No. 10, March 17, 2003

Chancellor: USG an Airliner in Danger of Crashing

New Cuts Would Mean 'Load-Lightening' via Staff Layoffs

Chancellor Thomas C. Meredith was invited last week to address the Conference Committee working to resolve House/Senate differences in the Fiscal Year 2003 Amended Budget.

Focusing on the Senate's proposed additional $3.2 million cut to the University System of Georgia budget and the Senate's removal of the recommendation of $4 million to cover health-insurance rate increases, the chancellor asked the committee to think of the USG's situation from the perspective of an airline pilot. The text of his analogy follows:

"In last year's General Assembly, you passed a $1.433 billion appropriation of formula funds for the University System. That's the amount we had to make our fiscal year "flight."

But as we prepared to take off, we discovered that our passenger list - our students - was not the 217,000 we were budgeted to carry, but 233,000 students. We added [the equivalent of] another Georgia Tech [16,000 students] to the plane.

But, we managed. We figured out, with careful planning, how we could make it to our destination.

But, once we got in the air, we were told we had less fuel than budgeted. This is the $50 million in new reductions after the start of the fiscal year ...So we had to make adjustments early in the flight. We lightened the load and tossed luggage and other equipment.

Our record enrollment meant that we taught 2,200 more classes than the year before. And these classes needed professors. Because of our budget cuts, only 16 percent of those classes (350) were taught by full-time professors. That means 1,850 classes had to be taught by part-time faculty. This is not meant to besmirch our excellent part-time faculty, but this is the opposite direction from where we were heading and doesn't allow the level of full-time faculty involvement Georgia citizens deserve.

From July 1 through February, our presidents have used $957 million of $1.38 billion to teach our students. So our balance at this date - our remaining fuel - is $426 million. But, of this amount, $409 million is obligated for paying our faculty [through June 30], who are teaching our students, other personnel costs, benefits and fixed operating costs.

...We are running on fumes.

...The bottom line is we can make it to the landing safely only if we use the Governor's recommendation of no new cuts and by providing some money for health benefits.

We're almost at the destination. We can see the landing strip. We have just enough fuel to make it safely.

But if we have new cuts - we have to lighten the load even more or crash. All we have left to toss overboard are people. It's too late to throw faculty off the plane. And we're not throwing our students off.

Therefore, we would have to throw off more than 1,000 staff just to attempt a crash landing. And these people are our margin that separates a quality system from others.

We would be throwing overboard the people who enroll our students, counsel our students, provide financial aid information and help students find jobs.

We would be losing the very people who make our plane ready to fly - the folks who make our campuses ready for the next semester so students can be admitted and courses taught. We would be losing the people who handle all the details that allow our professors to teach and do research and our county agents and others to serve the public.

That's why this discussion is at the critical stage. We are no longer discussing travel budgets or new computers or chalk and paper. We are talking people.

We must have a safe landing if we are going to be able to refuel for the summer semester and the all important fall semester. The passenger list for next fall will be much higher than 233,000 students and they will expect the plane to be ready to fly.

We can't let them down - we can't let Georgia down. We can make it, but only if there are no new cuts this fiscal year. That's our pledge and our plea. We can make the landing, but only with your help and no new cuts."

Many University System Administrators Doing Double Duty as Teachers

During a hearing last week on the University System of Georgia's Fiscal Year 2004 Budget, USG officials emphasized their ongoing efforts to be fiscally conservative.

For instance, in addressing the House of Representatives' Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Ann Purcell, Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Daniel S. Papp noted that more USG campus administrators than ever before are balancing their administrative responsibilities with teaching duties.

The University System's record enrollment during Fall 2002 caused 2,200 more classes to be offered than the previous fall. These classes needed professors to teach them, and a surprising number of administrators have stepped forward to fill the gap.

According to Papp, 11 of the 34 USG presidents (32 percent) and 17 provosts/vice presidents for academic affairs (50 percent) now have teaching responsibilities in addition to full-time office jobs, as do 76 of the University System's 102 academic deans (75 percent). Some of them have been teaching classes for years, Papp noted, but many only recently returned to the classroom.

At the department-head level, the teaching rate is 95 percent, and many department heads are juggling three or four courses per semester. Papp said. Among those doing classroom duty these days on some campuses are vice presidents for student affairs and chief business and finance officers, registrars, continuing education directors, information technology directors, development directors, library directors, and physical plant directors.

"So, your administrators are teaching," Papp told the legislators. "In fact, some of them are teaching so much I'm not sure they're even administrators anymore."