~-
Volume 6 . :mile JO
"Growing with a growing community."
-
-- - - - - - - - -
October 26, 1983
Audit Draft Findings Uncovered by Carson Reed A summary of the preliminary findings of the State Performance Audit of the Auraria Campus, first disclosed to a "Liaison Committee" on October 3, has been made available to The Metropolitan through an unidentified source. The summary outlines the audit team's findings in five of the six areas which they had hoped to examine over the last six months. Theaudit was commissioned by the Legislature to examine the efficiency of the "shared campus" concept in specific areas. The summary does not include the final recommendations of the auditors, which will be a part of their official report, scheduled to be completed in December. Areas examined by the auditors were: 1. Space assignments 2. Roles and missions 3. Academic cooperation 4. Decision making 5. The Auraria Libr
Among the apparent findings: •Crosslisting of classes between UCD and MSC has been positive for students at both schools, providing them with greater access to classes, which might otherwise be difficult to take because of time schedules. •At the same time, crosslisting has had a decidedly negative effect on the administrations of both UCD and MSC, costing MSC significant amounts of tuition and causing continuing concern at UCD over academic control of its programs. •Problems on campus which seem to have been resolved frequently recur. •No clear way of resolving disputes among the institutions has been found. •As a result, the Legislature and the Colorado Commission on Higher Education are currently "managing" the campus through legislation. . *Degree programs examined at
the three institutions were found to be generally different from one another, reflecting a .continued fidelity to the different missions of the three schools. *Ongoing problems at the Auraria Library appear to be. the result of insufficient input from the institutions, and as a result of decisions being made at too high a level. *Overall, the Auraria Higher Education Center needs an additional 25,000 assignable square feet of space to function well in the future - a definite increase, but far less than AHEC' s current projections. *Currently, a number of space problems already exist. These include: *There are too many small classrooms, but not enough large · classrooms. *Faculty, particularly at MSC ·and DACC, need more office space.
*The library is overcrowded. *Science labs, especially in the Technology Building, are not being used efficiently. Although Auditor Robert Haddock acknowledged that preliminary findings of the performance audit were disclosed to a liaison committee on October 3, he said he could neither confirm or deny any information concerning the audit. Haddock said that a Colorado statute specifically prohibits st~te employees from disclosing the information prior to approval of the Legislature. · "It's a misdemeanor to do that, and I would lose my job," Haddock said. Because the information has not yet been finalized, preliminary findings may ultimately be altered through the responses of the members of the liaison committee, Haddock said. continued .on page 3
AHEC Printing Office Cut,s Off MSC Credit by Jacqueline
s: Clary
AHEC has stopped printing services for MSC claiming MSC's printing budget for this year is expended - while MSC claims to have approximately $40,000 in credit left to use. MSC President Richard Fontera has taken the problem t,p the state Attorney General's office to see if AHEC can legally deny these services to MSC. .. Right now we've got no dialogue, so we have no negotiations," said Jim Vanderhye, MSC As,,oclate Vice President of Business and Finance. · MSC is now using the state Central Services printing facilities supplemented by a private local printing company. In 1980 the College Consortium for Higher Education strongly suggested a transfer of MSC's printing facilities to AHEC. In addition, the Legislature suggested the same move in a footnote of the Long Appropriation Bill of that year. Since the Long Bill is the act by which MSC and other schools receive their yearly budget, MSC felt compelled to consider, and approve this transfer. MSC transferred its printing, equipment and personnel in exchange for a yearly credit based on projected printing needs with yearly appropriation increases.
i
Vanderhye said MSC expected a natural increase in expenses the first two years, but it didn't mat~rialize. MSC ran under budget for those two years, leading it to believe it had credit coming. In February of this year MSC knew it would reach the end of it< budget for printing services, bu. felt secure in the fact that AHEC would then apply the credit from the previous two years. AHEC didn't. Deputy Executive Director of AHEC Jim Schoemer said that tht excess money was used up in AHEC's General Fund going mainly for salaries of the clasmied civil service employees. Vanderhye said the money MSC gives AHEC through MSC's General Fund cannot be controll~ ed. He would ·prefer to purchase specific services for specific amounts so MSC would have more options and control in the service it purchases, such as printing. AHEC said all they want from MSC is a commitment that MSC will pay for its printing from now on, just as any other customer does. In an August SI, 1983 memorandum from Schoemer to Fontera, Schoemer warned Fontera that MSC had an unpaid bill of over $49,000 for printing services. Schoemer also pointed out that in a July meeting with MSC financial personnel MSC indicated an ability
to pay the 1982-83 bill from its 1982-83 budget but had failed to do so before July l, 1983, the end of the fiscal year. That dropped MSC's 1983-84 credit from approximately $90,000 to $39,000. An October 10 memo to Schoemer from MSC Vice President of Business and Finance Curtis Wright requested that MSC be allowed to continue the use of the printing services until Fontera and AHEC Executive Director Jerry W artgow could get together and . resolve the dispute over print shop credits and charges.
On October 12, a memo from Schoemer to Wright said MSC was encouraged to continue using the print shop, "however, at such a time that the credit is consumed and it appears that this level has nearly been reached - we will have to have a guarantee, per memorandum, of timely payment." Then on October 12, at 3:30 p.m., MSC's credit was all gone and the AHEC pript shop closed its doors to MSC. "They'd had enough time to negotiate. They · knew this was coming for a long time," Schoemer said.
Rep. Schroeder P ge 4
Capt. Hopper
Page 5