AHC FACULTY CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE

April 13, 1999

Minutes of the Meeting

PRESENT: Muriel Bebeau (chair), Judith Garrard, Patricia Ferrieri, David Hamilton, Carole Bland, Kathleen Krichbaum

REGRETS: Stephanie Valberg

ABSENT: Frederic Hafferty, Timothy Wiedmann

GUESTS: Katherine Johnston (AHC CFO)

Professor Bebeau welcomed Katherine Johnston who agreed to make a presentation to the committee regarding how the budget process works and also about roles and responsibilities of a number of individuals in the AHC administration. She distributed a document titled "Basics of Budget Development."

Ms. Johnston began her presentation by directing members' attention to page three of the document and pointed out some of the reasons why attention needs to be paid to budgets. She pointed out that the AHC is promoting an institutionalized and consistent approach to budgeting across all colleges and schools.

She then identified key components of successful budget processes.

• Distributed authority, responsibility and accountability
• Bottom-up establishment of priorities
• Collaborative, consultative decision making
• Clear, concise performance expectations
• Continuous, effective communication

Roles and Responsibilities in the Budget Process

Governing Board (Board of Regents)

• Creating the climate for resource management
• Ultimate responsibility and accountability for:

• Viable long-range finance plan
• Oversight of institutional financial performance
• Resource Maximization and financial stability

Ms. Johnston pointed out that the President delegates some of these responsibilities to people such as Provost and Executive Vice President Robert Bruininks and Senior Vice President Frank Cerra. With respect to the role of the business officers, she said that she believes that person should be a consultant not a controller and provide the right information at the right time to assist decision-makers in their decisions as well as provide information to consultative groups.

Diverting from the document, Ms. Johnston noted that the President has insisted that there be paragraph in the compact about how school compacts were developed and what kind of communication there was to develop those priorities and to also inform the constituencies in the departments and colleges. She said it is very clear to her that the President has the expectation that the priorities identified in the compact come from the bottom up. The connection between the compacts, strategic plans and the resource decision is not yet perfect she said, and will take time. However, it is moving in the right direction. She said she believes that this new process is the best attempt she has seen to make all of those components fit together.

The discussion then turned towards the issue of decision-making and the consultative process. One member commented that it is the perception of the vast majority of the faculty that no decisions are made with their input, nothing substantial in terms of allocation of resources or financial issues. If things in fact are changing, then it seems that it is being done in very small steps. In at least two departments, it was said, there is very little consultation, even with the department heads.

Ms. Johnston responded that consultation is a two-way street and that it takes time, especially when there is a culture to change. She then directed members' attention to page 9 of the document, pointed to the item regarding consultation and added that it should start from the top and cascade down to every level. She suggested that it is not only the role of the AHC FCC to communicate to the Sr. Vice President but to their colleagues as well. Communication is a theme throughout, she added.

Members then spent some time discussing the issue of training and that the result from training will cut down on administrative costs, specifically for Forms NIRVANA.

With respect to advisory committees, Ms. Johnston commented that she would prefer that students and staff were included in the membership to ensure a much broader participation in the communication process. It was then realized that the FCC ought to set up a meeting with the SCC (Student Consultative Committee).

Moving on, Ms. Johnston said that it is absolutely essential that the budget connect to the strategic plan. The most important of the budget process is collecting data, both internal and external information, she said. Composing the elements of the budget includes forecasting available revenues and projecting expenses. The next phases of the budget cycle include making resource allocation decisions and executing and evaluating the approved budget. The long-term financial plan is derived from the strategic plan. She reminded members that this is a "living document" and should be updated regularly to reflect the bottom line.

Members expressed an interest in knowing with whom Ms. Johnston works throughout the budget process. She explained that she reports to the Senior Vice President and works with the deans and their fiscal officers; she works with central administration; the AHC FCC; and national associations. Ms. Johnston said she wants to learn as much as she can about what the priorities of the schools are so she can translate them into dollars.

There should be an opportunity to present their positions and their highest priorities as long as everybody understands that there will never be enough resources to fund every good idea, she said. She reported that the deans are invited to a retreat in June and have been asked to be prepared to talk about their compacts and how their priorities were developed and what funding those priorities means to schools and what it means to not fund them.

One member asked for help in understanding the connection between the University's mission, vision and strategic plan and that of the AHC and its colleges, departments, and its compact. Ms. Johnston responded that the AHC does have a vision and each of the schools has a strategic plan. The compacts are suppose to be a derivative of the schools' strategic plans and should reflect the objective of the schools' long-term goals. The next step, she said, is to drive that process to the departments and to the programs as well. If faculty feel that they have not been consulted about the process, then they should talk to their department head.

Ms. Johnston volunteered to come back at another time to discuss the compact process and how it gets implemented. Members expressed their appreciation for Ms. Johnston's efforts.

OTHER BUSINESS

• Concern was raised regarding the edict from NIH about subcontracts.
• AHC workshops on "Enhancing the Consulting Process" overall were very successful. Results from the survey and questionnaires will be compiled and shared with members.
• Muriel Bebeau has been reelected to serve on the AHC FCC. Professors Robert Miller, Physiology and James Boulger, UMD School of Medicine will begin their terms July 1999. Professors David Hamilton and Frederic Hafferty are rotating off.

• Katherine Johnston will be invited to an upcoming meeting to discuss the compacts and how they are implemented.

Hearing no further business, the meeting was adjourned.

Vickie Courtney

University of Minnesota