UNC Budget Priorities

Here are the new UNC Budget Priorities. The conference between House and Senate begins tonight. The work should be done by 30 June.

Let me hear your discussion and questions.

The University of North Carolina
2010 Budget Conference Committee Priorities


Minimize Cuts: On TOP of the $50.6 million of University cuts already in the 2010-11 budget, the Senate assigns another $50 million of management flexibility cuts, while the House includes another $147 million. The House proposal would mean the loss of 1,700 additional jobs across the University; the Senate proposal would mean the loss of 800. We urge conferees to reduce overall University cuts to a minimum and to grant full flexibility.

Operating Reserves for New Buildings: In the current biennium, 55 buildings on 15 campuses are scheduled to come on line [UNCC bioinformatics, NCSU engineering complex III, UNC-CH science complex, UNCW school of nursing, ECU family medicine, ECSU pharmacy, etc.]. The Senate provides NO funds to operate these new buildings (maintenance, utilities, security), and the House provides only $12M (60% of the dollars required). We urge conferees to adopt the House approach and to increase the level of operating funding further if at all possible.

Need-Based Financial Aid: The Senate fully funds our request for need-based financial aid ($34.9M) with one-time dollars. The House provides only $12 million of aid. Under the House plan, some 6,000 to 8,000 North Carolina undergraduates would not receive need-based grant aid for which they are qualified. We urge conferees to fully fund the UNC Need-Based Aid Program and to use recurring dollars to the extent possible.

Salaries: The Senate maintains FY 09-10 salary restrictions through FY 10-11. The House prohibits all salary increases from any funding source, except for promotions. This provision effectively precludes the use of distinguished professorship matching funds (including those needed to sustain the Spangler initiative) and the Faculty Recruitment & Retention Fund. At a minimum, in this time of scarce state resources we should use federal and private funds to keep our best professors in our public University classrooms and doing research that benefits North Carolina. We urge conferees to adopt the Senate language and allow our campuses to use federal and private funds to attract, retain, and reward our faculty.

Furloughs: The Senate provides furlough authority to the UNC President for FY 10-11 to offset management flexibility reductions. Furloughs can be an important tool for managing budget reductions in a tough year like this. We urge conferees to adopt the Senate position.

Repairs and Renovations: Both the Senate ($70.2 million) and House ($35 million) provide R&R funding for the University. The percentage of the state pool directed to the University by the Senate more closely reflects the University’s actual share of state-supported facilities. Adequate R&R funding is critical; otherwise campuses are forced to draw on academic budgets to pay for essential repairs. We urge conferees to adopt the Senate approach.

Tuition: Both the House and Senate adopt the alternative tuition proposal put forward by the Board of Governors. While the Senate authorizes additional tuition increases of up to $750 to help offset the impact of budget cuts, the provision as written does not allow campuses to set aside some portion of this supplemental tuition increase for need-based financial aid. Conversely, a provision in the House budget requires that 50% of all campus-initiated tuition increases be set aside for need-based aid. This mandated percentage set-aside fails to acknowledge differing campus need profiles. We urge conferees to provide discretion for UNC campuses to set aside a defensible portion of all tuition increases for need-based financial aid. Current Board of Governors tuition policy requires campuses to use at least 25% of new tuition revenues for need-based aid.

Eliminate Enrollment Cap: While both the House and Senate fully fund University enrollment growth for 2010-2011, the House caps enrollment growth for 2011-12 at 1%. North Carolina has never denied access to qualified North Carolinians. We urge conferees to eliminate this provision.



Other UNC Special Provisions:
• Limit Transition Packages (Section 29.5A) – As requested by the General Assembly, the Board of Governors has dramatically reduced the pay and leave available to chancellors and other senior administrators returning to faculty positions. We urge conferees to delete this unnecessary provision.

• Amend COPS/UNCG Land (Section 30.6) – UNCG asks that $6.5 million of funds designated for its
Classroom Building be reallocated to construct a tunnel under busy Lee Street and the railroad to connect the main campus to the only area where UNCG can grow. This would provide a safer passageway for our students and other pedestrians. We urge conferees to grant this request.

• Academic Scholarship Provision (Section 9.25) – We urge conferees to preserve the tuition differential for nonresident students on full academic scholarship.