Talking Points for Short Session Operating Budgets
Operating Budgets
*Significant Faculty Salary: Increase needed at all campuses.
a. Support the Board's request 5% (and additional for faculty and certain others).
b. Support Governor's request for "Academic Enhancement": Salary increase for faculty; equipment and materials; and expanded teaching facilities.
c. Strongly support salary increases for University SPA employees.
*Overhead Receipts: State currently retains 10%. Reduce to zero.
*Reduce Reversion Rate: In the 1995 session of the General Assembly, the reversion rate was made uniform at 2%. A further reduction would increase resources available to our campuses without any increase in appropriated dollars.
*Fund Technology Initiatives: Each campus needs to provide students and faculty with the capability to take advantage of the information age.
*Provide Critical Library Resources: Support for securing and using new technology and rebuilding collections of books and journals.
*Summer School and Off-
Campus Courses: The University is excited about the General Assembly's interest in encouraging off-
campus instruction and other ways to expand availability of higher education to North Carolina citizens.
*Encourage University Efforts To Assist Public Schools: Among other things, the University would welcome the opportunity to provide training for newly elected members of local school boards.
*For graduate students: Expand access to health insurance; provide increased resources for tuition remission, and provide additional programs to assure English language proficiency.
*Increase Distinguished Professorship Program Resources: This modest incentive has encouraged campuses to seek and secure private resources for a permanent source of enhanced compensation for exceptional faculty members.
General Capital Items
*Appropriate Funds for General Land Acquisition Allocation ($12 million): Almost every campus needs to purchase adjoining land for protection, expansion or enhancement. No appropriated funds currently are available.
*Continue Repair and Renovation Fund: The general appropriation provides assurances of regular resources for upkeep and repair of existing facilities. The designation of these funds for special projects on any one campus would be very detrimental to this wonderful program.
*Support Board of Governors Priorities for Capital Expenditures: The Board's budget request, although large, is the result of a painful process of priority setting on our campuses and by the Board. These high priority projects are not ranked in specific order. In the past, the General Assembly generally provided for the funding of all buildings on that priority list -
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over a period of several years. The Board is currently considering ways in which more specific priorities and recommendations could be made to the General Assembly.
*No Requests for Additional Funds for Previously Funded Projects: University sticks with original cost estimates. Any increases in costs or the scope of the project must be funded with nonappropriated funds. This policy sometimes creates hardships, but credibility with legislature is critical.
*Specific Campus Items: Naturally these discussions must be limited to capital projects in the Board's budget request.
Other Priorities
*Keep Tuition Low: The cost of higher education should be kept as low as possible as required by the North Carolina Constitution.
*NC REN and Information Network Supercomputer: Access to these resources has been provided to the university community by MCNC at essentially no cost. MCNC has been directed to prepare a plan to reduce its state assistance to zero. Without such assistance MCNC can no longer provide these services without charge. The university supports strongly the continued availability of the supercomputer and network.
*Maintain Strong Support for Board of Governors: The North Carolina System of higher education is the envy of the rest of the country. The strong universitywide governing Board together with great responsibility and authority vested with each campus and its Board of Trustees is a great combination. The Board is directly elected by the General Assembly and values its close relationship with legislators.
*Continue to Build and Improve Relationships and Cooperative Programs with the Public Schools and Community Colleges.
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