Monday Matters
It is common for me to use this column to outline the plans and initiatives that originate with my office. Today I am going to give you a brief update on the progress of some of these initiatives. As you know from my past discussions, there are many additional projects in the works. I will only report on those initiatives that are completed or are nearing completion.
I remember that when Les became our Dean that he frequently used the line that "I am nothing without the faculty and staff." At the time I partially understood this, though I also thought that he wasn't giving his own role enough credit. After being an associate dean for just over a year, I can assure you that Les's statement is accurate and applies to any dean or associate dean. When I consider our accomplishments to date, it strikes me that none of this is my doing. This is all the work of others. I am not just giving you sweet talk here; this is the reality. Whether or not an initiative is successful depends on how the members of the staff embrace and carry out the initiative.
The Budget System
As you know, earlier this year we successfully launched an internal accounting system that allows department chairs and office directors to view the status of their budget on an ongoing basis in a simple spreadsheet format. The spreadsheet shows income, expenses, and balances. The Business Office has been entering every expense as an item in the budget database. In addition, salary savings on grants and contracts have been entered in the system as income items. The salary savings have been split by the department and the College so that department chairs can have an accurate picture of this component of revenue generation. I have arranged with the Graduate School to have invoices for extended graduate campus courses copied to me so that we can also add this anticipated income to budgets as well. We will do this before we receive actual payment on an accounts receivable basis.
Our College Information Technology Office has been working on the second version of our budget system. This will be released within a matter of days. This version will allow individuals viewing the budget to obtain itemized reports for each category. Every expense or income item can be viewed. Also, the budget will be going back onto the Web so that a database program will no longer be needed to view the departmental or office budget.
Budget Update
In anticipation of future budget cuts, department chairs were asked to present scenarios for how they would deal with a 5% budget cut. The scenarios are now being used for planning for the fiscal year 2005 budget. Money has been set aside within the College budget for addressing cuts that may occur this year, but this will reduce the amount of carry forward that is used to balance our budget each year. This means that the cut scenarios presented by departments will become vital to creating a new budget in the spring.
Two-Way Audio-Video Conferencing Center
Thanks to the work of the faculty members in the Educational Technology Program in collaboration with our College Instructional Support Office, we now have a new two-way audio-video conferencing room within the Instructional Support Training Center. This equipment can be used for two-way conferencing, seminar type classes that are held in multiple locations, or any other instructional function that can benefit from two-way audio-video technology. The sights and sounds are transmitted via the internet with no long-distance charges. All that is required is two-way equipment at the other viewing sites. Some additional hardware will soon be installed in the videoconferencing center to provide added features including enhanced sound and presentation capabilities.
Computer Classroom
The Instructional Support Training Center will also soon feature a new technology classroom. This classroom will have 24 desktop stations with state-of-the-art computers. At the time of this writing, electricity has been installed and the stations are being configured. Soon we will add a presentation station and possibly some new furniture. This classroom is made possible through funding that we receive from the student technology fee. This money is earmarked for student-accessible technology within the College.
Staff Bonus Policy
I only received a few comments about the staff bonus policy. I have integrated some suggestions into a revised policy. My next step will be to take the policy to Administrative Council for final feedback before implementation. My plan is to have the policy in place before the spring when the first bonuses will be considered.
College Web Pages
I hope that you have been taking advantage of our dynamic College web pages. Hardly a day goes by when we don't add a form, a news item, or new pages. If you aren't using the College web home pages as your default page for your browser, you will certainly want to bookmark some pages and check them frequently. News items provide a way to keep up with professional development opportunities, funding opportunities, events, and, of course, news from around the College. The forms page has been populated with links to a variety of our most used forms. We will continue to add forms as we create them or find electronic versions. If you have any suggestions for news items, forms you wish were on the forms pages, or anything concerning the College web, don't hesitate to let me know.
Until Next Week,
Mike