Budget and Planning Committee Report

Given to the University Senate on October 30, 2006

Submitted by Dr. Richard Mercier

Two meetings this month.

First meeting October 6, 2006

Diane Kirkwood gave a presentation on the history of contributions to and recent adjustments to ORP matching funds.  We were informed that these decisions are controlled by the Teacher’s Retirement System and not the Board of Regents. These benefits are outside the salary contract and follow a different time line. Discussion followed. As a result we have decided to investigate further the timing of cuts and changes to the ORP.  We will visit this again at a later meeting.

Diane also addressed the question posed earlier about when disbursements are made to the retirement plans.  In the past these were one per month but at the end of each semester the university decided as a courtesy to make faculty paychecks available early while continuing to make the benefit payment at the end of the month as usual.  This discussion was tabled for a later date.

Dave Groseclose spoke about the new budget saying that it would be 95% set when President Leland meets with the B&P Committee on October 23.  Departments had already submitted budgets to their Dean who in turn passed them on to the President.  The budget must be submitted in early November and President Leland will be in Atlanta to defend it on December 5.  President Leland is hoping for an increase in funding and is preparing as strong a case as possible to support such a request.

Doug Oetter reported on the Campus Waste Audit conducted on October 4 on front campus.  Together the Environmental Science Club and the Campus Environmental Audits class sorted through over 1000 lbs of waste collected from eight different sources representing about one-third of the daily trash average.  The group removed over 600 lbs. of recyclable materials an impressive amount considering the narrow scope of the collection.

Second meeting October 23, 2006

President Leland presented a status report on the preparations of the University’s budget for 2007-08 and supplied a two-page handout of the Draft FY 2008 New Funding Scenario was reviewed and discussed.

This ‘New Funding Scenario’ was based on anticipated 5% growth in the General Revenue funds and a 7% increase in the Tuition Revenue. The spending was divided between Faculty Positions, Staff Positions, and Operations.

The Chancellor has announced six areas that will receive greater funding in the FY08 budget:
1- Building Program Capacity in Critical Fields
2- Increasing Academic Excellence in Specific Programs
3- Increasing Institutional Access and Community Outreach
4- Promoting Economic Development within State Initiatives
5- Increasing Efficiency of Internal Operations
6- Promoting Joint Programs and Inter-Institutional Cooperation

Our budget will attempt to portray our ability to meet these goals linked with the University System of Georgia’s (USG) Strategic Plan.

Our budget is compared to the budgets of dozens of comparable institutions including the total cost per contact hour offered, broken down by departments when possible. GC&SU generally compares favorably to other COPLAC and small liberal arts colleges in the new procedures.

We addressed several items on the priority list including a new Dean of Students position, the Macon Center expenses, and increases for Part-Time Faculty. We will be requesting Mission Enhancement Funding.

Faculty salaries will be re-examined following the compensation consultant’s report but there is an item in the budget proposal to address the first stage of potential Faculty Salary increases.

Our special Mission Statement may allow us to argue for funding in particular areas or at higher amounts. The BOR is eager to see how funding is tied to Performance Outcomes, especially Retention, Graduation, and Exams, and we rank high on all these measures even though our funding levels are about average.

We learned that there will be a new process for Major and Minor Capital Improvements; it will be shared with us at a later date.

During his campus visit two weeks ago, the Chancellor clearly understood our Liberal Arts mission. He commented that most of the Board of Directors of the energy firm he had headed in Michigan were Liberal Arts majors in college, and that he appreciates the value of a Liberal Arts degree.

As I mentioned earlier, the timeline for the budget process has the budget sent to the BOR in early November, with the President making a defense of it in early December and a meeting with the Chancellor in January to resolve the amounts. The President asked the committee to remain available should any questions come up.

Next Meeting: Friday 3 November 2006, 12:30-1:45, Library Conference Room.