APC Budget Hearing June 25, responses due June 18

The APC requests that in order to coordinate the hearing schedule for the June 25 hearing, tentatively scheduled for 1-5 p.m., all individuals wanting to respond to proposals submit a written notice of intent to appear by 3 p.m. June 18. The notice should be sent to the APC c/o William Nunez, APC Secretary, 332 Canfield, 0435 or wnunez2@unl.edu.

On April 21, 2010, Chancellor Perlman recommended additional cuts totaling $1.5 million to UNL's 2010-2011 budget. This is the remaining balance of an estimated $5.2 million budget shortfall for FY2011.

Specific recommendations may be found on the UNL web site at: http://www.unl.edu/ucomm/chancllr/2010budget/.

The task of the Academic Planning Committee (APC) is to review the Chancellor's proposed cuts in light of their probable impact on the university's academic mission and approve them or suggest other ways of meeting the budget reduction goal. To accomplish this task, the APC welcomes information from all who may be affected by the proposed reductions. Affected persons may submit information in two ways:

1) In person during scheduled the budget hearings (June 25, 2010 and a date to be determined in Fall 2010), and/or
2) In writing submitted directly to the APC for consideration.

Budget hearings are scheduled for June 25, 2010 and a date to be determined in Fall 2010. The June 25 session will focus primarily on the proposed administrative reductions while the Fall hearing will focus on those reductions mainly affecting academics. These hearings provide an opportunity for concerns to be voiced publicly. No one is required to attend these hearings and participation and attendance is optional.

The APC requests that, in order to coordinate the hearings schedule, all individuals wanting to respond to the proposals submit a written notice of intent to appear (see instructions below).

This notice of intent is nonbinding and an individual or unit that expresses the intent to appear may later decline (Please note that one who does not submit such a notice of intent may still be heard at one of the hearings but will probably have very limited time compared to those who file a notice of intent). Once the quantity of presenters is known, a schedule of times for presentation on each date will be published.

June 25, 2010 APC Budget Hearing Session (tentatively scheduled from 1 to 5 p.m. but will be extended if necessary)

Office of the Chancellor
University Communications (Reduce support for The Scarlet newspaper, which will eliminate 0.5 FTE Scarlet assistant position [$28,039]; Eliminate contract with national news consultant [$32,000]) [Total: $60,039]

Information Services Operating (Discontinue participation in Chronicle IT Advisory Group) [$5,000] Operating (Terminate Custom Support contract) [$15,000] Operating (Reduce Operating and Maintenance (O & M) funds) [$5,000]
Personnel (Eliminate proposed $0.25 reduction in office phone line rate) [$25,000]
Personnel (Discontinue printing campus phone directory) [$50,000] [Total: $100,000]

Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs
Judicial Affairs - Managerial Professional Pool Line (Eliminate ability to hire 0.50 FTE assistant to assist with Judicial Affairs case load) [$31,550]
Nebraska Unions - Operating Expenses (Reduce operating support for care of public areas in the Unions) [$21,037]
Career Services (Reduce state tech support to 15 hours; [$9,797]; Fill vacant staff training position at a lower salary [$7,616]) [Total: $70,000]

Vice Chancellor for Business and Finance
Facilities Management and Planning (Eliminate vacant Director of Facilities Management position [$133,457]; Eliminate vacant staff training position - both positions within the Assistant Vice Chancellor's office [$41,126]) [Total: $174,583]

Fall 2010 (Date to be Determined) APC Budget Hearing Session (tentatively scheduled from 1 to 5 p.m. but will be extended if necessary)

Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Architecture (Eliminate vacant faculty line shared position in Architecture and Landscape Architecture and Planning) [$85,816]
Arts and Sciences (Reduce approximately 10 GTA (Graduate Teaching Assistant) lines that support departments [$185,234]; Eliminate vacant 0.23 FTE partial staff position in the Department of History [$5,271]) [Total: $190,505]
Business Administration (Reduce budget for Information Technology Services (ITS) by shifting funding for one managerial/professional position) [$50,193]

Education and Human Sciences (Eliminate undergraduate teacher certification program in Industrial Education Program in the Department of Teaching, Learning and Teacher Education (TLTE), includes a vacant professor of practice position [$75,215];
Eliminate state support for lecturer position in distance education program in Family Consumer Science Education [$29,647]) [Total: $104,862]
Engineering (Identify efficiencies through reorganization and strategic reductions to programs - the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and the Dean of the College to conduct a study to determine whether the programs in Industrial and Management Systems Engineering (IMSE) should be eliminated) [$200,000]
Extended Education and Outreach (Eliminate 0.4 FTE vacant open faculty position in Dean's office [$29,715]; Significantly reduce Travel funds in Dean's office [$43,361])[Total: $73,076]
Fine and Performing Arts (Eliminate state funding to the Lied Center for Performing Arts for Master classes in Music and Theatre [$67,703]; Eliminate 1.0 vacant faculty line in Theatre and Film [$50,462]) [Total: $118,165]
International Affairs (Eliminate Director position (current Director will return to full-time teaching and research activities, IA will be included in an administrative reorganization) [$108,193]
Libraries (Eliminate 3.0 FTE vacant office service positions in the Libraries Technical Services Department) [$94,464]
Undergraduate Studies (Eliminate vacant Director of General Studies position - leadership will be subsumed by the Dean of Undergraduate Studies) [$92,315]

PLEASE NOTE, this proposed schedule is not restrictive and those who want to appear at an earlier or later meeting should petition the APC in writing.

Below outlines the steps for those who want to participate in this process.

To Present Testimony at a Scheduled Budget Hearing
Written Notice of Intent to Appear:

- The written notice of intent to appear must identify the meeting at which the party prefers to appear and must contain the specific budget reduction(s) that the presenter intends to discuss, the name of the presenter, and contact information for the presenter.

- The written notice may also include the written statement discussed below; this may materially affect the impact of the presentation.

The notice of intent should be sent to the Academic Planning Committee, c/o Dr. William Nunez, APC Secretary, 332 Canfield Administration Building, 0435 or wnunez2@unl.edu, by 3 p.m., June 18, 2010.

To Submit a Formal Written Response to Budget Reduction Proposals

Written responses to budget reduction proposals are also welcome and can be quite insightful and helpful to APC members during the review. For written responses please:
- Include the reduction item that is being addressed.
- Include the name and phone number of the individual(s), and department, or unit head submitting the response.
- Limit written responses to two pages or less.
- Refer to the "Criteria Section" of the Procedures to be Invoked for Significant Budget Reallocations and Reductions for guidance. This document is located at:
http://www.unl.edu/apc/docs/Budget_Reduction_Procedures.pdf.

Refer to particular sections if you are making an argument that reduction or elimination or reorganization is inadvisable.

Please direct written responses to the Academic Planning Committee, c/o Dr. William Nunez, APC Secretary, 332 Canfield Administration Building, 0435, or wnunez2@unl.edu, by 3 p.m., June 18, 2010.

Upon evaluation of the initial written responses, APC may request further information in the form of expanded reports. Additionally, based on reduction proposals, written responses and expanded reports received, APC may invite representatives from affected departments or units to appear at a hearing of the APC to clarify issues raised by the written responses or expanded reports.

Please be aware that budget hearings are open to anyone: faculty, staff, students and the general public. Open times will be designated at the end of the sessions for those wanting to make a statement who have not previously provided a notice of intent to appear. However, we encourage individuals to submit a notice of intent to ensure time is available.

It is the desire of the APC to have a process that is open and inclusive and that also provides ample opportunity for members of the campus community to express their concerns regarding these budget proposals. Therefore, every possible effort will be made to communicate the ongoing actions of the APC to the UNL community as well as to be open and available to those seeking assistance.

Again, a budget hearing is scheduled for June 25, 2010. The agenda and times will be announced on June 22, 2010. This budget hearing will be held in the Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center on City Campus and rooms will be posted under "Academic Planning Committee Budget Hearings."

Sincerely,
John R. Bender, Ph.D.
Professor of News-Editorial, College of Journalism and Mass Communications and Chair of the
Academic Planning Committee

More details at: http://go.unl.edu/0te