Budget and LongRange Planning Committee
Annual Report for AY 2006/2007
May 2, 2007
Submitted by: Kathleen Watson, Chair
During AY 2006-07, the Budget and Long Range Planning Committee was Co-Chaired by Kathleen Watson (COBA) and Robin Marion (COE) during the Fall 2006 semester, and chaired by Kathleen Watson (due to Robin Marion’s sabbatical) in Spring 2007. In addition, the voting members of the committee included Kit Herlihy (Library), Judy Papenhausen (at-large) and Patty Seleski (COAS). Kathy Norman (COE) replaced Robin Marion in Spring 2007. Ex-Officio members of the committee included Vicki Golich, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Wayne Veres, Dean of Instructional Information Technology Services,David Barsky, Associate Vice President for Academic Programs and Tom Bennett, Associate Vice President for Strategic Planning and Assessment. The committee met weekly throughout the year.
The Co-Chairsshared various responsibilities of the Budget and Long-Range Planning Committee, including faculty representation on a number of University Committees. The chair of BLP serves on a number of University level committees including the University Budget Committee (UBC), the President’s Cabinet, the Academic Master Planning Advisory Committee (AMPAC), the Senate Executive Committee, and as BLP representative to the Academic Senate.In addition, the entire voting membership of BLP, at the invitation of the Provost, participated in joint meetings with the Academic Affairs Leadership Council (AALC) at Academic Affairs strategic planning meetings and to review and make recommendations on Strategic Initiative proposals. The chair coordinated committee members’ review of program proposals, requests for feedback from program originators, reports to the senate, and provided detailed minutes posted to the Senate website.
Curriculum Reviews
During AY 2006-07 BLP conducted two kinds of curriculum review: 1) A-form reviews and 2) P-form reviews.
A-Form Reviews -- Under current curriculum policies, colleges, departments and programs proposing new majors (minors do not require A-forms) must complete and submit an A-form, which broadly outlines the proposed degree, makes an initial case about external demand for the degree or about internal need for it, and sketches out an early estimation of the resources needed to initiate and sustain the program. A-Forms go through college curriculum committees (not all colleges have them), and then are distributedby Academic Programs to key planning stakeholders for comment. After these reviews, the A-forms and stakeholder’s comments come to BLP. The packages are assessed for long-range planning and resource implications. The committee votes whether or not the proposed degree should be added to CSUSM’s University Academic Master Plan (UAMP) which is sent to the CSU Chancellor’s Office each January.
In AY 2006-07, BLP reviewed A-forms for the following proposed degree programs and voted to add them to the UAMP:
B.A. in Child and Adolescent Development
B.A. in Music
P-Form Reviews -- Originators of major and minor degree programs,options and certificates, and existing degree programs undergoing substantial changes submit P-forms. P-Forms represent the realized plan of the curriculum, including resource needs for initiating and sustaining the degree program. Once P-forms are reviewed by the University Curriculum Committee (UCC) and BLP, they are submitted to the Academic Senate for approval. If approved by the Senate, the P-forms are then submitted to the Provost, President and (if necessary) to the Chancellor’s Office for official authorization.
BLP reviewed the following P-forms, provided feedback to initiate discussions with originators, and incorporated responses as we wrote long-range planning and resource implication reports to Academic Senate. We moved the following out of BLP during AY 2006-07:
Update BLP review of B.A. in Anthropology (new program)
M.A. in Education: Option in Communication Sciences and Disorders (new option)
Center and Institute Reviews
Proposals for Centers and Institutes are sent to the Senate Chair, who consults with the appropriate senate standing committee, to formulate the Senate’s recommendation to the Provost. BLP reviewed the proposal for the Institute for Social Justice & Equity (ISJE) for its budgetary implications and drafted a letter to the Executive Committee of the Academic Senate.
Strategic Planning
In January, BLP members met jointly with AALC for a day-long Strategic Planning session to produce a draft of the Vision, Mission, Values, and Operating Norms for Academic Affairs. A subsequent joint meeting refined the draft, which is posted to the Academic Affairs website for review and input. A follow-up joint meeting is scheduled in May.
Budget Reviews
Working from the University Strategic Priorities, BLP crafted a strategic priority statement by narrowing down a subset of those most appropriate to Academic Affairs. Using data gathering and analysis to better understand each objective, and through consultation with Colleges/School/Library we represent, we derived two themes supported by six objectives for budget priority this year.The themes, Retention through Academic Excellence and Equity, (Objectives 1.7, 2.1, 5.1) and Rigor through Research and Access (Objectives 1.5, 1.3, 1.9) were combined with objectives identified by AALC and used as the basis for prioritizing Strategic Initiative proposals.
Serving as the budgeting arm of the Academic Senate, BLP members reviewed all Strategic Initiative proposals submitted through the Academic Affairs budget call process in the Spring.
BLP then met jointly with the AALC to prioritize the proposals. These recommendations went to the Provost, who announced the proposals chosen as top priority at her Town Hall meeting in March.
BLP Input on Budget and LongRange Planning
BLP reviewed the University Budget process currently underway and drafted a letter to the University Budget Committee (UBC) articulating our perception of the role of BLP in the budget and University Long Range Planning process. This letter was later used as a basis for discussion in UBC.
BLP drafted a letter to the Executive Committee of the Academic Senate regarding our experience with the Strategic Initiative process. A number of questions were raised about how the Strategic Initiatives process will transition into links between planning and budget, particularly in Academic Affairs as it moves to a three-year rolling budget. BLP focused on identification of issues that should inform this process. More specifically, we discussed how changes might influence BLP’s deliberations on the budgetary implications of new programs and options. Issues included enrollment growth, funding for the Academic Affairs division, faculty hiring and retention, and BLP’s role in the budget process.
BLP represented the Senate during the WASC visit in March in budget and long range planning discussions. BLP members split between the budget session and the planning session based on their primary alignment with the other committees that consider budget (e.g., University Budget Committee) and planning (e.g., Academic Mater Planning Advisory Council).
Recommendations for Next Year
BLP identified a need for more faculty involvement in developing budget priorities at the College/Library level. Faculty should also review actual expenditures. We recommend that BLP draft a resolution to the Academic Senate
Committee Membership for 2006-07
Faculty membership for 2007-08:
Ongoing:
Judy Papenhausen (at-large)
Patty Seleski (COAS – 06-08)
Kathleen Watson(COBA – 06-08)
New:
Patricia Stall (COE – 07-09)
Hua Yi (Library – 07-09)
Ongoing administrators:
Dean COAS
Dean IITS
AVP Academic Programs
AVP Strategic Planning and Assessment
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