Summary of Budget Suggestions, Spring 2011
Theme
Staff Suggestion
Administration Response
The college will be installing a scoreboard
on the athletic field that will generate some
income from advertising.
Advertising
Generate revenue by
selling advertising space
on fields and signage
along 202.
Advertising space has also been sold in the
Bradley Center Arena. However, the
college will limit the type and amount of
advertising in order to maintain the
aesthetics of our property.
The college will be installing a score board
on the athletic field that will generate some
income from advertising. Have also sold
advertising space in the Bradley Center.
Assets
Sell outdated equipment
to help reduce the
budget.
Currently being reviewed through on-line
auction selling as well as through salvage
companies.
Outside entities that are renting space pay
the college to cover the costs.
Budgeting
Benefits
Budgeting
Eliminate outside events
if they cost more than
they are worth.
Some events are held as a cost of doing
business and are needed to support our own
programs.
Currently reviewing further operating
support from outside events.
Eliminate the employee
Eliminating this benefit may further reduce
dependent waivers and/or the morale of employees. The College
temporarily suspend
encourages development of its employees
tuition reimbursement
and the amount allocated per year for this
benefit.
benefit is minor.
Implement across the
This option continues to be under
board, unit or
consideration. Cost reductions are being
departmental based cuts. reviewed strategically rather than across the
board.
Implement a “use it or
lose it” policy at year end Most year end purchasing is scheduled and
for budget surpluses.
planned. We have instituted cuts to units in
4 out of the past 5 years. 2007: 2% cut to
all academic units and 3% to all
administrative units, 2008: 2% across the
board cuts to all units. 2009: targeted
amounts to be cut by division. 2011:
targeted cuts. FY12: targeted cuts.
Most units do not have excess discretionary
funds left at year end. A use it or lose it
methodology is known to increase spending
at year end on unnecessary items. A review
of the budgets with discretionary funds at
year end will be undertaken.
Capital
Suspend improvements
to Havemeyer House.
Closing
Limit workforce during
the Christmas break and
negotiate working the
following holidays,
Columbus Day, Election
Day, Veterans Day, and
Presidents Day, to give
everyone off during the
winter breaks.
Closing
Declare a financial crisis;
Close the College during
spring break and the
week following
Commencement.
Closing
Close the college the
week before or after July
fourth and ask that
people consider taking 2
days furlough that week
to help the College out.
The Havemeyer House which is occupied
by the President is a college owned asset
and is repaired and renovated as are all
other buildings on campus.
“Eligibility – Employees will be paid
special project rates for work done in excess
of normal work hours on emergency
maintenance, construction or other related
activities in situations which constitute
unreasonable safety hazards to the public,
employees, or property of the State.” See
website for additional details:
http://info.csc.state.nj.us/comp/ contacting
our snow removal contractor. Using inhouse staff, during normal or overtime
hours, realizes a significant cost savings as
opposed to utilizing an outside contractor.
The college does institute a flex week for
the week of spring break. Closing the
college after Commencement is not feasible
as summer school begins the day after
Commencement and the college must
remain open and offices staffed. However,
voluntary furlough is an option for any
employee who wishes to take this time off.
Closing the college in July is not feasible as
summer school is in session and the college
and offices must remain open.
It is also fiscal year end and the start of a
new fiscal year and a very busy time for
Also, close the College
March 18th (Spring
Break week) and ask
everyone to take a
furlough day.
Closing
If the college closed for
the first week of 2012
(with Monday 1/2/12
being a holiday) there
would be energy savings.
many offices on campus. Closing the
college for a week is considered a layoff
under state statute and would have to be
negotiated.
The College is already closed at the end of
December. This closing was locally
negotiated. Closing for two weeks straight
would have to be negotiated.
Any forced closure would be considered a
layoff. Again, employees are encouraged to
take voluntary furlough.
Closing
Make some holidays
furlough days.
Holidays are state benefits and can not be
converted to furlough days.
Contracting
Contract for outside
transportation services
Purchasing is currently exploring the idea of
issuing an RFP for all transportation
services including vans, and car rentals.
Enrollment
Develop and implement
income generating
graduate programs.
The Provost is open to any suggestions for
graduate education programs that meet the
three criteria established for graduate
programs:
1) Respond to societal need.
2) Build off an area where we have
demonstrated undergraduate strength.
3) Will not dilute from the undergraduate
program.
Enrollment Management is open to any
experienced individual willing to help out at
graduate enrollment events.
Enrollment
Expand our “earn
Ramapo credits while in
high school” program
The College does have some of these
programs in place with Clarkstown, Morris
County and Mahwah High School and is
exploring expansion,
Enrollment
Enrollment
Expand summer camps.
Partner with Kean
University to promote
sustainability through
their new Bachelor of
Science degree, which
they are currently touting
as one of the only of its
kind in the nation.
Enroll 750 more students
into the college.
Offer a full schedule of
Saturday courses.
Enrollment
Add another time period
to our regular schedule at
night, eg. 8:00PM to
10:00PM to attract even
more non-traditional
students who work and
have money.
The college is always looking for new
contracts and will accept any contracts we
can accommodate that meet our standards.
Currently entering into a partnership with
Bergen Community College. Will explore a
Kean partnership promoting enrollment in
our MASS program through their BS
graduates.
The college is beginning an Adult Learning
program and we have already expanded
winter on-line offerings and will be
expanding summer.
We are currently reviewing time slots and
class schedules to foster greater space
utilization.
Expand online courses
during the Winter
session.
Enrollment
Facilities
Stop spending so much
money buying students.
About 7% of our expense
budget goes to college
funded aid. Perhaps we
cannot afford to raise the
academic standard so
high.
Review snow removal
practices.
7% is low relative to other institutions.
We have reduced the amount of student
waivers over the past few years by
eliminating full rides and capping waiver
amounts to a specific dollar value.
This initiative is specifically tied to our
strategic plan.
When the current snow removal contract
expires the new RFP will modified to be
priced on snow fall accumulations rather
than an hourly rate.
When we install trees on campus the
supplier provides us with at least a one year
warranty, in many cases it is longer.
Facilities
Facilities
Don't lose money by
letting newly purchased
and planted
trees/shrubbery wither
and die.
In addition, we require the supplier to
provide adequate water during the initial
season until they are fully established.
If the trees do not survive they are replaced
at no additional cost. If we observe any
remaining dead trees they will be replaced
by the landscape contractor at little or no
cost.
Space utilization needs to
be improved to allow for
more teaching sections
which should bring in
more students and thus
Enrollment Mgmt and Academic Affairs is
revenue.
currently doing an analysis of class, time,
and space utilization.
The common lunch hour
should be
Some changes in class size and times have
abolished. This will
already been implemented and more are
allow the use of many
planned.
more rooms. Students
can meet at other times,
Common lunch hour elimination or
especially since they say
reduction in number of days will be
they have little to do so
reviewed.
often.
A reduction of faculty
offices should be
considered.
Facilities
Facilities
Expand the student
center to include a
pub/restaurant.
The idea of a "coffee house" setting for
students is currently under review. The
College will not serve alcohol.
Pay for parking in
staff/faculty lots
Contractually the college must provide free
parking to faculty, however reserved/named
parking can be purchased. The college will
be requiring payment for parking in any
reserved/named spot or lot.
Each unit should designate one, two or more
representatives to perform a quick survey of
their areas at the end of each day.
Facilities
Reduce utility expenses
by installing sensor
lighting inside
classrooms and other
campus spaces.
If they find any unnecessary lights,
computers or equipment on they should shut
them.
If thermostats are high they should lower
them to 60 degrees. The college will renew
our efforts on energy savings.
We will add reminders in the Daily Digest
to shut down and unplug all lights and
computers.
A 4 day work week year round is not
feasible as students are here on Fridays and
services must be open and staffed.
Facilities
Calculate energy savings
if the entire College were
to go to a 4 day work
week year round.
We are currently reviewing expanding the
use of campus for further revenue
generation.
We will continue to review 4 day work
weeks for energy savings where feasible.
Voluntary furloughs are available for those
employees who wish to work a four day
work week year round.
Our Facilities staff inspects all academic
and resident buildings. They make sure all
unnecessary lights and appliances are turned
off, all windows are closed and thermostats
are adjusted to a minimal setting.
Facilities
Reduce utility expenses
by better aligning
facilities management
with administrative units
to prevent inefficient use
of heating, lighting, and
cooling mechanisms.
In the older academic buildings, in
particular A-E, most of the hallway lights
have manual switches. There are some
instances when other Collage staff come in
during the break and turn the lights on.
Current codes require sufficient lighting in
these common areas for emergency
response. Public restroom lights should
also remain on at all times.
Fortunately, the energy and cost associated
with these requirements is very minimal.
The big energy consumer is our
heating/cooling and ventilation equipment.
We turn off most air handling electrical
equipment and all main boilers during this
holiday period except for one; this
maintains enough hot water for heating to
prevent our other systems (water pipes, fire
sprinklers, fire detection, etc.) from
freezing.
There may be areas that seem unnecessarily
warm during this period for the following
reasons, however the energy consumption is
considerably less. When a building is
occupied during normal conditions we are
required to constantly deliver fresh outside
air to replace the previously “stale” heated
air.
When the College is closed we shut down
the electric powered air delivery system
thereby eliminating the need to constantly
heat the fresh cold outside air, the existing
warm air becomes captured within the
building. An additional benefit is that no
one is entering or leaving the buildings so
this further reduces the escape of heat.
These conditions are why we save big on
energy and cost.
We recycle throughout the entire campus.
Facilities
Recycle
We have door-to-door pick-up of paper and
commingled items weekly in the resident
halls as well as centrally located drop-off
points. Throughout the academic buildings
there are blue containers for paper and
centrally located bins for commingled.
For complete guidelines see the Facilities
website
www.ramapo.edu/facultystaff/facilities/envi
ronmental.html
The college is committed to not permitting
freshmen to have cars on campus. This
decision was made primarily to promote
student engagement. This program will have
to be implemented and its effectiveness
assessed before any decision to reinstate
freshman cars on campus is considered.
The College does not have the level of
production equipment required to produce a
high quality production.
Facilities/
Enrollment
Reinstate first-year
student parking
privileges
Misc.
Create recruitment and
other video productions
in house.
Misc.
Lease roof space for
cellular tower antenna
The college will entertain any solid proposal
for leasing our roof space.
Personnel
Repurpose or eliminate
centers like the Faculty
Resource Center and
Instructional Design
Center.
This information will be reviewed through
the college-wide essential functions
exercise.
Personnel
Eliminate the practice of
permitting select
personnel to live on
campus for free.
An analysis of the four positions was
undertaken to determine if time spent during
the evening hours attending to issues is
being reasonably compensated by free
housing. Determination was to maintain
arrangement.
Personnel
Eliminate the picnic,
retirement gifts and
service awards
Costs of these items have been reduced over
the years and the Foundation covers some
of the costs. Eliminating such items would
negatively affect effect employee morale.
Personnel
Review professional
membership fees.
We will undertake a complete audit of all
professional memberships for further
review.
Purchasing such equipment is not within the
mission of the College. A new recruitment
video will be part of the overall marketing
plan currently under development by
Stamats.
Personnel
Utilize staff to help run
components of courses or
programs.
Decrease expenses for
adjunct faculty by hiring
our own personnel.
Personnel
Delegate the experiential
component to staff to
administer.
Most of the suggestions made are faculty
functions and can not be absorbed by
administrators or professional staff.
Committee administrative support is
generally absorbed by the school/unit.
Any professional staff member who has the
qualifications can teach courses. This does
not save money on adjunct faculty expenses
as professional staff members who teach are
paid.
The out-of-classroom experience portion of
a course is the prerogative of the faculty
member and is part of his/her teaching load.
The Design Team Task force has developed
a standard curriculum with student learning
assessment matrix for evaluation.
Personnel
Personnel
Personnel
Have staff members who
are qualified – and
willing – help out
overburdened faculty by
teaching and
administering with
courses or programs – in
exchange for maintaining
their current employment
status.
Don't pay faculty
additionally for teaching
Summer Session 1.
Outsource Public Safety
to reduce overtime.
Some professional staff have teaching
responsibilities as part of their base.
Teaching and administering courses are
faculty responsibilities.
Contractually, faculty are required to teach
24 credits under the terms of the current
contract. These credits are taught within
fall and spring semesters.
While part of the credit load could be taught
during summer I, this would create course
coverage problems during the fall and
spring semesters.
Outsourcing options are being reviewed as
part of the college wide essential functions
exercise.
Public Safety is reviewing the option of
officers working 12 hour shifts instead of 8.
This would help reduce the overtime costs
in the unit.
Personnel
Review overtime rates
for winter weather and
emergency conditions.
Personnel
Review overtime
assignments to better
assign overtime to those
whose really require it.
Personnel
Personnel
When performing snow & ice removal
operations we follow the New Jersey Civil
Service Commission’s Compensation
Compendium which has established
eligibility requirements for winter weather
and emergency condition rates, available at
http://info.csc.state.nj.us/comp/2011/section
2/eligibility.htm
Overtime assignments are based on the
needs of the college not the individual.
Supervisors and managers are responsible
for determining the need for overtime in a
particular unit or area.
The college has promoted from within
where appropriate.
Internal candidates can apply for any open
Transfer personnel within
position on campus for which they qualify.
departments and you will
save.
The college continues to strive to hire the
best person for a particular position which
sometimes results in the hiring of an
external candidate.
Based on the current contract for faculty
If layoffs are necessary,
they can not teach an additional course
see that they affect all
unless they are compensated.
employees, have faculty
teach an extra class.
The college has temporarily suspended
adding new faculty lines.
Personnel
Make it clear that all jobs We are currently undertaking a collegeare on the block if layoffs wide essential functions exercise. Decisions
are needed.
will be based on the needs of the college.
Personnel
Start checking out all the
positions that are truly
not necessary.
We are currently undertaking a collegewide essential functions exercise. Positions
that are deemed not critical may be
eliminated.
The college has reorganized upper level
management and has eliminated executive
level lines in the past.
Personnel
Personnel
Personnel
Personnel
Put a freeze on hiring and
limit management
We are currently undertaking a review of
positions.
the entire organization and reviewing all
functions at the college. Non critical
functions and resulting positions may be
eliminated.
VP’s and Directors routinely evaluate
departmental structures and levels of
responsibilities currently assigned. In
addition, such organizational evaluations
Why are there so many
take place during the Position Review
"Assistant Directors" at
Committee meetings. Efficiencies will be
Ramapo? Some offices
reviewed through the college-wide essential
have as many as 5 or 6.
functions exercise.
Review the efficiency of
these offices.
Some departments are larger and more
complex than others and require more
supervision. Also, some of the employees
with “local titles” of Assistant Director are
in fact AFT professionals, not managers.
We can explore job sharing if the
individuals are willing to give up their full
time benefits. Two people working anything
less than 35 hours are part time in terms of
benefits and pension eligibility.
Ask if any employee is
interested in going partIt would require a change in statute to allow
time or in job sharing.
two part timers sharing a single job to both
get the full benefit/pension entitlement.
Give back unused
vacation days.
Also there are no contract provisions for job
sharing. Each of these issues (and others)
would need to be considered.
Giving back accrued and unused vacation
days could potentially raise legal (Wage and
Hour under of Department of Labor
Regulations) and contractual issues.
Employees may take volunteer furlough
days instead.
Personnel
Permit employees to take
vacation days (or paid
leave balance days) and
convert them into
voluntary furlough days
in order to help.
We would prefer that individuals take
furlough days to “balance out” unused paid
leave bank or unused vacation as there is no
contract, or MOA, language allowing us to
make a direct conversion.
Personnel
Outsource more than
housekeeping.
We are currently reviewing outsourcing
options. We currently outsource some
grounds and housekeeping already.
Personnel
Revisit the AFT
compensation time
policy. Some schools
don't allow this at all.
This was a contractual agreement and the
college will review this in the future.
Personnel
Sell the idea of unpaid
leave or a four-day work
week year round instead
of two months of it in the
summer
This is already being done through the
promotion of voluntary furlough. The
average savings over the past 5 years is
approximately $125,000 per year.
Personnel
Personnel
Personnel
Stop paying VP's and
upper management
compensation time, they
make enough money.
Strongly suggest that
those employees at the
highest pay scale take
voluntary furlough
Offer incentives for
employees to take
voluntary furlough days,
i.e. like a year gym
membership, free tickets
to events in Berrie
Center, free class for a
family member.
Managers do not get paid for comp time.
VP's and upper management are entitled to
comp time only when a state holiday is
worked.
Any work performed in the evening or on
weekends is neither paid nor is comp time
received.
Furlough is voluntary and all employees
have been encouraged to take furlough.
Early retirement incentives have always
been funded, and run centrally, by the State.
The previous administration in Trenton
made clear that the results of previous
retirement incentive programs did not
realize any actual savings, largely because
any headcount reduction was transitory.
Any savings from hiring lower salaried
replacements was consumed by the
increased cost of retiree pensions and
benefits.
The current Governor is not likely to revisit
the topic. Even if the college wanted to fund
an ERI with our own money, again we
operate under a State system which is not
set up for that and we would have to make
some hard cost to benefit targets as part of a
long range plan
Personnel
Offer incentives for near
retirement aged
employees to retire early,
freeing up the position or
allowing the hire for a
younger and less costly
replacement.
See comment above.
Some student aides are federally funded
through the federal college work study
program.
Personnel
Review the cost benefit
of student aides.
The other student aides that are funded by
the college are designed to provide essential
functions to offices throughout the college.
Working in offices also provides our
students with valuable work experience.
The Cahill Center has been reviewing unit
allocations and reallocating funds between
units.
We only have one advisement center.
CAAFYE advises all first year students.
Students who have declared their major are
assigned a faculty advisor.
Personnel
Reduce the redundancy
in advisement.
EOF and OSS advise specific populations
with special needs. Both of these units are
partially grant funded to offset some of the
costs.
We will review advisement redundancy as
part of the college-wide essential functions
exercise.
Personnel
Review the
organizational structure
in Financial Aid.
There is only one manager in the financial
aid office. While other functions have the
title of assistant director these titles are
based on union classification. These
functions all have distinct functions and are
not assisting the director.
Personnel
Review CIPL and require
a profit driven structure
to continue its operation.
This is currently under review.
Many printed items continue to be put online.
We are currently reviewing the possibility
of implementing document imaging that
would further reduce the paper trail.
Move documents online.
Put all recap time sheets
on line.
Printing
Better utilize copy
machine double sided
and scanning capacity.
Reduce desktop printers.
Printing
Put all forms for
Employee Charitable
Campaign on line or only
send one copy per
department.
Several departments are currently using online recaps. Total implementation of all
units is expected to be completed by the end
of fiscal year.
Purchasing is working on a procedure
handout on the use and features of the copy
machines. This handout will be available
by the end of the fiscal year.
As current desk top printers begin to break
down and are disposed of, replacements will
be analyzed and will not automatically be
replaced. Post July 1 we will do a printing
cost/benefit analysis to determine where we
can affect cost savings.
The State Employee Chartable Campaign is
centrally administered. We asked them last
year if there was an on-line ability (More
about being “Green” really) and they said
no.
We will recommend it again this year. The
bulk of printing costs are bore by the
Campaign, not the College.
If the suggestion is to put the Ramapo
College Foundation Annual Fund on-line
that will require review by Institutional
Advancement.
Travel
Change the mileage
reimbursement to the
State’s rate of $0.31 from
Ramapo’s rate of $0.50.
Travel
Freeze, reduce or limit
travel and paid expenses
to workshops and
conferences. When
traveling, employees
should share a hotel room
with others or pay out-ofpocket for a private
room.
Travel
Don't pay employees for
time spent traveling and
prevent abuse of the
release time policy is
clearly abused.
Changing the mileage rate shall be
considered in concert with a rental vehicle
option for personnel use.
Travel will be reduced by 10%. Cuts will be
applied to units based on the average
amount spent over the past three years.
Travel policy will be updated to capture
accountability and effectiveness of trips.
Updates to the policy will include
conference agenda attached to the travel
authorization request, and an assessment
report completed by the traveler at the end
of the trip.
Compensatory time/overtime policies are
specific to job classification. While some
employees may be eligible for
compensation either in the form of
compensatory time or overtime, others are
not. See
http://ww2.ramapo.edu/facultystaff/hr/polici
es2.aspx?id=19162 for full policy rules.