Budget Discussion Responses
“What’s NOT Working”/ “What’s Getting in the Way” Topics
November 2012
(A) What’s NOT Working// (B) What’s Getting in the Way:
Ideas/Suggestions
(A)
Issues/Problems
Off hours student services – forms, tutoring,
advising – not available when students need
them (•)
Planning depends on unknown budget (•)
Clear information flow and trust (•)
ORSP
IT
Healthcare – too many students are getting
sick  increasing workload for faculty. (Need
integrated wellness emphasis between Rec
Center, Heath Center, and Dorms)
Questions
(B) Align budgeting process w/ the
actual academic mission. (••••••)
Feeling “lost”/isolated at the departmental
level; lack of an over-arching goal shared
across university. (••••••••)
Is a real separation between
Stateside & Self Support:
Would it help to blend?
Partner? (••••)
Build mission/vision consensus
(••••)
How workload is defined and how
it is allocated. (••••••)
Re-evaluate department
tenure/promotion
criteria/expectations (•••)
[Allow] flexibility in weighting
criteria
Reluctance to change what is proven to work
to build students’ cognitive and life skills:e.g.,
powerful research skills and the ability to
express oneself with confidence in writing
and orally. (••••) [“getting in the way” of
suggested changes?]
We don’t invest in making $, finding
resources, no “seed $” (invest in
Redesign the flow of money
between the AA & A.F. – no more
Why don’t we charge
differential rates/fees for
different programs? (••)
Other
Ideas/Suggestions
“paying” for doing our job. (•••)
Re-evaluate course content/
pedagogy, expectations (•••)
Abandon lecture
Self-based learning
Flipped classroom
Technology to enhance teaching,
learning experience
Student/faculty interaction
Resources to support
[We need to] Develop/devote
entrepreneurial
marketing expertise in A.A.
Don’t get “locked in history”,
don’t assume past history as
template
Issues/Problems
infrastructure to make academic money).
(•••)
CFO prioritizes budget rather than academic
mission. (•••)
Skepticism toward university efforts to
capitalize on faculty sense of responsibility to
students and institution (•••)
Our systems get in the way – lack of
flexibility, systems that are too complex. No
easy way to implement actions. Lack of
agility. (•••)
Our culture of “we can’t make money”, not
willing to look at the true cost of educating
the students. (••)
Lack of new faculty to match increase in
enrollment (••)
Lack of trust. (••)
Talking around (The) real problems (••)
Don’t do enough to recruit new faculty to
governance/engagement. (•)
Resource information not available in
understandable format to faculty/staff “Nothing” (•)
Burnout (•) Lack of t-t faculty
Lack of continuity in planning  old
Questions
Other
Ideas/Suggestions
Issues/Problems
agreements disappear. (•)
Lack of balance between ud/id courses. (•)
No place to go to ask “how do we make this
more efficient?” (•)
Skepticism that innovative programs won’t
be sustainable – fear it’s a time-waster;
reward? (•)
Faculty need more clarity on how to make
the mission “real” (•)
Structure of office hours, their purpose (•)
Perception that there will always be a
bailout. This is “real”.
Need more consensus on “mission” [Also
“The sense of mission in this room can be
diffuse”]
Specific solutions universalized
Don’t always think through consequences of
decisions.
Important student services that don’t
generate revenue get cut via
“reconstructing”
Inadequate re-assignment time
Increased (increasing) workload and
increasing resistance to workload increases
Putting this “more with less” effort solely on
AA/faculty is not sustainable:
 Health burnout of senior faculty
 Retention of junior faculty.
We are NEVER not at work!!
Questions
Other