Dear Colleagues

Dear Colleagues: April 4, 2005

It is with bittersweet feelings that I am writing you today about the state of the university. The Governor’s budget for 2005-2007 contains both increases, in instructional support and financial aid, as well as significant decreases in non-instructional areas. As a result UW-L has to reduce its non-instructional budget by approximately $1.7 million. The purpose of this letter is to explain the situation and the decisions that have been made.

No matter when or how budget reductions take place, the decisions are difficult. This is the third budget cut in the past three biennial budgets. In 2001-2003 we had to give back $2 million. In 2003-2005 we had to reduce our budget by $2.5 million. In both of those budget cuts, we successfully minimized reductions to instruction. Reaching our targeted reduction for this third consecutive biennium is much more difficult to do for several reasons.

First, the timing: In the last budget cut we had the “luxury” of considering the cuts over several months. The window for decision-making this time was significantly smaller. In fact, we must submit our list of cuts within the next couple of weeks.

Second, the source of cuts: In the last budget reduction, we could take the cuts from practically any 102 account, although we made every effort to minimize cuts to instruction. This time the rules are fixed such that the cuts must be taken only from non-instructional 102 accounts, which represent approximately 57% of our total 102 budget. Since the recent biennial cuts were so severe and we protected instruction, our non-instructional budget accounts are already very lean. Therefore, we were severely limited as to where reductions could be made.

To make these cuts, certain principles were followed. You may notice that some are the same as were used for the last budget cut. Those principles are:

Flexibility is necessary.
No across-the-board cuts.
Maintain a long-term campus perspective.
Communicate regularly with the campus community to dispel rumors.
Look at each vacancy from the perspective of investing in quality and value-added activities.
Continue to meet our quality objectives in new and creative ways.
Increase current and create new revenue possibilities.

In addition, the concepts of opportunity and humane treatment were incorporated. Some positions were vacant, and, especially where there was an intersection between a vacant position and opportunity, it was more humane to make cuts in these areas than to release people from university employment.

We are fortunate to have very talented and productive people. We asked some of these people to help out, so some will be expected to broaden their responsibilities and/or work in different ways.

During the past several weeks I have worked closely with Provost Hitch and Vice Chancellor Lostetter. We have reviewed suggestions and recommendations from literally every corner of campus. Based on our findings and a careful review of all recommendations, the budget cuts will be handled as described in the following sections.

We will not fill the following two positions: Assistant Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management and Director of Financial Aid. Instead, we will integrate services and staff from the offices of Admissions, Records and Registration, Financial Aid, the Advising Center, and Career Services. Not only will this realignment allow for significant salary savings, but it will also create an organizational structure that is better-suited to craft 24/7/365 web-based services for students seeking service in these areas. I am pleased to announce that Diane Schumacher has agreed to provide administrative leadership to this new unit.

We will not fill the following two positions: Dean of the College of EESHR and Associate Dean for the College of EESHR. Instead, all academic departments except Educational Studies will move to the College of Science and Allied Health. Under the leadership of Dean Nelson, I am confident that this reorganization will create many new opportunities for our highly recognized allied health and science programs.

We will not fill the position of the Director for the School of Education. Teacher education will return to the College of Liberal Studies. Dean Mason will provide leadership to the School’s activities and the Department of Educational Studies. I am pleased to report that Dick Swantz will continue in a part-time role to provide the necessary assistance for a smooth transition.

Staff currently in the EESHR deans’ office will be utilized in meeting critical needs during the transition and retained to meet critical institutional needs.

We will not fill the position of Campus Climate Coordinator with an external candidate. Instead, I have asked Al Thompson to search internally for someone to handle these duties. This will create a campus vacancy that will not be filled.

We will not fill two vacant positions in Business Services. Instead, an advisory committee will be established to fulfill the duties associated with the internal auditor’s position. We will create web-based services to meet the needs otherwise associated with the second position.

Moving personnel support from 102 dollars to other sources is costly. This is due to the cost of fringe benefits otherwise “picked up” by the state in a typical 102 funding scenario. We have reviewed possible options and have concluded that funding shifts will occur in the following areas: Continuing Education, International Education, Information Technology Services, and Student Development and Academic Services.

This means, quite simply, that we will move the direction of providing services and information, where appropriate, almost exclusively on the web. Some examples would include placing the class timetable and the graduate catalog on the web only. This will allow us to save in personnel and supply costs. More importantly, it will nudge us more quickly toward being a campus that relies on web-based services as a matter of practice. When the appropriate services are chosen to be web-based, it also provides better service to those who need service outside of traditional office hours.

Restructure Administrative Services in the Provost’s Office and Academic Colleges

I have asked Provost Hitch and the academic deans to find ways to capture savings by operating more efficiently. Not surprisingly, each has been willing to recommend ideas as to how this can happen. Examples of possible changes include, but are not limited to, the following: voluntary contract reductions; additional teaching assignments for administrators; pooled positions (using vacant positions); eliminating positions; and, reducing the administrative intern position. Intuitively, one may surmise that these changes will mean less can be accomplished by these offices/persons. While we can’t control these budget realities, we can control our responses. As we transition to a leaner administrative support staff, it is my expectation that each of us develops a more efficient way to effectively conduct our duties and responsibilities. We will not drift from our primary mission, namely providing a first-rate learning experience for our students!

By increasing the existing fee for service structure and “tapping” some revenue accounts, we will be able to offset some of the giveback. Consequently, we will do the following: 1) the service charge on 128 accounts will increase from 2% to 3%; 2) the transcript fee will increase from $4 to $5 and personnel costs associated with this service will be moved to this fee account; 3) we will direct selected other revenue accounts to contribute a portion of the existing balances to the budget giveback.

As you can see, we still fall short in meeting the $1.7 million needed to offset UW-L’s share of the budget cut. We continue to work with the deans and certain directors to find other appropriate funding sources to which to move people, look at potential retirements, consider other ways to operate more efficiently, and make reductions where appropriate. I will keep you apprised of these decisions in a timely manner.

I want to thank all of the unit leaders and many others who have made helpful suggestions and those who have helped make adjustments needed to handle the budget cut. All of these efforts have been genuinely appreciated.

There is little doubt that this budget cut is hurtful for the entire campus and agonizingly painful for certain campus constituents. However, I am confident that, in the long term, we will evolve from this loss of resources and attendant administrative restructuring stronger and more focused. UW-L is an unusually resilient and creative place. As in the past, we will continue to work together to get through this. Our intent is to come out of this as a much stronger, close-knit university community.