Assembly Conducts Final Spring Meeting

Editor-in-Chief

   The Assembly met Tuesday, April 29 to elect new officers, wrap up end-of-the-semester business and discuss plans for the upcoming summer and fall sessions.

Photo by Eric Bell

Assembly Officers - (left to right) Vice Chair Scott Lykens, Secretary Donna Hunnicutt and Parliamentarian Rick Clubb accepted their positions in the Assembly April 29.  Marsha Clayton (not pictured) will return as chair of the Assembly.

   The Assembly officers for the 2008-09 academic year include:

• Chair - Marsha Clayton, associate professor of business
  
• Vice Chair - Scott Lykens, assistant professor of art
  
• Secretary - Donna Hunnicutt, instructor of education
  
• Parliamentarian - Rick Clubb, professor of psychology

   During the meeting, the Finance and Administration Committee and Chancellor Jack Lassiter discussed issues with the budget for the new fiscal year.

   According to Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration Jay Jones, the budget process began in February and, after several budget hearings in March, was nearly complete when the university received word from Gov. Mike Beebe in early April that the state had to cut the university's budget by $600,000.

   The news of the reduction put the budget process three weeks behind, since the committee had to make several last minute adjustments.  Lassiter said the reason for the decrease in the state funds for the university is due to deficit spending.

   "The good news is the state will never deficit spend," Lassiter said.  "The bad news is the state will never deficit spend."

   The state looked at national trends in the economy and changes in Arkansas's state revenue for the coming fiscal year to make its decision.  Lassiter told the faculty that Gov. Beebe promised in his tenure as governor that he will do everything possible to keep the university from having seven reductions in one fiscal year, which is what the last administration experienced.  By law, the governor must give a second projection of the budget, and Lassiter said he believed the university would receive good news in the fall.

   "I'm not an economist," Lassiter said, "but I feel confident this is a conservative estimate."

   Though the administration hopes to receive news of additional state funds in the fall, currently the university will receive only $1,354 of new funds for this year.  Lassiter said, these funds will obviously not come close to meeting the needs important to this institution.  However, the administration has put together a wish list to address those needs and concerns as funds become available.

   Several areas on campus will see the effects of the budget decrease first hand.  The university has currently eliminated three faculty positions in Forest Resources, physics and education.  Students will also experience the decrease through another hike in tuition rates.

   In the coming budget year, Lassiter advised that the university will raise tuition again.  Last year, the tuition increased by 6.99 percent; however, UAM still has one of the lowest tuition rates in the state.  Lassiter said, despite the hike in tuition, the university will not receive all the proceeds from this increase due to financial aid.  If administration does not increase financial aid in conjunction with tuition increases, Lassiter said the university will lose students in programs such as band, which currently receives 92 percent of its grant and aid funds from the school.

   "We were conscious of student needs during the tuition raise," Lassiter said.

   The chancellor also reported that the funding formula for the institution will change to begin focusing more on how many students complete classes rather than how many students enroll in classes.  If the number of student and administrative withdrawals increase, this will negatively alter the funding the university receives.  Therefore, Lassiter asked the faculty to remain conscious of class completion rather than just enrollment. Lassiter also said the university may review some of the policies and procedures currently in place to address this change in the funding formula as well as addressing students' needs.

   According to Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Clay Brown, the new summer housing initiative might double numbers to help with the student semester credit hours.  Last year 51 students enrolled in the summer sessions, and since this new program, upwards of 80 students enrolled for this year's summer sessions.  In addition to the summer terms, the university also saw an increase in enrollment for the fall semester. Pre-registration at Scholar's Day hit record numbers, with the Division of Nursing pulling in the majority of new students.

   Another factor affecting the budget is the upcoming increase in minimum wage to $6.55.  According to Lassiter, the institution will match the increase in minimum wage, though it is not required to do so.  Lassiter said increasing the wage on campus is a way to ensure students maintain enrollment because many depend on work study jobs.  Last year, 60 percent of the graduates had some type of work study job.

   "(Work study jobs) tie students into the campus and little more and increases their opportunity to graduate," Lassiter said.

   Increases in healthcare costs will also affect the budget.  According to Lassiter, healthcare costs are projected to increase by three percent, and the university plans to absorb those costs.  Since the 2004 fiscal year, the university has not increased the cost of health benefits for individual faculty.  This will provide some comfort for faculty, considering last year Arkansas increased healthcare costs by 14.4 percent while increasing salaries by only four percent.

   Lassiter said, the challenge is to look at ways of being more efficient and the university is already implementing ways to address this.  The institution is close to finding a solution for the climbing energy bill, which increased by 11 percent, through the energy audit.

   "If we can save money, we can reallocate money," he said.

   Despite the budget reduction, the university still plans to move forward with projects and improvements already initiated on campus, including:

• Construction: 
  
• Wells and Sorrells halls are currently near 75 percent completion.  Jones said the university is winding down to the latter phases of this project, and he expects the final stages to be completed by October or November, which will allow faculty to begin moving back in by the end of the fall term.
• The weather set back progress on the indoor practice facility, but Jones said they hope to pick up steam now.  He said the press box could be completed as early as June.
• The Baptist Collegiate Ministries began construction on its new facility near the "Convoy" Leslie Cotton Boll Stadium.
• The Forestry Center is near 75 percent completion.
  
• Fiber Optic Project:  The first phase of the project, trenching and laying the conduit, is 85-90 percent complete.  As a whole, the project is 35-40 percent complete.
• Smart Rooms:  The university will continue annual funding of these rooms.  The campus has currently installed eight smart rooms.  Rotation of the computer labs will also continue, with more to be refurbished this year.

  In addition to these projects, academics also continues to work towards improvement and modifications.  The Curriculum and Standards Committee reported it received hundreds of proposals from different areas on campus and at the Colleges of Technology at Crossett and McGehee.  The proposals included modification and clarification of identity requirements and major and minor requirements, as well as the addition of programs, courses, certificates of proficiency and internships.  For more information on the progress and work of the Curriculum and Standards Committee, contact Jean Hendrix, associate professor of Computer Information Systems, at 460-1711 or hendrix@uamont.edu.

   The university also reported a successful upcoming graduation year.  Currently, 600 students are candidates for awards, over 500 are eligible to graduate and over 300 are planning to participate in the commencement ceremonies May 9.  Lassiter noted the success of the university for this achievement.

   "When we mention 600 eligible to participate in commencement, that is a considerable number for this institution," he said.  "That's not by accident; it's because of your hard work and I commend you," he told the faculty.

   Other topics of discussion at the final Assembly meeting of this semester included:

• Brown reminded faculty of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, a federal guideline protecting the privacy of student education records.  According to Brown, during this time of year, many may receive calls from concerned parents or even employers of students requesting information on a student's progress.  To read more on the FERPA guidelines, please visit the U.S. Department of Education Web site.
• Academic Appeals will meet May 27.
• Professional Development Week is scheduled to begin Aug. 11.
• The Fred J. Taylor Library plans to put out a suggestion box in the library for members of the campus community to voice their opinion on the facility.  The library currently has an online suggestion box, but hope to receive more feedback from the permanent box.  The library also reported on several ongoing projects, including review of the Strategic and Assessment plans, subscription to periodicals and the growing online databases.
• Several students will attend trips in the near future.   Several students in Social and Behavioral Sciences will attend a field trip to Scotland.  Science and history students, as well as Spanish students, will attend a field trip to Costa Rica.  In addition, the Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad program will send several teachers to South Africa for the summer.
• Lassister introduced the new vice chancellor of Advancement, Kathy Berry, and noted faculty who will retire or resign this year.  Brown introduced the new Student Government Association president, Michael Thomas, and vice president, Michael Reynolds.  He also announced those elected to Who's Who 2008, which will be distributed by e-mail this week. 

Have a comment? Please e-mail us.

©The Voice 2008