DAILY LOBO new mexico
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thursday The Independent Voice of UNM since 1895
September 2, 2010
Survey: Faculty losing faith in system UNM central administration and faculty routinely quarrel, and a survey released Wednesday proves there is discontent over budget and communication issues between the two parties. A six-month survey conducted by Research and Polling Inc. concluded more than twothirds of faculty is dissatisfied with their role in the University’s shared governance system, and 42 percent of faculty said in the survey that they are “very dissatisfied.” “The survey represents the feelings of the faculty over the last few years,” Faculty Senate President Richard Wood said. “It shows how strongly the faculty and staff have felt about the University’s need to get back on track to our academic mission.” The survey, completed online by 719 faculty and 1,627 staff members, found that 79 percent of faculty disagrees that academic interest guides financial decisions at UNM; 81 percent feel they have no influence over budget development and only 5 percent believe an atmosphere of trust exists between the faculty and administration. “I think there is nothing surprising. The results are somber,” Provost Suzanne Ortega said. “The good news is that we didn’t wait until the results came in to address the issues in the survey.” Recommendations from the survey include a clearer definition of shared governance, further transparency from the central administration, an assessment of communication mechanisms between staff, faculty and the administration, and overall cooperation between the three groups.
Ninety-one percent of faculty said participation in shared governance is a worthwhile responsibility for faculty, prompting a positive direction for both groups to cooperate change. One example is the formation of a strategic advisory committee, which met in June to begin deliberating budget proposals for next spring. “We’ve been very involved in recent months to create a strategic budgeting process that involves the faculty leadership, executive vice president of administration, the deans and the provost, all under the final budgetary authority of the president and the regents,” Wood said. President David Schmidly said in a statement that the University is doing its part to include all parties in discussions. “We continue our commitment to maximum participation,” he said. “However, the final responsibility of the budget, as stipulated in regents’ policy, lies with the Office of the President.” Having a seat at the table during budget talks is one way faculty can leverage the the survey results, Ortega said, and it will be important in
figuring out what shared governance actually means. “We are working to develop a strategic role for clarifying roles of responsibilities that further define shared governance,” she said. “How do we make sure faculty and staff are part of budget considerations?” The faculty is content to be included during the longer budget timeline period. In previous years, the regents showed a completed budget and the faculty had little or no time to propose changes, Wood said. “We are meeting regularly with Andrew Cullen of the Office of the VP for Administration to look at how the next budget is put together,” he said. “We haven’t been brought in this early before. We have asked to be part of the budget process from the beginning, and so far that is happening.” Wood said budget priorities for the faculty are clear: protect students and the University’s research mission.
see Survey page 5
General Satisfaction with Faculty's Role in Shared Governance 45%
42%
40%
35% 30% Percentages
by Shaun Griswold shaun24@unm.edu
24%
25% 20% 15% 15% 10% 10% 5%
6% 3%
0% Very Satisfied
Somewhat Satisfied
Neither Satisfied Nor Dissatisfied
Somewhat Dissatisfied
Very Dissatisfied
Don’t Know/Not Applicable
Performance
Admins. discuss budget cuts, tuition hikes
“The regents are asking the right questions,” he said. “In recent regents’ meetings, they have
BY THE NUMBERS:
$65K
Budgeted cost of survey
1,902
Faculty invited to take the survey
38%
Staff response rate to the survey
3,320
Staff invited to take the survey
49% 91% 42% 53% 13% 80% 49% 79% 58%
Staff response rate to the survey Feel faculty role in shared governance is worthwhile. Faculty very dissatisfied with their role in shared governance. Tenured faculty feel “very dissatisfied” with their role in shared governance Very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with their role in shared governance. Disagree a collaborative decision-making environment exists between the faculty and central administration. Disagree the role of the provost is clearly defined. Disagree that academic interests guide financial decisions. Athletics department staff satisfied with communication with the central administration.
GOODBYE GLOOM
by Laurel Brishel Prichard lbrishel@unm.edu
The Board of Regents Finance and Facilities Committee faced the looming possibility of University-wide budget cuts, new construction and increased tuition during its Wednesday morning meeting. Richard Wood, president of the Faculty Senate, said proposed 3.2 percent budget cuts have departments shaking in their boots and looking for ways to avoid cutting jobs. “There’s nothing we can do with these budget cuts that will not affect the students, but right now there are strategies being pursued,” Wood said. “We are raising class sizes from 40 students to 60. That really affects the kind of teaching the instructor can do and the type of learning that can happen.” With possible budget cuts ahead, a tuition hike could be a solution in order to continue funding projects. But when taking any action Regent Jamie Koch said departments should accept proposed cuts and then re-assess the situation. “I think that we should take the 3.2 percent cut across the board for everybody. I think we should not look at a tuition increase,” Koch said. Lazaro “Laz” Cardenas, ASUNM president, said a tuition hike should be avoided at all possible costs. “I hope, personally, that there won’t be any tuition raises or increases this year, but we are facing some pretty
see Meeting page 5
MEN’S SOCCER
Inside the
Daily Lobo volume 115
Robert Maes / Daily Lobo Maya Lucero kicks around shredded paper used to stuff Zozobra. The 50-foot effigy is filled with old detention documents donated by the state government. See page 6 for a feature on “Old Man Gloom.”
Caught reading
Last night’s results:
issue 10
2
3
See page 2
TODAY
92 | 68