Minutes of the University Budget Committee

 

Meeting Date:  November 19, 2009

 

Regular Members Present: Tim Gavin, Susan DelVecchio, Scott MacGilvray, Don Palumbo, David Long

 

Todd Fraley, Jeff Shinpaugh, and Kevin Seitz notified Chair of inability to attend.

 

Ex-officio Members Present:  Anne Jenkins, Gary Vanderpool, Wanda Sandeford, Joe Gaddis, Travis Poole

 

Meeting was called to order by Chairman Tim Gavin.

 

Agenda Items:

1.      Old Business (discussion of tuition surcharge): 

Anne Jenkins provided additional information on the tuition surcharge that is mandated through the North Carolina General Assembly.  In 1993 they enacted legislation directing the Board of Governors to impose a 25% tuition surcharge on students who take more than 140 degree-credit hours to complete the first undergraduate baccalaureate degree in a four-year program or more than 110% of the credit hours necessary to complete a five-year program. In 1994, the legislation was modified (Senate Bill 1505--Section17.10) to exempt students who complete the degree in eight regular term semesters or the equivalent (or ten semesters for a five-year program).

Summer school credits don’t count in the total as long as they are earned at ECU or another UNC institution during summer sessions.

The surcharge and maximum credit hour limits do not apply to the student if they complete the degree in 8 regular term semesters for a 4 year degree, or 10 regular term semesters for those programs designated by the Board of Governors as 5 year programs (BSA/MSA accounting at ECU)

Presently there is a requirement that all degree programs are limited to no more than 128 required semester hours, there are two exceptions to this at ECU that are approved by the Board of Governors (Art education and clinical laboratory science, and BSA/MSA in accounting)

There is an FAQ set up at the following website that outlines all of this information, http://www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/registrar/TuitionSurcharge.cfm

The total dollars collected by ECU in FY 09, and the current YTD numbers are as follows:

 YTD:   in state         $47,801.26

            Out of state   $20,394.99

 

FY 09  in state           $82,122

            Out of state    $18,354

 

 

 

2.      Presentation to committee by Vice Chancellor Horns:

Vice Chancellor Horns was unable to attend the meeting because of a conflict with the Board of Trustees meeting.  The committee discussed that she will be asked to reschedule her presentation to the January meeting of the committee.  Specifics of the presentation the committee has requested would include information on the Dental School, specifically the programs of study, timing of enrolling the first class, and how these programs relate to the University Budget as a whole.

 

3.      Health Science Division budget briefing provided by Gary Vanderpool:

A presentation was provided to the committee on the Budget for the Health Science Division as a whole.  The presentation was limited to the State Budget funding, and did not address other areas of budget funding. Summary points included:

·        Total budget from all sources of $275 million with $89 million from State

·        Over 2000 faculty and staff

·        Funds are budgeted on a matrix model with Budget codes 16065 & 16066

·        BSOM, Laupus library, and Vice Chancellor unit all receive some funding from both budget codes

·        89% of budget expense is for salary and benefits.

o       Few, if any,  faculty in Division receive salary solely from grant support

o       A significant number of BSOM faculty have no state dollars in their salaries, and are paid solely from other sources.

·        At present 78% of budget code 16066 is allocated to BSOM, but when Dental School is fully funded this percentage will decrease with the addition of the estimated $16-20 million in state dollars for the Dental School.

There were several questions that arose from the presentation and were answered:

1.      Who approves budget cuts and increases within the Division?

Budget cuts are made by the Vice Chancellor. Decisions on how any enrollment growth funding is to be allocated is made at the level of the academic council.

2.      Is enrollment of the first class in the Dental School contingent on budget issues and continued funding?

At present the Dental school is expected to enroll its first class in the fall of 2001.  Although no delay in this is expected, unforeseen issues with state funding of the Dental School could necessitate delays.

3.      Will the medical practice plan continue to be in a deficit this year?

At the moment the practice plan is in the red, but by the end of the fiscal year the realistic projection is to be at break even or possibly a small surplus.  This is due to the expected receipt of the funds for indigent care from the budget which we have not yet received.  Also, the delays in the revenue cycle resulting from the change to the new Healthspan system should be collected and up to date by the end of the fiscal year.  There is also a strong possibility that there will be increased Medicaid funding due to an increase in the Federal funding match.

 

4.      Scheduling presentations on budgets and plans regarding ongoing budget restrictions:

December: Provost Sheerer to discuss faculty workloads and implications for budgets

January: Vice Chancellor Horns to provide overview of Health Sciences division with emphasis on the Dental School

 

Next Meeting: December 17, 2009 at 4:00pm in Rawl Annex 142

 

Items to be discussed:

1.      Discussion on faculty workloads and implications for budgets with Provost Sheerer.