tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post9191095480723954155..comments2024-03-09T03:20:20.004-05:00Comments on Tenured Radical: Lifeboat: A Conversation About The Incredible Shrinking BudgetTenured Radicalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05703980598547163290noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-85182894307943284492009-12-16T04:10:38.907-05:002009-12-16T04:10:38.907-05:00Such a Great Post !
I would like to say thanks to...Such a Great Post !<br /><br />I would like to say thanks to you for sharing this wonderful post with us.<br /><br />:)<br /><br />I am learning through <a href="http://www.centennialcollege.ca/" rel="nofollow">distance learning</a> course.Harrynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-91842216759639381582008-12-31T15:00:00.000-05:002008-12-31T15:00:00.000-05:00To Anonymous at 11:28pm....I have, at least, part ...To Anonymous at 11:28pm....<BR/>I have, at least, part of a response to your perception that central services/administration seems to grow out of proportion or at the expense of faculty growth. I am one of those bean-counters-- the Business Manager of a small liberal arts college--whose work is positioned between those working on the frontline of delivering our academic program and those charged with maintaining the books, ensuring our compliance with the many, many governmental rules and regulations, and reporting how well we are managing our financials to Trustees, parents and alumni. Our faculty want and have the freedom to spend their budgets as they choose. Yet many of them they consistently resist following through on the accompanying responsibility to complete expense reports and appropriately allocating credit card charges on a timely basis. Every week some faculty member is in my office complaining to me that their job is teaching, and that they should not have to take the time to go on-line to communicate how they have spent school funds. As a result of faculty civil disobedience and lethargy, our accounting department has hired three additional FTE to track down receipts and do the work faculty should be doing. <BR/><BR/>The primary purpose of our institution is to educate. The more resources we can strategically deploy to the frontline of this activity, the better able we will be to achieve our goals. Increased governmental regulartions and reporting requirements continue to increase. Every time Congress passes legistration that touches education, someone, unfortunately, has to do the work of maintaining compliance.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-61832856433440344352008-12-18T23:28:00.000-05:002008-12-18T23:28:00.000-05:00To quote you from a previous blog post:"3. Take a ...To quote you from a previous blog post:<BR/><BR/>"3. Take a serious look at how large our administration has grown over the last decade, who pays for it, and what justifies it. It is very hard for faculty to understand why we spend every April hiring contingent faculty (fifty or sixty of them across the university) when we seem to add numbers-crunchers, Vice Presidents of This-and-That, and student services workers one after another. If we need all these people, and we don’t need teachers at a university, fine. But someone needs to tell us why. And exactly what our mission is as a liberal arts college if it isn't having enough faculty to have the time and energy to pay attention to students as individuals."<BR/><BR/>Do you think the university has done this/ is in the process of doing this?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-87923542187244360312008-12-18T19:18:00.000-05:002008-12-18T19:18:00.000-05:00Our president sent out email to everyone telling t...Our president sent out email to everyone telling them about a 2.5% give back to the state about a month ago. A week or so ago, I got email (I'm a chair) asking about the "rumor" of a 2.5% give back. <BR/><BR/>Our current president has never laid anyone off give-backs, of which there have been many. He uses the reserve and forfeits interest to keep everyone on employ. <BR/><BR/>The lack of faculty attention to matters money is partly an effect of never having had to worry. I have people grousing at me because we don't have an additional course off for the grad advisor or money for another electronic classroom. <BR/><BR/>But also I'm from Illinois, and we have been distracted of late.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-51320774577337455812008-12-16T22:12:00.000-05:002008-12-16T22:12:00.000-05:00To GDprofessor and all those who are happy to take...To GDprofessor and all those who are happy to take pay cuts so that lower paid employees don't have to: nobody is preventing you from digging into your too-full pockets and handing dollars out to employees of the university less well-paid than you. The real issue is that you want <B>me</B> to take a pay cut so that those other employees can keep earning. No thank you: I get paid more because I am worth more on the market.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-66010813941172845802008-12-16T20:31:00.000-05:002008-12-16T20:31:00.000-05:00I'm not Shane but YMMV stands for Your Mileage May...I'm not Shane but YMMV stands for Your Mileage May Vary. I do agree with what Shane says. We are chronically understaffed here at a different university, and have just been given a 10% budget cut. We've been told not to hand out syllabi anymore because they take too much paper and we can't afford the copying.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-74326046386311464082008-12-16T20:11:00.000-05:002008-12-16T20:11:00.000-05:00Shane:What is YMMV?TRShane:<BR/><BR/>What is YMMV?<BR/><BR/>TRTenured Radicalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05703980598547163290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-28947957489122871272008-12-16T13:01:00.000-05:002008-12-16T13:01:00.000-05:00I'm coming late to this. And Historiann, Dean Dad,...I'm coming late to this. And Historiann, Dean Dad, and probably others who have discussed the "TR vs. Crazy" debate have pointed out what a rarefied position you're in at Zenith, TR. But I can't help but marvel at what it must be like to teach at an institution where permission to fill faculty lines hasn't long been difficult to get and viciously fought over; where photocopying hasn't been tightly restricted for years; and where you have such a thing as a "research account" (and I'm at a "research university"!). Coming from a place that has been squeezed dry for years BEFORE 9/15/08, even in years when the state was running massive surpluses, it chafes a little to hear someone tell me to suck it up and make sacrifices. A few YMMV qualifiers would have gone a long way in this post.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-24967474133256572702008-12-16T07:35:00.000-05:002008-12-16T07:35:00.000-05:00This is such a great post, for all kinds of reason...This is such a great post, for all kinds of reasons, but the point that hit home for me most right now is the question of paying attention to budgets.<BR/><BR/>As a humanities-type (i.e., non-numbers-loving) professor, "paying attention to a budget" is about the last thing I want to do (and the thing I probably have the least talent for). For this reason, I think it's so important that faculty --especially department and division heads-- get training in reading and making budgets. Obviously we can't know everything about how money is spent at our institutions, but in general I feel we should have a much better sense of it than we do as faculty.Margarethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03047700345491098393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-11871245038104348732008-12-14T00:26:00.000-05:002008-12-14T00:26:00.000-05:00Thank you for your response- I appreciate it. 9:22...Thank you for your response- I appreciate it. <BR/>9:22Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-43432324214188327552008-12-13T20:22:00.000-05:002008-12-13T20:22:00.000-05:00Nice points. As a community college vice president...Nice points. As a community college vice president of finance and operations, I can tell you that we are being hammered. The county and state provide about one-third each of our budget. Both have asked for 5% back so far this year.<BR/><BR/>In examining our budget situation, we try to use surgical precision. A great deal of time is spent looking for funds that will be unspent in salaries, benefits, and contracted services. Budget managers have been asked to review their current budgets honestly and let me know if they may have funds available this year. <BR/><BR/>My goal has been to paint the picture for the president, and shape the picture the president paints for the campus community and the board. We have been opened and direct with the conversation on the impact of public funding as the economy melts down and enrollment increases. In an organization where tuition covers only one-third of the costs, as demand increases and two-thirds of the budget contracts, we are looking at every line item a second-time. <BR/><BR/>While we may have a salary freeze next year, and perhaps longer, we are doing our best as a community to ensure there are no layoffs or furloughs. Frankly, I have found furloughs overrated for the revenues saved and the angst created. I am already looking at next year in terms of tuition increases, managing health benefits costs, and locking in utility contracts while commodity prices are down. Personally, one point I try to leave with faculty is that they should keep focused on their instruction. The college will get through this, remaining committed to the entire community. <BR/><BR/>- The Budget DoctorAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-75854851568843918282008-12-13T12:17:00.000-05:002008-12-13T12:17:00.000-05:00Be glad you don't have grad students to worry abou...Be glad you don't have grad students to worry about as well. The job market is going to dry up for them, I fear, and it is hard to secure additional support.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-58234548519234235972008-12-12T18:00:00.000-05:002008-12-12T18:00:00.000-05:00What a GREAT posting. I love your comment on the p...What a GREAT posting. <BR/><BR/>I love your comment on the people who insist on copying 300 pages of (copyrighted) content, because they are too lazy to use our content management system. I actually had a *tenured* faculty member tell me he was "too busy" to have to learn how to use it. Um, what?<BR/><BR/>And I would take a paycut in a heartbeat (and I don't make much), if it meant the cafeteria workers, the student workstudies, the janitors, the groundskeepers, the security people, the secretaries, etc., get to keep their jobs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-87711391871161862322008-12-12T14:17:00.000-05:002008-12-12T14:17:00.000-05:00I say put all Wesleyan endowment in Lockheed Marti...I say put all Wesleyan endowment in Lockheed Martin stock. Its cheap nowAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-77954902257926402932008-12-11T22:49:00.000-05:002008-12-11T22:49:00.000-05:00Good points about attitude and elitism. Heck, I ma...Good points about attitude and elitism. Heck, I make $25K a year as an adjunct teaching 10 classes/year and my life is a blissful vacation. (It helps that I have no debt). And in today's economy we have to be glad. I know people with college degrees and graduate degrees on their last dime and their last week of welfare unable to even find adjuncting jobs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-63619952882646435542008-12-11T21:48:00.000-05:002008-12-11T21:48:00.000-05:00Dear Anonymous 9:22,I don't think the tuition incr...Dear Anonymous 9:22,<BR/><BR/>I don't think the tuition increase will be much above what it usually is under the current (not yet firm) plan, and that increase is not much greater than it usually is. I could be wrong, but I don't think it will be an unusually big jump. There were only a couple dissenters around financial aid in the meeting I was in: my sense of the faculty is that there is a firm commitment to current fa policies, that most of us believe that need-blind brings us the best students, and that even though the financial aid bite will go up steeply as early as January, it's worth it. Most of us expect that there will be parents who can't pay the bills, or as much of it. Roth's guiding principle is to preserve the student experience, and financial aid and class access are core to that. <BR/><BR/>There is also active consideration of sources of new revenue, some of which I think are pretty interesting. But best of all, I would argue that the vast majority of the faculty is behind Roth, that Roth and Bruno know what they are doing, and that no one --students, staff -- is going to get thrown under the bus.Tenured Radicalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05703980598547163290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-36970629602475949272008-12-11T21:22:00.000-05:002008-12-11T21:22:00.000-05:00Would you mind commenting on what you think of a d...Would you mind commenting on what you think of a dramatic tuition increase for students (which seems likely)? And as a part of that, how you think that plays out for students on fa versus not. I'd be interested to know if Roth talked about it and what your opinions are. Thank you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-34052478962637257332008-12-11T16:17:00.000-05:002008-12-11T16:17:00.000-05:00In the 4th or 5th year I was at my university, we ...In the 4th or 5th year I was at my university, we received word the Legislature wanted their money back (great....)--about a million or so dollars. <BR/><BR/>Our Chancellor immediately canceled raises and started sweeping up any "spare" change/non-essential cash--Sponsored Research was pretty bare that year, as was travel funding.<BR/><BR/>But no one--not a SINGLE person from staff to part-time to full-time faculty--*no one* lost their jobs. <BR/><BR/>By contrast, friends finishing their degrees said the (different) University they were at fired all the janitorial staff to cope with budget issues.<BR/><BR/>It's hard to bitch about losing a 2.9% pay raise when the payoff is someone losing their 15K a year job and has little to no skills.<BR/><BR/>I've always respected our Chancellor for the way he faced that budget crisis.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-72708595737137304562008-12-11T12:06:00.000-05:002008-12-11T12:06:00.000-05:00I work at a state-funded community college and I d...I work at a state-funded community college and I do have tenure as of last year. I am extremely grateful for that, after having worked as an adjunct for almost 9 years in various terrible working conditions. We will be having salary freezes effective with the next contract. I feel very grateful just to have a job. I'm in a small town with little industry. I make almost 50K and yes, that is enough so that others can keep their jobs. Thanks for your blog -- I really enjoy it.Laraine Herringhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05890043873658222111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-52621344569451763522008-12-10T19:41:00.000-05:002008-12-10T19:41:00.000-05:00Good. You could add that if these frozen-salaried...Good. You could add that if these frozen-salaried tenured professors didn't have tenure, they'd have to compete with a whole lot of fine-teaching PhDs bidding down their salaries.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36212542.post-32324516146438777722008-12-10T16:17:00.000-05:002008-12-10T16:17:00.000-05:00I know the initial story was a setup for the large...I know the initial story was a setup for the larger entry, but that was a GREAT story. Kill the committee! Excellent.<BR/><BR/>I agree with you about just accepting the lack of a raise. Honestly, I would be okay with a raise for people making under 40K, and not for everyone else, if that was affordable--I fall in the latter category, by the way--but I am weird that way.Lesboprofhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09249806181782620274noreply@blogger.com