The following information was excerpted from a memo
released Nov. 3 by UI President David Skorton.
Due to a recent cut in state funding and other revenue
shortfalls, the University budget must be reduced
for the current fiscal year by $9.9 million. Student
financial aid, the library acquisitions budget, and
equal opportunity and diversity efforts will be shielded
from cuts.
This is how the budget reductions—for $8.5 million—will
be spread through the General Education Fund budget:
•Academic units, including the 11 colleges,
continuing education, the summer session, and the
general library budget, will be cut by $5.6 million
(2.01 percent). A total of $720,000 will be reallocated
to the undergraduate colleges from administrative
units.
•Administrative units will be cut by 2.5 percent,
or $3.6 million. The totals for those units are:
the president's office ($157,246), the provost's
office ($512,914), research ($318,247), finance and
operations ($873,650), student services ($165,893),
University relations ($90,824), information technology
($552,457), utilities enterprise ($615,041), equipment
($168,829), and building renewal ($157,179).
- University health care units will be cut
by 2.5 percent of the state-appropriation component
of each budget. The dollar amounts of those cuts
are: indigent patient care ($699,605), psychiatric
hospital ($180,591), Center for Disabilities
and Development ($163,161), family practice ($53,229),
primary care ($19,484), and specialized child
health
services ($16,643).
- Other University units also will sustain
2.5 percent cuts to the state-appropriated portion
of their budgets. The totals for those units
are: University Hygienic Laboratory ($97,501);
Oakdale
campus ($68,137); Center for Biocatalysis and
Bioprocessing ($22,600); economic development,
including Oakdale
Research Park, Technology Innovation Center,
and Center for Advanced Drug Development ($6,333);
Iowa
Birth Defects Registry ($1,145); Iowa Cancer
Registry ($4,583); and Iowa Substance Abuse Consortium
($1,663).
Colleges and administrative units now are working
on further details of how each unit will manage.
Here are some examples of actions being considered
and actions already implemented:
- Layoffs could be required in some areas,
although that is not yet certain. Early retirements
scheduled for June 30, 2004, will provide considerable
help, but this will create a challenge to rebalance
the University's workforce.
- Colleges are canceling faculty searches.
- The University's commitment to the four-year
graduation plan could be compromised if there
are not enough faculty to produce the number and
breadth
of course credit hours required. This issue will
be reassessed in the spring.
- The provost is considering substantial
reductions in nTITLE, a program for faculty to
learn how to
incorporate information technology into their
teaching. Reductions would likely focus on the
equipment grant
portion of the program and classroom technology
investments. The provost also is considering a
substantial reduction
in support of the maintenance of classroom equipment.
- The Summer Session Program is considering
the elimination of up to 15 course sections.
- Some colleges are considering whether
they can reduce staff positions by reassigning
tasks that
are currently performed by several people to
a single staff person.
- Colleges are considering how they might
rely on central University services to replace
services
that are currently funded by the colleges.
- The Campus Planning Framework Process,
which is required by the Board of Regents, State
of Iowa,
every four years, may be delayed.
- The opportunity to convert to biomass
fuel at the UI Power Plant will provide some relief
to
the utility budget, but not enough to offset
the cuts assigned. It will be necessary to implement
energy conservation measures beyond those taken
previously.
- The indigent patient care program will
continue to serve the same number of patients but
will assess
whether there is a need for the continued provision
of certain services, such as the supplies given
to patients for home use, eyeglasses, and prosthetics.
UI Hospitals and Clinics also will work with
the
Department of Corrections to study the level
of primary care services for prisoners.
For the full text of President Skorton's memo, see
www.uiowa.edu/president/Messages/e-mail_110303.html. |
