Budget Statement for 2011 – 2012 Prepared by Jean Marie Führman for the Budget and Financial Advisory Group November 2011 The 2011 – 2012 Valencia College budget continues to reflect its part in the ongoing institutional effectiveness cycle. While the College Planning Council did not make any revisions for the Budget Principles in 2011 – 2012, two principles have been revised and a new one added in the Budget Principles in 2012 – 2013 to better align our resources with Valencia’s vision, values, mission, and strategic and organizational plans. The budget reflects careful consideration of all aspects of Valencia’s learning‐centered principles with due consideration of revenues and expenditures. The Budget and Financial Advisory Group carefully reviews the budget in terms of compliance with the budget planning principles. Next the Budget Report is reviewed by the College Planning Council. After this, the budget planning principles are explained and discussed in other venues around the College. This year, two principles were revised and a new one added for 2012 – 2013. Budget Principles 1. Strive to maintain continuity of our strategic initiatives and innovations in student learning. Because learning comprises more than just what is delivered in the classroom, this principle has been expanded for the next year: Strive to maintain continuity of our strategic initiatives and innovations in student learning and services. 2. Consider the financial impact on students and the quality of the student experience. 3. Emphasize the value of people; strive to retain employees. Because Valencia appreciates the drive for excellence amongst its employees, this principle has been revised for 2012: Emphasize the value of people; strive to retain and develop quality employees. 4. Ensure essential levels of service in support of Valencia’s mission. 5. Allocate resources to best serve the needs of the college as a whole. 6. Continue to trust those closest to the work to apply principles of effective stewardship in the use of college resources. 7. Base the budget on a multi‐year financial strategy that strikes a balance between making the best use of our resources and managing our fund balance. 8. Make the budget process collaborative and transparent at all levels of the college. 9. A new principle was developed for 2012 – 2013: Continue our “green” initiatives to develop a culture of sustainability at the college. The Budge and Financial Advisory Group feels that Valencia College has been a good steward if its moneys, as well as collaborative and transparent in its distribution.
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Budget Principles Examples & Assessments Principle 1: Strive to maintain continuity of our strategic initiatives and innovations in student learning. The Developmental Education Initiative (DEI) is in its final year. Currently it is focusing on implementing REACH on the Osceola Campus; broadening the infusion of college success skills into developmental education courses as well as the general education classes; assessing the impact of the DEI strategies and developing new competency assessments for developmental education courses; and, finally, planning for the transition of the DEI grant work as the grant closes. The Valencia Honors Program is in the process of transforming to the James M. and Dayle L. Seneff Honors College. This transition involves re‐visioning and re‐vamping the honors curriculum to give more focus and meaning to student experiences. Central to this effort is the expansion of co‐curricular components of the program, including service learning, leadership training, research presentations, the honors international trip, cultural field trips, colloquia, and other activities. In addition, alternate paths to honors admission are being created for Valencia students, and alternate paths to involvement are being developed for Valencia faculty, opening opportunities for excellence throughout the college. Distance learning continues to be in demand. While completely online courses have grown more rapidly than hybrid classes, it should be remembered that almost all courses at Valencia are Blackboard “enhanced” to some degree or other. However, a commitment to provide a continuing measure of face‐ to‐face experiences for students as well as better space/classroom planning could open more hybrid classes in the future. This is one area in need of focused attention. (See attached FTE Distance Learning pdf.) Student learning has expanded outside of the classroom. Campus Learning‐Support Centers are available to assist students who need help in reading skills, English skills and/or mathematical skills. Tutoring services are also available to all students for academic courses in which they are currently enrolled at no cost to the student. Computer labs are available for use in completing Valencia courses work at no charge to the student except for printing. There are numerous Wi‐Fi hotspot locations for students using their own laptops. Orientation has been expanded to include a two‐part, new student orientation for our bachelor‐degree programs. The first part of this new orientation is an online class that students complete. The second part is an individual advising session with the appropriate Career Program Advisor in which prior course work is evaluated and an individual education plan is developed. Career development programs are provided through the Campus Careers Center, Internships and Workforce Services, and various grant initiatives. The College has developed a comprehensive student activities program that encompasses students’ interest through the Student Development Offices, Inter‐Council Clubs, and Student Government Association.
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Finally, because learning comprises more than just what is delivered in the classroom, this principle has been expanded for the next year: Strive to maintain continuity of our strategic initiatives and innovations in student learning and services. Principle 2: Consider the financial impact on students and the quality of the student experience. Students are currently heavily impacted by the cost of tuition; the cost of attending college is increasing at a rate that is two to three times faster than the cost of living. However, among the 28 Florida colleges, Valencia’s tuition falls in the middle of the range. While the College could have raised tuition 11%, it felt that that was too overbearing for students and, therefore, put 3% in reserve. Valencia is a great value when comes to a college education. According to the Orlando Business Journal on November 3, 2011, Valencia is ranked first in the nation among all community colleges in the number of Associate degrees awarded; second in the number of Associate degrees awarded to Hispanics; and third in the number awarded to African‐Americans. Ninety‐five percent of Valencia’s Associate in Science/Applied Science degree graduates have been placed in jobs after graduation earning an average annual salary of $42,060. Just over eighty‐nine percent of Valencia Association of Arts degree graduates who transferred to the Florida State University System in Fall 2010 continued their studies at the University of Central Florida. Principle 3: Emphasize the value of people; strive to retain employees. Retention among faculty and staff at Valencia is high. The turn‐over rate for 2011 was 7.2%, including retirees! Thirty‐three new tenure‐track faculty positions were filled as were thirty‐seven new full‐time staff positions. In‐house, Valencia staff registered an average three percent increase in compensation, which for faculty means one step plus 1.15%. Additionally, the College saw zero percent increase in health‐care premiums. The Teaching and Learning Academy (TLA) continually revises the program based on the feedback of participants and the college‐wide academic community. Its five‐year program review in 2010 revealed a need to improve the consistency in the Individual Learning Plans (ILP) and Portfolio assessment process from panel to panel, division to division, and campus to campus. TLA have implemented two changes to address that concern: they are providing a more formal process for integrating the TLA and dean comments on the first ILP draft, and they are bolstering the year‐2 training by developing a hybrid course that will allow a more comprehensive leveling experience for the panel members. The TLA is also working to develop a scholarly journal for all Valencia faculty, and they are adding to the current Tenure Awards. This new award will be called the Campus Innovation Award and will recognize faculty learning outcomes that have the potential to bring innovation to the college. There will be an award for most of the campuses—Winter Park will be part of the East Campus process, and Lake Nona will be part of the Osceola Campus process. Another way Valencia demonstrates desire to retain quality employees is through a new initiative that provides comprehensive support of college employees. The Organizational Communication and Development office has launched a new professional development program, known as the Valencia
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EDGE, which includes a competency‐based supervisor support program. It is also currently redeveloping the College’s employee recruitment strategy. The Office of Faculty Development, a division of Academic Affairs, supports faculty, part‐time and full‐ time, as they expand their professional practices. The intention of the Faculty Development Program is to engage teachers, scholars, and practitioners in continuous improvement processes that result in student learning. In 2010 – 2011, over 195 faculty development courses were offered to all faculty members. In 2011 – 2012, over 300 courses are anticipated. Faculty development courses are offered in online, hybrid, and face‐to‐face modalities. As part of their professional development, faculty have the opportunity to submit their online courses to Quality Matters, an assessment tool for online courses. To date, 174 faculty members have participated in Quality Matters training. This training was designed for both full‐time and adjunct faculty based on need. Valencia has made a commitment to online teaching and learning. The Office of Faculty Development offers many opportunities for faculty members to explore key issues regarding teaching and learning in the web‐enhanced, hybrid, and online environments. Its offerings are designed to meet the needs of diverse experience levels in teaching online, ranging from the novice to experienced instructor. Its courses and programs help faculty members in developing a framework of best practice strategies for engaging, instructing, and supporting and communicating with students in the online environment. The Office of Faculty Development also offers a Digital Professor Certification Program. This series is designed to culminate in the certification of faculty as “Digital Professors.” This designation will indicate completion of twenty hours of professional development in the areas of pedagogy and technology in online/hybrid teaching and learning. Total Digital Professor Certifications awarded to date is 71. Because Valencia appreciates the drive for excellence amongst its employees, this principle has been revised for 2012: Emphasize the value of people; strive to retain and develop quality employees. Principle 4: Ensure essential levels of service in support of Valencia’s mission. Valencia continues to be technologically active. Last year, the College’s Learning Management System, WebCT, was migrated to Blackboard version 9. This system supports students and faculty in online, hybrid, and web‐enhanced courses. Valencia’s wireless management system was enhanced and upgraded from a product called BlueSocket to a new product called SafeConnect. This new system provides enhanced wireless security and expands wireless capabilities and capacity college‐wide. A new ATLAS email system, Microsoft’s Live@EDU, was implemented. This new system provides students, faculty, and staff with enhanced email capabilities, storage, and access to Microsoft Office applications “in the cloud,” and for “free.” Additionally, Valencia’s Internet connection was converted to Florida Lambda Rail from the old FIRN/DMS connection. Bandwidth was significantly expanded as a result of this upgrade, bringing faster and more responsive Internet connectivity to the college. Moreover, Florida Lambda Rail provides “peering” of major sites such as Google, YouTube, and Facebook—thus offloading this traffic from our commodity Internet connections.
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Microsoft’s Identify Lifecycle Management system was implemented by OIT to provide single sign‐on capabilities across all systems and synchronizing user credentials. Microsoft Active Directory was implemented for all student, faculty, and staff accounts. This system will allow all users to login to the college system using their “ATLAS” credentials and thus eliminate the need for new passwords and “generic” user IDs. Finally, development of Valencia’s first set of mobile device applications is currently underway. A representative group has spent nearly six months investigating and reviewing various mobile application technologies and solutions. The Mobile Advisory Group (a new group) will convene in late Fall 2011 to review and guide Valencia’s release of the first mobile application for such devices as Android, Blackberry, and iPhone. The Testing Centers at Valencia College administer faculty exams, provide testing for students with disabilities (based on OSD accommodation), and make‐up tests for state exit exams and CPT/PERT exams. The West Campus has a shared‐use Testing Center with the University of Central Florida (UCF), and building four at Osceola Campus will provide a similar joint‐use facility with UCF when completed. The Winter Park Campus is a joint‐use center with the Assessment Center which provides campus‐wide PERT and CPT testing for enrolling students. CPT and PERT are provided on a limited basis on the East Campus (Saturdays). All faculty college‐wide may submit a testing referral via ATLAS or in person for student make‐up exams. Valencia College Libraries provide much needed services to students, as well. College‐wide, the libraries are exploring the feasibility of subscribing to platforms so students can check out books on e‐readers. (e.g., Overdrive). Librarians are working with faculty, also, to test an information literacy module to be integrated with Blackboard. The Winter Park Campus Library is focusing book purchases on refreshing the medical circulating collection. It also plans to check out iPads loaded with e‐readers and learning apps to students before the end of Fall 2011 Term. West Campus Library is preparing for the SACS Substantive site visit in November. It is also purchasing resources for the two new BS programs. Most items have been purchased and added to the collection (e‐books, print, and databases). West Librarians are currently researching ease of use and applicability of three different e‐readers. Osceola Campus Library (along with the bookstore and cafeteria) is planning its move to building # 4. East Campus Library is integrating iPads in the library by offering them for checkout to students and through iBook shelf—they are using an iPad so students can see reserved books on Facebook. East Librarians are investigating smartphone apps to provide information about library services (QR codes, Augmented Reality, and Near Field Communication.) Principle 5: Allocate resources to best serve the needs of the college as a whole
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Studying abroad is a serious trend nation‐wide. The Study Abroad and Global Experiences (SAGE) office helps coordinate short‐term and semester study abroad and overseas exchange programs for students, staff and faculty international exchange programs, and international travel for all Valencia employees. Funding for these programs comes from the following sources: SAGE budget, ECA grant, Student Development Activities Fees, Valencia Foundation, International Education budget, campus SPD, personal SPD, personal funds, Honors Department, and personal funds of participants. SAGE is also involved with the implementation of the new Strategic Plan for International Education at Valencia and is a participant on the International Education Steering Committee. Valencia is now a member of the Florida Consortium for International Education (FCIE), and the SAGE Director has been recently appointed as the FCIE Executive Director. Over the past year, the infrastructure of the SAGE office has been put into place along with a communication and marketing plan to faculty and students. Now that the infrastructure is in, the focus this year is on growing participation in study abroad and exchange programs. Short‐term study abroad programs being offered this year include India, Guyana, Italy, England, Denmark, China, Poland, and the Dominican Republic. The SAGE goal is to increase the number of short‐term programs being offered and the number of students participating in these programs. While it has been a challenge to recruit students into the semester study abroad programs, SAGE has three students abroad this fall in China, Italy, and Spain. It is now working with a college in Ecuador to develop a semester study abroad program to study Spanish next summer. As a new designee to issue J visas, Valencia received its first exchange student from Denmark this fall from Roskilde Business College in Roskilde, Denmark. This student is studying business and music at the East Campus. There has been an increased interest in faculty participating in exchange programs overseas. SAGE had two faculty visit the Netherlands last year, and it is anticipating two more exchanges with the Netherlands this year, but these programs are still in development. Another project SAGE has been involved with was working with departments around the College for their input into the Strategic Plan for International Education at Valencia which has been drafted. The SAGE Advisory Committee is now called the International Education Steering Committee charged with overseeing the implementation of the strategic plan over the next five years. The Organizational Communication Development team is serving a deep need to link the College across diverse campuses, programs, and workforce through a new internal communication tool—The Juice and The Grove. The Juice delivers Valencia news weekly online to the entire College. Principle 6: Continue to trust those closes to the work to apply principles of effective stewardship in the use of college resources. Valencia has moved to campus‐based planning as a reflection of this principle, and in 2012 each campus will have a campus plan that will integrate with the College’s strategic plan. Also, each campus has
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established a committee representative of campus administration, faculty, and staff for the distribution of campus level SPD funds. The committee shoulders the responsibility for reviewing each application and making recommendations for funding based upon agreed upon principles and the strategic direction of the college and campus. The committee collaborates to arrive at a consensus recommendation that best serves the college and exemplifies good stewardship of resources. Another very concrete example of this principle at work is the joining of the Math Depot with Student Development on Osceola, and the joining of the Math Center with Student Development on Winter Park, to support the Math Fairs. The Academic side provides the staff and Student Development provides the rewards for student participants, and both of them reach mutual goals for both of their programs. Principle 7: Base the budget on a multi‐year financial strategy that strikes a balance between making the best use of our resources and managing our fund balance. The college takes a long‐term view of its needs. A three‐financial model is used to assist the Senior Staff in projecting various scenarios with the state funding, tuition rates, and enrollment demands. In addition to the required State minimum fund balance, the college plans for contingencies and needs that may not be met by other funding sources. The fund balance for 2011‐12 includes specifically designated funds for the following: $2 million for Osceola land purchase $5 million to cover the State match portion for construction of Osceola Building 4 $3.8 million for half of UCF portion for Osceola Building $1.3 million to cover shortfall in funding for Osceola Building 4 Principle 8: Make the budget process collaborative and transparent at all levels of the college. Valencia College is dedicated to making the budget process both collaborative and transparent. The budget is reviewed, shared, and discussed in the College Planning Council, and it is for everyone to see on the website. The yearly budget is posted online; the budget principles are posted online; and historic budgets are posted online. The College’s financial status is shared with the College Planning Council on a quarterly basis. While the budget is developed annually, it is not static and is managed by the Senior Staff. Leadership Valencia offers budget development training at the end of November for both deans and staff assistants to aid in the development of internal budgets. Faculty and staff are in continuous discussions with their deans who, in turn, are in continuous discussion with their Campus President who finally review everything. Supplemental budgets are submitted from November through March at which point—and with guidance from the College Planning Council—the Senior Staff take ownership of the budget. Principle 9: A new principle was developed for 2012 – 2013: Continue our “green” initiatives to develop a culture of sustainability at the college. The American College & University Presidents’
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Climate Commitment began in 2008, a rare voluntary initiative, leading the United States to address the scientifically necessary goal of climate neutrality. Dr. Shugart signed the commitment in 2009 and recently announced Valencia’s continued efforts in energy conservation with the addition of the Energy Education program. The primary focus of the program, at this time, is identifying energy management opportunities to significantly reduce use of energy and produce savings while striving to maintain an environment conducive to optimal learning. With thorough research and proper selection of equipment, the college has already produced significant monthly water savings of approximately 1 million gallons. These savings will continue as efforts for sustainability becomes more prominent and vital for the college. Thanks to Keith Houck, Joan Tiller, Donna Kosloski, Sherri Dixon, Elisha Gonzalez Bonnewitz, and Bonnie Oliver for their assistance in the creation of this report. Budget and Financial Advisory Group Membership, 2011 – 2012 Evelyn Jimenez Keith Houck, Co‐chair BFAG Joan Tiller, Co‐Chair of College Planning Council Jean Marie Führman, Co‐Chair BFAG and Co‐ Kristin Abel Chair of College Planning Council Michael Shugg Bonnie Oliver Nicoleta Brandolini Bradley Honious Noelia Maldonado Rodriguez David Sutton Patty Nicholas Derek Harris Sherri Dixon Donna Kosloski Elisha Gonzalez Bonnewitz Please note the upcoming Co‐Chairs of the College Planning Council and of the BFAG Diane Dalrymple, 2012 – 2013 Bob Gessner, 2013 – 2014
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