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April 11, 2003
To: UC Santa Cruz Campus Community
From: John B. Simpson, Campus Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor
Re: Budget Planning Update
Last week the first phase of our comprehensive effort to identify ideas that will help us respond to budget reductions came to an end. This occurred on April 1, when the three Working Committees: Policies, Practices, and Procedures; Academic Instruction and Research; and Revenue Generation, presented their findings to the Executive Budget Committee.
The Working Committees and the Project Teams did a tremendous job of collecting, analyzing, and presenting a wide range of considerations and opportunities for our campus. They consulted with more than 700 members of the campus community to collect suggestions, they engaged key Academic Senate, staff and student organizations, and they developed many thoughtful ideas. The Project Teams evaluated all of these suggestions against a set of criteria that included cost, best practices, and considerations of campus culture. They identified those deemed to present the highest potential for achieving cost savings and operational improvements.
To reiterate, we are engaged in this process to reduce costs, in response to the state budget crisis. At the same time, we also strive to preserve and improve the quality of our academic instruction and to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of all aspects of our campus's operations.
The findings of the three committees serve these purposes, and they are focused in these ten general areas:
1. Service delivery, such as financial management, human resources, information technology, and facilities management;
2. Acquisition and management of resources moving toward e-procurement; analyzing projected retirements and planning changes; and managing documents;
3. Worker safety and workers' compensation;
4. Curriculum planning and course scheduling;
5. Academic support processes, such as instructional information technology and advising;
6. The academic review process;
7. Organizational structure and functional alignment;
8. Extramural funds (strategic alignment of development goals);
9. Planning, managing and coordination of self-supporting and auxiliary units; and
10. Leverage existing assets to improve the campus economy.
Phase Two of the project will involve several key elements. These include a refined analysis of the identified opportunities; collecting and assessing more detailed financial data; examining best operational practices from other institutions; assessing and understanding the impacts of these changes on our campus and community. To achieve this we will augment the Project Teams and extend our outreach to engage the views and opinions of stakeholders and subject matter experts. This means broader participation, communication, and consultation with the campus community.
It is clear from the findings and observations that have emerged to date, that there are a number of specific areas that the campus must begin to address now to capitalize on the opportunities before it. They are:
(1) To develop and deploy enabling technologies;
(2) To commit to expanded staff development and training opportunities in order to build the competencies and skills needed for this environment;
(3) To plan strategically for our future workforce needs;
(4) To create a culture of accountability.
As we enter into Phase Two, I want to emphasize that no decisions have been made concerning the selection or implementation of any of the findings presented. At the moment, these remain opportunities for further exploration and analysis. We are hopeful that we can complete the second phase of analysis within the next 60 days and move closer to making the sound financial and strategic decisions that will set our future direction.
Let me close by saying that I am tremendously encouraged by the work that has been done up to this point. Our planning effort is unique among institutions of higher education, one that takes significant resolve and commitment. It is inclusive, and it is open. I encourage you to keep informed by referring to the web site (http://www.ucsc.edu/news_events/budget_impact/) and to provide feedback at the confidential web site (http://planning.ucsc.edu/ebc/feedback.html). Additionally, we are planning a series of town hall meetings to share our progress and collect your thoughts and opinions.
Finally, I want to thank the members of the Committees and Project Teams for their tireless efforts. I greatly appreciate the time and effort of the hundreds of you who have freely participated and shared your best thinking to date.
Respectfully,
John B. Simpson
Maintained by:pioweb@ucsc.edu