April 16, 2001
Long-range budget-planning initiative enters second phase
UCSC's long-range budget planning initiative, launched by Campus Provost John
Simpson this past winter, has moved into its second phase.
Each academic and administrative division has completed the first step of the project,
drafting and submitting an executive summary of its preliminary 10-year plan. Now,
in a phase of the initiative process that will continue through June, each of those
plans will be reviewed by academic and administrative committees.
George Brown, vice provost for academic affairs, said that--because of the magnitude
of the project--many in the campus community "at first were not entirely enthusiastic"
about the idea of drawing up their part of the campus's 10-year plan. He said attitudes
have changed, however, and many have found the long-term process far more valuable
than year-to-year planning.
"Academic departments and divisions can now envision their units at maturity
and devise realistic strategies for achieving their long-range goals," Brown
said.
The deans of Engineering, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts
presented their divisions' preliminary plans April 10 to a joint meeting of the Provost's
Advisory Council, the Academic Planning Committee, and the Academic Support Planning
Committee. The committees will hold a second joint meeting, on April 24, to hear
the executive summaries from Business and Administrative Services, Student Affairs,
the Library, the Office of Research, University Relations, and the Provost's Office.
Brown said the first session provided a good opportunity for academic planners and
academic support officers, as well as key Academic Senate representatives, to hear
and comment on the proposals. Potential areas of collaboration across division lines
were also apparent, he said. The role of UCSC in improving K-12 education, for instance,
came up in more than one presentation. Many preliminary plans for cross-divisional
graduate programs were also introduced, addressing such issues as the environment,
health, and technology.
The next step in the process will come when the Academic Senate's Committee on Planning
and Budget and the administrative committees draw up their own reports and forward
these documents to Simpson. These comments, along with specific feedback from the
campus provost, will provide divisions with a preliminary campus assessment of their
plans, said Beau Willis, assistant campus provost.
Division administrators are to provide detailed plans to Simpson by December 3. The
campus's comprehensive plan, incorporating these submissions, is scheduled to be
completed by April or May of 2002.
Additional information on the budget planning process is available at the
following web sites:
