EKU Budget Advisory Committee

Charge

The committee was charged by President Benson to identify and recommend a set of strategies to address an anticipated budgetary shortfall of $25 Million for fiscal years 2019 and 2020. Specifically, the committee was asked to engage faculty, staff, and administrators across the University to identify cost reduction measures in a collaborative and open manner.

Members

• David McFaddin, Co-chair
• Tanlee Wasson, Co-chair
• Burke Christensen (representing the EKU faculty-at-large)
• Mary Clements (representing the Chairs’ Association)
• Melinda Compton (representing the Provost’s Office)
• Stephanie King (representing the Staff Council)
• Mark Maier (representing the Office of Legal Counsel)
• Brett Morris (representing Student Success)
• Sarah Pitt (representing Human Resources)
• Barry Poynter (representing Finance and Administration, including Auxiliary Enterprises and Athletics)
• Matt Winslow (representing the Faculty Senate)
• Sara Zeigler (representing the Deans’ Council)

Guiding Principles

When considering strategies, the committee used the following guiding principles:

• Protect students to the greatest extent possible, including scholarships, services, and programs
• Consider high-impact practices for student learning and success
• Support EKU’s strong academic programs with opportunity for growth
• Shield the essential services identified by constituent groups, including Libraries, Tutoring Services, Student Employment, Information Technology, Registrar, e-Campus, and Public Safety

Work Process

The Budget Advisory Committee (BAC) received its charge in November 2017 and immediately began working to develop a timeline for data collection and review. Three primary methods of data collection were identified: 1) small group meetings with each VP area and other constituent groups, 2) web-based survey, 3) review of data from the budget office, IT, and IR.

One of the first decisions by the BAC was on the approach to collecting strategies from each VP area. The chosen methodology was to ask each VP to submit a variable level proposal identifying specific strategies for reducing expenses at the 15, 20, and 25% levels. In order to ensure consistency in the information provided about each strategy, a template was developed that included the submission form, position information, and budget detail for each VP area. The BAC emailed each VP their specific templates on January 7^th and requested submission of the completed templates by January 31^st.  Additional detail about this process is included in the strategy development process flowchart.

The web-based survey asked respondents to identify priority programs and services that should be preserved and those that could be reduced or eliminated. The survey was open from December 9, 2017 to February 27, 2018. The committee reviewed responses from 382 faculty and staff. Members of the BAC met with constituent groups throughout January. In addition to the official committee meetings in the table below, Dean Zeigler and Matt Winslow hosted three drop-in meetings for faculty to provide more opportunities to hear their concerns and recommendations.