October 19 1999
University of the Pacific
Institutional Priorities Committee
October 19, 1999 - Pine Room
Minutes
Attending: Benedetti, Borlik, Brock, Cavanaugh, Chambers, Fox, Fletcher, Gilbertson (Chair), Krueger/Devine, Oppenheimer, Stein
Not Attending: Gluskin, Myers
Meeting convened at 3:00 PM. Minutes of the October 12th meeting were approved without comment or correction.
Pat Cavanaugh reported on the actions of the Board of Regents. He noted that the Board had approved a list of final expenditures for 1999 including allocations suggested by the IPC. He also reported that the budget for 2000 had been reconfigured in light of increased enrollments and that the Board had added items suggested by the Committee. Anticipating facilities needs, the Board gave initial approval for the issuance of a new series of bonds. In addition, the Board passed a financial plan for the upcoming capital campaign including a gift acceptance policy. He was pleased to announce that the external audit report was unqualified this year.
Phil Gilbertson added that the Academic Affairs Committee of the Board had taken ownership of the WASC process, agreeing to review WASC reports and to hold a hearing to discuss them. Further, the Board will take action on all program review reports in the future. He noted that he is still weighing options for the distribution of funds granted Academic Affairs in the reconfigured budget; the options include the rental of computers for faculty and staff, supplements for lean expense budgets, and special grants to underwrite urgent needs in the academic division.
Reviewing the Committee's agenda, Phil Gilbertson noted that 4a1, the classroom utilization report, was not yet ready for discussion. He argued that 4a3 (Facilities needs), 4b1 (Funding from the 1999 surplus), and 6a1 (Classification of the University by the Carnegie Foundation) required no further discussion in light of Regent actions. He asked that they be removed from future agendas.
After a short discussion of the Cost Allocation Model, it was agreed that the Provost would review current calculations and propose a five-year plan for implementation.
A report from the Educational Resources Center was analyzed briefly. It was noted that the report did not indicate the effect of Center programs on retention though it talked in general terms about variables that influence retention rates at Pacific. The committee was anxious that the Center present data that more clearly indicates the effectiveness of its programs with students, particularly if additional funding is requested.
A report from OISR was reviewed. It was noted that many of the items marked critical in the report had been funded by Board action. However, personnel requests were not addressed, including the appointment of an additional network engineer and a trainer. In addition, some aspects of facilities renovations, including a halogen system, remain unsupported.
The committee reviewed a timeline for the discussion of the 2001 budget. The schedule presented was revised as follows:
October 26 - Institutional Advancement/ Public Safety
November 2 - Finance Division/ Human Resources
November 9 - Academic Division
November 16 - Academic Division
November 23 - Student Life Division/ Athletics Division
November 30 - Budget Model/ Wrap up
Along with these revisions, the remainder of the proposed schedule through May of 2000 was tentatively accepted.
Pat Cavanaugh presented a draft proposal for a University Compensation Committee. After a brief discussion, the suggestion was made that the Committee report to the Vice President for Business and Finance alone rather than to a longer list of administrators and committees.
At the close of the meeting, Judy Chambers alerted the Committee to an article in The Chronicle for Higher Education on a proposal to rank colleges and universities utilizing student opinion surveys.
The Committee adjourned at 5:00 PM.