD CUTS.
10/25/06 Juan Garcia, VP Academic Programs and Allison Vaillancourt, Assoc. VP HR
Allison co-chaired the Employment Policies Review
Team. This team was charged with analyzing employment-related
polices and practices that serve as barriers to the University's
research success. The EPRT came up with a report that contains 28
recommendations with more than 50% of which can be implemented
without significant time or financial resources. One of the
recommendations, conversion of the academic pay schedule from
10-month to 9-month will go into effect the 07-08 academic year.
Some of the recommendations directly impact staff such as:
* Elimination of the current policy that
limits salary increases for classified staff to 10% each year;
* Explore opportunities for variable pay (one
time salary supplements);
* Eliminate disciplinary probation for
classified staff and replace with "final warning" or something
similar;
* Hold managers responsible for conducting
regular performance reviews;
* Revise existing performance evaluation tools
to focus less on "ratings" and more on narrative comments...;
* Change the probation period for transferring
classified staff from three months to six months;
* Provide for a three month optional extension
to the current six month probation period for newly hired classified
staff.
The report was submitted to the Provost in August
of 2005. Please let me know if you'd like a copy of the entire
report.
10/18/06 President Shelton, a conversation about enrollment growth/management 10/11/06 Discussion of Strategic Plan One of SPBAC’s primary responsibilities is to develop and disseminate the University’s five year strategic plan. The plan for FY08-12 identifies four strategic issues:
10/4/06 Leslie Tolbert, Vice-President for Research, discussed the ADVANCE $3.2M 5-year grant that UA received for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) areas. This grant will used to study the climate of junior faculty women in STEM areas at UA. Research group will: Leslie also briefed us on the impact of the $1.5M cut to the Development Fund from President’s Shelton’s rebalancing the FY07 budget. There will be less or no money for Start ups, retention, grant matching or bridge funding. Leslie and her team are assessing current outstanding funding commitments and renegotiating reductions or simply canceling. 9/27/06 Patti Ota, Vice-President for Enrollment presented the Fall 2006 Highlights: 6,009-- highest enrollment of new students Highest Hispanic enrollment Problem areas: Overall enrollment drop will cost UA $1.2M less in State formula funding. 9/20/06 Vice-President Gene Sander joined us to discuss academic outreach Outreach plan:
Gene Sander is also dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, CALS, there was a lot of discussion about his wearing two hats (VP for Outreach and Dean of CALS) and how he must be sensitive to the perception that he is out to benefit CALS. Very interesting discussion. 9/13/06 President Shelton joined us to discuss tuition setting -- the saga continues.... Did you know:
President Shelton stated that his goal is to have quality growth in enrollment because "growth without quality is hollow"--I liked that. He also said that we can actually achieve growth by simply retaining more students. 9/6/06 Patti Ota, Vice President for Enrollment Management, discussed enrollment growth projection models which incorporate incremental costs and estimated marginal net tuition revenue (NTR). Goal is to increase enrollment by 400 students each year (200 Resident Freshmen, 100 Non-Resident Freshmen; 75 Resident Transfers and 25 Non-Resident Transfers) Jacqueline Mok, Vice Provost for Academic Programs, discussed calendar for setting tuition. Major change in the calendar is that tuition will now be set in the Fall; in the past it was set in the Spring. Setting tuition is a long, involved, political process. 8/30/06 New UA Foundation President, Jim Moore joined us to discuss his organization and its mission/vision: 1) secure resources, 2) manage assets; and 3) manage relationships. They are the central development and fund raising mechanism for the UA. |
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