BUDGET

Classroom instruction feels the effect of budget cuts
BOG approves tuition and fee increases
SPA layoff policy outlined by OHR

Classroom instruction feels the effect of budget cuts

In laying out her proposed budget for 2011–12, Gov. Beverly Perdue tried to shield education from the most severe cuts.

The proposal, released last week, included a 6 percent reduction for the UNC system, a 4.9 percent reduction for community colleges and a 3.8 percent reduction for K–12 public schools.

It left intact the tuition increases approved by the Board of Governors on Feb. 11, allowing universities to keep that revenue on campus – something both UNC President Tom Ross and Chancellor Holden Thorp have said was critical to the academic mission. And it provided partial funding for enrollment growth and financial aid.

“All of us in the university appreciate the challenges she faced and are grateful that she identifies potential ways to avoid even more severe cuts that certainly would cause permanent damage to our institutions,” Ross said in a Feb. 17 statement about Perdue’s budget.

That same day, Thorp said, “We concur with President Ross in expressing gratitude to Gov. Perdue for once again recognizing the important role that higher education and the University play in moving North Carolina’s economy forward.”

Addressing the Faculty Council on Feb. 18, Thorp said the University had acted prudently in taking the equivalent of a 5 percent campus-wide cut, effective July 1.

“It’s early, but it’s fair to say that if the governor is contemplating a 6 percent cut, going ahead with 5 percent cuts was a smart thing to do,” he said. “We will continue to work with the governor and the N.C. General Assembly to reassure them we understand the difficult choices they’re facing, but also to reassert the importance of the University to the future of North Carolina.”

He added that he had never seen the UNC system, University and UNC Health Care System “on the same page” as much as they are now, which should help yield the best possible results.

Biannual program review
Cuts affecting the classroom across the UNC system became tangible this month.

On Feb. 11, the BOG voted to eliminate 60 academic programs system-wide. The action, which was recommended by the Committee on Educational Planning, Policies and Programs, was based on a biannual campus review that identified underperforming programs that failed to meet the BOG’s criteria for the number of degrees awarded within the past two years.

Of the 60 programs, 36 were baccalaureate, 22 were master’s degree programs and two were doctoral programs.

At Carolina, the bachelor’s degree program for Slavic languages and literatures will merge with the German degree program, and both the Slavic languages and literatures and the linguistics doctoral programs will be discontinued.

In addition, the bachelor’s degree program for recreation administration will be discontinued. (That master’s degree program has already been discontinued).

The BOG also authorized the creation of two new programs, including a bachelor’s degree in business journalism. The program, to be offered by the School of Journalism and Mass Communication in conjunction with the Kenan-Flagler Business School, will be the only such program in the eastern United States.

The cuts are part of a regular review by the BOG and do not include other possible cuts in academic programs that the BOG will consider later this year. Ross announced the upcoming review of academic programs last month as a means to achieve greater operational efficiency.

Impact at Carolina
In planning for its 5 percent reduction in state funding for next fiscal year, the School of Nursing is decreasing undergraduate enrollment by 25 percent. The change affects students in the six-semester bachelor of science in nursing program and the four-semester accelerated bachelor of science in nursing program.

“I commend Dean Swanson for making a very careful analysis of the situation and deciding that the quality of the degrees they offer was more important than the number of students in them,” Thorp told the Faculty Council.

Simply increasing class sizes was not an option because the nursing accreditation process mandates the maximum number of students a faculty member can supervise during the clinical component of training, explained Shielda Rodgers, clinical associate professor of nursing.

“It’s unfortunate because of the demand for nursing we’re likely to see, but it emphasizes what we’ve been saying – that if we continue to face the kinds of reductions we’ve been facing, these are the kinds of choices we’ll need to make,” Thorp said.

Similarly, the School of Social Work decided not to accept two new classes of master’s degree students in distance education programs serving western North Carolina. That decision affects 41 applicants.

“Other cuts to a greater or lesser degree throughout the University are affecting instruction,” said Bruce Carney, executive vice chancellor and provost. “We’ve gone, frankly in my opinion, about as far as we can go with the cuts.

“We’ve cut HR and finance and administration, and at this point we’re jeopardizing the operations of the University. The instructional mission is at risk.”

President’s budget
President Barack Obama unveiled his federal budget proposal last week.

The NIH and NSF show slight gains, which is consistent with the president’s message about innovation, infrastructure and investment in the capabilities of the United States, Thorp said.

“Along with the other AAU presidents, we thank President Obama for his commitment to faculty research and science, and so many of the things that are important to us,” he said.

He added his hope that the proposal for the Pell Grant, as the foundation of federal student aid, would remain at the maximum award level.

Exceeding out-of-state cap
The BOG cut Carolina’s budget for the current year by $158,225 for exceeding the 18 percent cap on out-of-state students.

The change in residency status of 38 incoming students occurred last summer – after the students had been admitted – when the legislature repealed part of a law allowing out-of-state students on athletic scholarships to be classified as in-state students.

The change raised the number of out-of-state students in the first-year class to 726 – 13 more than permitted under the 18 percent cap.

“I told the Board of Governors we didn’t maliciously or intentionally go over the cap, and we didn’t even know we had gone over it,” Thorp told the Faculty Council. “It was, as someone said, like going 70 miles per hour, and they lowered the speed limit to 55 later, but we still got a ticket for speeding.”

Money from the fine will be distributed throughout the UNC system for need-based aid.

BOG approves tuition and fee increases

As state coffers continue to shrink, universities have to rely increasingly on tuition to help protect academics.

The Board of Governors on Feb. 11 approved campus-based tuition increases and fees that would provide revenue to help preserve the quality of existing programs while meeting the needs of growing student enrollment. Those recommendations will be forwarded to the N.C. General Assembly.

If approved by the legislature and governor, resident and non-resident undergraduates would see their tuition increase by 6.5 percent.

For Carolina’s resident undergraduates, that would mean $300 more, with a new tuition rate of $6,153, while non-resident undergraduates would pay $24,953, an increase of $1,523 over the current year.

Graduate and professional schools also have an option to request additional school-based tuition.

At Carolina, 12 schools made that request, and the BOG approved them all, which would bring in another $6 million to $7 million across campus, Bruce Carney, executive vice chancellor and provost, told the Faculty Council on Feb. 18.

Even with the approved tuition increases, Carolina remains at the bottom quartile when compared with its national peers, Carney said. “This is a bargain university in many respects.”

The University designates 38 percent of campus-based tuition increases for need-based financial aid. Maintaining that practice in the current economic climate is both a challenge and a necessity, Charles Daye, chair of the Scholarships, Awards and Student Aid Committee, told the council.

The need-based portion of the financial aid package has been increased measurably by state funding, which was not available a decade ago, Daye said. “And that’s why the risk of losing some of this [state funding] is such a problem,” he said.

In 2009–10, 37 percent of Carolina’s undergraduates received need-based aid. Of the total 16,903 undergraduate, graduate and professional students who received awards from the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid that year, two-thirds were undergraduates. The office disbursed more than $257 million in aid.

During the last decade, the portion of students’ needs being met through grants and scholarships, which do not have to be repaid, has increased from 54 percent in 1999–00 to 70 percent in 2009–10. The net effect has been to lower students’ cumulative debt at graduation.

“Our committee commends the University and its leadership on doing something that recognizes both access and equity in getting a Carolina education while supporting a merit-based program,” Daye said.

The committee also has advocated augmenting merit-based aid and creating programs to enrich students’ educational experiences as ways to attract top-quality students, he said.

Two new programs will help meet that need as some 80 first-year students receive one-time awards for summer enrichment experiences – in the form of research or study abroad opportunities.

“These programs help recruit students and really enrich their intellectual and personal experiences once they get here,” said Steve Farmer, associate provost and director of undergraduate admissions.

He credited Pat Pukkila, professor of biology and director of the Office for Undergraduate Research in the College of Arts and Sciences, and Bob Miles, associate dean for study abroad and international exchanges, as instrumental in creating these new summer opportunities.

SPA layoff policy outlined by OHR

The University’s layoff policy for SPA employees is designed to ensure equitable treatment of permanent employees when a department determines that a reduction is necessary for business reasons. The policy covers all permanent employees, both full- and part-time.

“It’s an unfortunate reality in this budgetary environment that we will have layoffs,” said Brenda Richardson Malone, vice chancellor for human resources. “Our job is to ensure that the process is followed correctly, and that we provide as much assistance as we can to the affected employees.”

The first step happens when department management decides that a layoff is necessary based on business needs; they then develop a layoff plan. That plan is submitted to the Office of Human Resources, which reviews each plan to make sure it is consistent with state and University policies.

“For example, our policy at Carolina states that employees can be laid off only after the department considers all other available alternatives, such as terminating any temporary employees and delaying the filling of any vacant positions,” said Noreen Montgomery, director of employment and staffing.

After the department’s plan has been approved, the department has to provide affected employees with at least 30 days notice. Those employees then meet individually with an OHR staff member to discuss benefits and get answers to their questions. The office also advises employees where they can turn for help in finding another job, including opportunities within the University.

All SPA employees who are laid off from the University are eligible for career transition services through the outplacement firm Lee Hecht Harrison. In addition, employees receive 12 months of employer contributions for health coverage through the State Health Plan; priority re-employment consideration for state positions for either 12 or 24 months, depending on layoff date; and payout of vacation, bonus and other eligible accumulated leave. They may be eligible for severance pay based on total state service.

More information on the SPA layoff policy, including employee and manager resource guides, is available at http://bit.ly/eco0gB.

EPA non-faculty employees are not covered by the layoff policy. Since most EPA non-faculty employees are employed “at will,” their appointments can be ended at any time. A small number of EPA non-faculty employees hold term appointments.

At-will appointments require either a 30- or 90-day notice for discontinuation for any reason. Term appointments generally end early only if an applicable funding contingency arises or there is dismissal for cause. End-of-appointment benefits for EPA positions include leave payouts. Depending on the circumstances, they could also include health insurance continuation and career transition counseling services.

For information about EPA non-faculty end-of-appointment procedures, see http://bit.ly/fJ9ZK0.