This newsletter is available on the web at www.ucop.edu/news/budget/issue7.html.
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This
is another of our periodic updates on the California State
budget. As I have reported in my previous messages to you,
the State is continuing to seek ways to close a budget gap
estimated as high as $35 billion, and substantial cuts have
been proposed in most areas of State spending.
Work continues on 2003-04 state budget
Legislative hearings are underway on the Governor’s 2003-04 budget proposal, which contains a variety of cuts to programs at the University of California. Details about the Governor’s proposal can be found here.
UC Regents heard an update on the state budget on April 3, and they will continue to discuss the budget at their May meeting. More information will become available in mid-May, when the Governor will issue the “May Revision” updating revenue forecasts and expenditure proposals.
State funding for UC salaries: While maintaining competitive compensation for faculty and staff remains a high budget priority for UC, our ability to achieve this goal has been significantly hampered by the current state budget deficit. As has been previously announced, the Governor’s current budget proposal provides no state funds for UC salary increases.
At this month’s Board of Regents meeting, Vice President for Budget Larry Hershman said the University still hopes to find ways of addressing this issue in 2003-04. He said the University believes it needs to continue funding faculty merit increases, as well as to identify some way to financially recognize staff employees, particularly lower-paid staff.
Hershman said systemwide faculty salaries are expected to lag UC’s comparison institutions by approximately 9 percent next year, and that this continued erosion of competitive faculty compensation is putting real pressure on the University’s recruitment and retention efforts. He also noted that faculty undergo extensive peer reviews every three years to determine merit and promotion status, and that a serious inequity would occur for the one-third of the faculty scheduled for review in a given year if faculty merit increases were not paid in that year. On the staff side, Hershman indicated that several employee groups also lag the market. He stated that one way the University could help staff employees – especially UC’s lower-paid employees – would be to again help defray for employees a portion of the rising cost of health insurance. More information about these issues will become available as the budget process progresses.
Hershman reassured the Board that University leaders will continue to emphasize with legislators the critical importance of adequate state funding for UC salaries in order to maintain institutional quality.
Student fees: At their May meeting, the UC Regents are expected to set student fee levels for fall 2003. The Governor’s budget assumes that mandatory systemwide fees will rise $795 per year for resident undergraduates, in addition to the $405 annual increase taking effect in the spring 2003 term. There would be similar increases for graduate and professional students. These increases would replace state funding being cut from the student instructional program at UC. Financial aid would increase to protect low-income students from the fee hike, and UC is looking at options for increasing financial aid to some middle-income families, too. More information on student fees is available here.
Mid-year budget cuts: Meanwhile, most of the 2002-03 mid-year budget cuts proposed by Gov. Davis for the UC system have been approved by the Legislature. All $74 million in proposed cuts, described here, were approved, with one exception: a $3.3 million proposed reduction to educational outreach.
Voluntary reduction-in-time program proposed
In an effort to relieve some of the financial pressure the current state budget deficit is exerting on the University, UC is considering for implementation this June a temporary, voluntary reduction-in-time program called the Staff and Academic Reduction in Time (START) program.
Since individual campuses and departments are being impacted differently by the current budget challenges, participation in START will be determined at the departmental level according to budgetary and operational needs.
With supervisor approval, the proposed program would allow employees the opportunity to reduce the amount of time they work between 10 and 50 percent of their full time.* Employees would be able to enroll in the program beginning May 1, and actual time reductions could begin as early as June 1. At the conclusion of any period of reduced time under START, participants will return to the percentage of time they were working prior to the program. Departmental participation may begin at any time after May 1, and the program will continue through June 30, 2005.
In return for a voluntary reduction in time, program participants will:
- Accrue, on a month by month basis, vacation and sick leave credits at the rate accrued prior to the commencement of START;
- Accrue, on a month by month basis, UCRP service credit at the rate accrued prior to commencement of the program (provided that the employee is on pay status for at least 50 percent of full time during each month of participation);
- Earn UCRP pension, death, and/or disability income based on their pre-START salary; and
- Be protected from any mandatory salary reduction plan during their participation in START, should such a plan become necessary.
As is UC custom, the START proposal is currently undergoing formal institutional review. Complete details and information on how you may comment on the proposed program are available through your local Human Resources office.
*The University is working with unions regarding represented employees' participation in START.
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Questions and Answers Q&A archive: Browse recent questions and answers on UC employee issues. Q.
How can the University continue to advertise for job openings in
the midst of a hiring freeze, not to mention layoffs in certain
areas? In keeping with the Governor’s intent for hiring restrictions, the University has excluded positions that are needed to meet the University’s educational mission and to provide certain specialized skills. Accordingly, campuses have the discretion to recruit for select individual positions as they deem necessary and as their personnel budgets allow. Q.
What kinds of raises are top administrators receiving this year? Q.
I understand that some employees get paid from state funds while
others get paid from other types of funds, such as research grants.
Even though there may not be state funds for salary increases, will
employees not paid out of state funds still get a salary increase? Q.
What can I do to help? Got a budget question? Use this form to submit it. Due to the volume of submissions, we can't provide an individual answer to every question — but the feedback is important, and we will do our best to answer some frequently asked questions in our next edition. |
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