- Introductory Statement
- These procedures are prescriptive for circumstances of a Financial
Crisis at the University, from its recognition by the President through
its declaration and eventual termination by the Board of Control.
- In approving these procedures, the President and Board of Trustees relinquish none of their constitutional or statutory authority.
- These procedures are intended for contingencies in which the University
is confronted with a financial shortfall due to circumstances largely
out of the control of the University, such as an unexpected and sharp
decline in enrollments, or an unexpected failure of budgeted support
from the State.
- These procedures are intended for situations requiring decisive action
within a period of about one to six weeks. Contingencies that permit
action over a more extended period are covered in the Procedures for
Periods of Financial Stress (q.v.).
- A period of time is required to implement these procedures and for
expenditures to be reduced. To enable the University to meet its financial
obligations during this period, it is incumbent on the University to
plan for periods of financial distress. Financial contingency plans
must be prepared for this eventuality.
- Titles of University administrators may change with time. Hence, where
particular administrative titles are used in these procedures, "or equivalent" is always implicit.
- At a time of financial crisis, any departures from these procedures
should be made in good faith and must be reported by the President to
the Board of Trustees and the University Senate.
- Committee Membership
Three committees are involved initially in the declaration and management
of a financial crisis. The function of these committees is described below
in Sections C and D.
- Financial Emergency Committee (FEC): An advisory committee consisting
of the Officers of the University Senate (President, Vice President,
and Secretary), and those members of the Senate Finance Committee who
have been appointed to that committee by the Senate. Chaired by the
President of the Senate.
- Executive Budget Council (EBC): An advisory committee consisting of
administrative officers holding these titles: the Provost and Senior
Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs, the Vice President
for Administration, the Vice President for Governmental Relations, the
Senior Vice President for Advancement and Marketing, the Vice President
for Research, and the Director of Planning and Budgeting. Chaired by
the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs.
- Reconfiguration Committee (RC): A working advisory group consisting
of the Executive Budget Council (above), the President of Staff Council,
the Deans of the Colleges and Schools, and three tenured faculty and
two professional staff members will be selected by the Senate with regard
to familiarity with university finances, gender, race, and unit membership.
A representative from Human Resources shall serve without vote. Chaired
by the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs.
- Declaration of a Financial Crisis
- The decision to initiate a state of Financial Crisis rests with the
President. The procedures below will be followed when the President
determines that a financial emergency exists which may justify declaration
of a Financial Crisis. The emergency will be an extraordinary one threatening
the University as a whole so that usual procedures of planning, management,
budgeting and cost-reduction are not adequate to meet necessary budget
reductions within the time available.
- Procedures for Declaration of a Financial Crisis
- The President will call the Financial Emergency Committee into
session. The President will inform the Committee of the nature and
severity of the Financial Crisis and will present a timetable for
sending the President's recommendation to the Board of Trustees.
- The Financial Emergency Committee may confer, and comment or respond
immediately to the President. The Committee should provide a written
response to the President and the Board of Trustees indicating the
Committee's view of the financial crisis. The response may include
supporting documentation, and may include recommending an independent
audit of the financial status of the University.
- The Senate President will call a meeting of the University Senate.
At that meeting, the President and other administrative officers,
and the Financial Emergency Committee, will inform the Senate of
the nature of the financial emergency. The Senate will make its
recommendation on the financial emergency expeditiously in a proposal
communicated by the Senate President to the President and the Board
of Trustees.
- A state of Financial Crisis will exist upon declaration of the
Board of Trustees.
- Procedures for a Financial Crisis
The procedures below will be followed when the Board of Trustees has declared
the existence of a Financial Crisis.
- Immediately after the declaration of a Financial Crisis, the Executive
Budget Council and two non-voting liaisons from the Financial Emergency
Committee will provide the vice presidents, vice provosts, deans, and
directors with guidelines, including deadlines, for preparing plans
for reductions of budgets. These guidelines will also be furnished to
the Financial Emergency Committee.
Guidelines may include incentives for cutting costs, such as arranging
for some portion of the budget given up by a unit to be returned to
that area as discretionary funds.
- Vice Presidents, vice provosts, deans, and directors will generate
plans for budget reductions.
These individuals will actively and systematically seek input from appropriate
faculty, staff and students; the existence of this input will be documented
when the plans are submitted.
Vice presidents, vice provosts, deans, and directors must review their
plans with Human Resources (or equivalent successor division) to ensure
that they are consistent with University policy where individual employees
are affected.
The proposed plans are expected to consider the possible unequal treatment
of units. Vice provosts, deans, and directors may expect that areas
will not be treated equally.
The proposed plans will be submitted to the Office of the Provost and
Senior Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs. Only those plans
meeting the guidelines (D.1. above) will be forwarded to the Reconfiguration
Committee. Plans not meeting the guidelines will be returned for revision.
- The Reconfiguration Committee will review the proposed plans and prepare
recommendations for the President following these guidelines:
- verify the adequacy and accuracy of documented employee input
into the proposed plans (see D.2. above);
- seek feasible alternatives to any plans that would result in elimination
of faculty and staff positions;
- determine that all plans are consistent with existing policies
of the University;
- identify, create (if necessary), and evaluate plans avoiding the
termination of faculty and staff, including such measures as temporary
furlough, reduced time appointments, severance pay for resignation,
and incentives for early retirement, to meet the crisis in the short
term and to allow orderly planning over longer periods.
- The Reconfiguration Committee will submit its recommendations to the
President.
The recommendations may include plans submitted to the committee, unchanged
or modified. Recommendations may also be original with the committee.
- In the event the President determines that resolving the Financial
Crisis requires program reconfiguration involving the removal of faculty
and staff, the President will ask the Reconfiguration Committee for
recommendations for reconfiguration.
Such recommendations for reconfiguration will be developed following
these principles:
- Consistent with the role and mission of the University, recommendations
will protect academic programs and educational needs of students.
- The recommendations will protect the University's commitment to
the principle of tenure. Thus, elimination or reconfiguration of
a program or department is the only procedure by which tenured faculty
may be removed because of a financial emergency.
- The recommendations will protect the University's commitment to
equal opportunity.
- The recommendations will provide that the budget for salaries
and wages of the Administration's first, second, and third echelons
as a unit will be reduced equitably with reductions in budgeted
salaries and wages across the University.
- Recommendations for Reconfiguration of Programs or Administrative
Units
- Definition: Programs are defined as departments, degree programs,
majors or options within departments, interdepartmental degree programs,
and units.
- Definition: Reconfiguration may involve one or a combination of
the following, any of which result in a loss of position: absorption
of one or more programs unto another program; merger or consolidation
of two or more programs to form a new program; separation of a program
into two or more programs; elimination. Reconfiguration also applies
to administrative units.
- Criteria for Consideration of Proposals for Reconfiguration
- 1)
- The Reconfiguration Committee will base its consideration
of the proposed program reconfiguration on criteria of quality,
centrality, need, and cost. A list of more specific considerations
is provided below.
- 2)
- Not all criteria will have equal weight nor should proposals
be evaluated on some algebraic formula based on the criteria.
The listing is to be considered as a reminder of factors to
be included in review of proposals for reconfiguration.
- 3)
- Criteria may have different implications in different contexts.
For example, "accreditation status" of a program might count
against a proposal for merger if the resulting unit could not
be accredited; however, it might favor a proposal for elimination
of a unit on the verge of losing accreditation.
- Specific Criteria for Use in Evaluating Proposals for Reconfiguration
- 1)
- Quality
- a)
- Productivity of a program as indicated by applicants for
admission, credit hours generated, degree recipients, scholarly
publications, and service internal or external to the University.
- b)
- Quality of products compared with similar programs at
the University and elsewhere.
- c)
- National or international reputation of a program.
- d)
- Status of accreditation
- e)
- Conformation of the proposed reconfiguration with national
patterns of organization, to enable recruitment, retention,
and recognition of students, faculty, and staff.
- 2)
- Centrality to University mission
- a)
- Necessity of a program or its products because of external
mandate, including University charter, legislative pressure,
laws, and governmental regulation.
- b)
- Effects of reconfiguration on other programs at the University.
- c)
- Extent of internal support available for the program.
- d)
- Whether a program is of a class that should be present
in every university, or at least in every technological
university.
- 3)
- Need - Present and Projected
Demand for the program, including measures such as market demand
for graduates, demand by applicants, and demand by other programs
at the University.
- 4)
- Cost
- a)
- Cost of operating the program and the size of the program
relative to its contribution to the University's mission,
compared with equivalent programs in peer institutions.
- b)
- Ratio of effective production to University fiscal input
to the program.
- c)
- Comparison of cost of the program to the revenue generated
by the program, including tuition, grants, contracts, gifts,
endowments, etc.
- d)
- The University's investment in a program's facilities
that can not be redirected easily.
- e)
- Possible economies available with a merger of programs
that are similar in goals, orientation, clientele, etc.
- f)
- Possibility of shifting fiscal support of a program, for
example to external grants or contracts, or from endowment
earnings.
- g)
- Effect of the proposed reconfiguration on the University's
image and support by the public.
- The recommendations from the Reconfiguration Committee will be presented
to the University Senate concurrently with their presentation to the
President.
- Hiring of new faculty or staff during a Financial Crisis will be limited
to extraordinary circumstances (for example, replacing a recently deceased
employee) where an existing program would be otherwise seriously affected.
- In the event the President approves reconfiguration of a program,
the dean or director of the program will implement the reconfiguration
plan and will notify in writing each faculty and staff member of the
program immediately. Students in the program will be given public notice.
The President of the University Senate will similarly notify and inform
the Senate.
- These following procedures will apply when approved program reconfiguration
involves the loss of faculty or staff positions:
- Prompt and explicit notice to affected personnel.
- The mechanisms in place for separation or laying-off of personnel
will be followed. Such mechanisms include, for example, established
university procedures or collective bargaining agreements.
- For faculty and/or other non-union employees who are removed,
special provision will be made including, but not limited to the
following:
- 1)
- Every effort will be made to provide suitable placement elsewhere
in the University.
- 2)
- Preferential rehiring of removed persons to fill any vacancy
for which they are qualified within the University, for a period
of three years after their removal.
- a)
- Faculty who were tenured and who are rehired as faculty
will be rehired with tenure.
- b)
- Persons who are rehired will not lose credit for previous
years of service, and will have the same fringe benefits
as current employees. Sick leave that has accrued prior
to the layoff would be reinstated.
- 3)
- Faculty members removed during a Financial Crisis will at
their request be appointed as adjunct faculty members, and will
be entitled to continuation of at least these prerogatives:
access to library, parking, computing, access to Career Center
facilities and personnel, cultural, and recreational facilities
afforded non-removed faculty; status as graduate faculty; use
of granting and contract offices. Regular full- and part-time
non-union staff who are removed will be afforded similar prerogatives.
- 4)
- Regular full- and part-time non-represented staff who are
removed will be entitled to continuation of at least three prerogatives:
access to library, parking, computing, access to Career Center
facilities and personnel, cultural, and recreational facilities.
-
-
-
5) All faculty and non-represented staff removed would be guaranteed
a 2-month continuation of health benefits.
-
- 6) Faculty and staff who are removed are eligible to receive
health insurance at rates available to them under COBRA.
- 7)
- Eligibility for employee education programs and tuition reduction
incentive programs will continue for three years after removal.
- 11. Removal of tenured faculty must be approved by the Board of Trustees.
12. A tenured faculty member who is removed during a financial crisis
has a right to a hearing before the University Academic Tenure Committee
(or its designated alternate).
- A written request for a hearing must be filed within 30 days from
the date of initial notice of removal. A copy of the request must
be filed at the same time with the Provost.
- The request for a hearing must include either or both of the following:
- 1)
- A citation of the specific Financial Crisis procedure(s) which
the member thinks have been violated;
- 2)
- A summary of information that the member thinks is either new,
or was not considered by the Reconfiguration Committee in its
deliberations.
- The recommendations of the Academic Tenure Committee (or its designated
alternate) shall be made to the President through the Provost within
90 days of receipt of the written appeal. The report shall indicate
whether or not the Financial Crisis procedures have been violated,
or whether in the Committee's opinion the information supplied during
the hearing should alter the recommendations of the Reconfiguration
Committee.
- Termination of a Financial Crisis
- The President and the Reconfiguration Committee will monitor closely
the financial situation of the University during the Financial Crisis.
The President of the University Senate will report the situation regularly
to the Senate.
- If the President determines that the conditions of Financial Crisis
no longer exist, a recommendation for termination will be submitted
to the Board of Control.
- A state of Financial Crisis will cease to exist upon declaration of
the Board of Trustees.
Proposal 15-02:
Adopted by Senate: January 16, 2002
Approved by President: February 7, 2002
Proposal 11-04:
Adopted by Senate: 14 January 2004
Approved by Administration: 22 January 2004
September 2015: Name changed from Board of Control to Board of Trustees
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