Members Present: Sen. Robert Montgomery, Committee Co-Chair
Rep. Afton Bradshaw, Committee Co-Chair
Sen. Leonard Blackham
Sen. Paula Julander
Sen. Millie Peterson
Rep. Patrice M. Arent
Rep. Melvin R. Brown
Rep. Mary Carlson
Rep. Margaret Dayton
Rep. Carl. R. Saunders
Rep. Jack E. Seitz
Rep. Richard M. Siddoway
Rep. LaWanna "Lou" Shurtliff
Rep. Gordon E. Snow
Members Absent: Sen. Terry Spencer
Staff Present: Boyd A. Garriott, Senior Legislative Fiscal Analyst
Debra Headden, Legislative Fiscal Analyst
Rolayne Day, Secretary
Others Present: Commissioner Cecelia Foxley
President Grace Sawyer Jones, CEU
President Gerald Day, Snow College
Rep. Brad King, Dean of Students, Snow College
Dr. Rick White, VP of Academic Affairs, Snow College
Dr. Rick Wheeler, VP of Student Affairs, Snow College
Dr. Carl Holmes, Executive Vice President, Snow South
Dr. Max Lowe, USHE
Katie Jean Larson, Director of Outreach Education, Snow College
Wilson Martin, Division of State History
Dr. Peter Goss, Graduate School of History, UU
Russ Mendenhall, Snow College
Regent Pamela Atkinson
President Frank Budd, SLCC
Brad Mortensen, GOPB
List of Others Present on File:
Committee Co-Chair Bradshaw called the meeting to order at 2:13 p.m.
1. Noncompensation Funding for Budgets_Analyst Boyd Garroitt said higher education has had no cost of living increases over the last decade. Institutions have had to reallocate money from other areas leaving shortages across the system. O & M has been reallocated to deferred maintenance, and many of the buildings are starting to deteriorate and show wear. If they had been taken care of when they should have been, it would not be a problem. Other operating budgets have also not been met. The Board of Regents is proposing that the State add $30 per student to the funding formula to help meet some of the operating expenses; the Governor recommends $25 per student. Mr. Garriott said there were no performance nor accountability objectives included in the proposal. The Fiscal Analysts's Office is concerned because this is a problem in all agencies across the State.
Commissioner Foxley said the Board of Regents and each of the institutions rank this request as the second most important. Even with a $30 per student increase, they would only be able to address 20% of the problems. They would like to begin with $30 and phase in to a total of $600 over ten years. $30 per student would raise about $2.5 million.
Rep. Siddoway asked if the money would apply to both O & M and capital. Commissioner Foxley said the AR & I funds through Capital Facilities are separate; this request does not deal with building maintenance, it deals with student services. Mr. Garriott said the money could be used for O & M, but when a building is funded, enough is put into the budget for O & M. A number of the older buildings do not have money for repairs. Many institutions put a course fee on top of the normal tuition and fees in order to build up some operating funds to maintain and operate a department. There has not been any money in the last decade allocated to any agency in the State to cover operating budget increases. Commissioner Foxley said higher education has actually received a 20% decrease in this area since 1991.
Rep. Saunders asked how the money would be distributed at the Governor's recommendation of $25 per student. Mr. Garriott said the regents would like to see funding go to them for allocation to the institutions. The analysts, however, would like to distribute it to the institutions proportional to their enrollments. If this is done for higher education and not the other State agencies, it would create an imbalance. He suggests that when legislators discuss the issue in caucuses, they consider how to deal with it on a state wide basis.
MOTION: Sen. Montgomery moved to add $2.5 million for operating costs from a $30 per student increase in the funding formula to the unfunded list.
The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Carlson absent at the time of voting.
2. College of Eastern Utah Presentation_President Grace Sawyer Jones introduced those present from CEU. Rep. Brad King, Dean of Students, said CEU is the only two-year institution that has the same mission they started with in 1937. They continue to serve a large number of first generation college students. CEU has an unusually high number of full-time faculty (12% adjunct faculty). The San Juan Campus was added in October 1977, there is a center in Moab and a new center in Castle Dale. Since CEU is so spread out geographically, they have duplicate services in each of the centers.
CEU has real-time interactive courses serving 1,000 students. They don't have the money for O & M for equipment necessary for these courses.
President Jones said the Castle Dale Center for Higher Education is shared with the local school district. The first building for the Moab Center will be funded by the Economic Development Association (EDA). They also have an articulation agreement with Arizona to serve small towns in the I-70 area. The San Juan Center continues to grow with a new Arts and Conference Center to be built by EDA funding.
CEU's greatest issue is the technology delivery construction. They asked for $500,000 for the last three years and have not received any money so far. Their system has saved the State over and over again while serving an area of over 17,000 square miles. If one part of the technology fails, it will be gone and these people will not get their instruction.
The Moab and Emery sites have not received any money. At some point, USU received money to service that region, but CEU has not. They have had to take from other areas to fund these sites.
President Jones discussed requests for O & M for the Student Center at the Price Campus, the criminal justice program, student life outreach and development, information services, a recruiter at the San Juan Campus, museum studies, and a request for the trucking/mining areas. They also need funding for a half-time policeman to replace grant money.
Mr. Garriott said there was no request for technology instruction. President Jones said there is a funding request under Y2K. Mr. Garriott asked how Y2K fits into the technology instruction request. President Jones said they asked originally for $3 million for their technology system for the Y2K problem. She said they need on-going funding. Mr. Garriott pointed out that the analysts funded the O & M from carry forward money. President Jones said they didn't occupy the building until August 17, but the building was being prepared before that and the money has been spent.
Mr. Garriott asked why the non-instruction costs were so high. President Jones said they had high early retirement costs last year and their central telephone and mail systems are different from other institutions.
3. Snow College Presentation_President Gerald Day said Snow College takes their mission to educate, to inspire students to love learning, and to lead students to serve others seriously. Their entire enrollment (including concurrent enrollment but not Snow South) is 3,000. Snow South will add about 700 students. They have grown rapidly over the last decade, but their hallmark is quality. President Day discussed college, faculty, and student recognitions. Ninety-three percent of Snow's students live away from home; the college provides a lot for the students to do. Students are mostly young, single, female, and there is a higher FTE than headcount.
The growth money request is absolutely essential for Snow South to function. Institutional priorities include a POST-certified police officer. Ephriam provides police services, but it is time for Snow to add an officer to their staff. They also need three additional faculty to handle their current load with the semester conversion.
Vice President Rick Wheeler discussed the Work-to-Learn Program that helps provide student employment. It has helped with retention and the overall learning experience as well as departmental efficiency. Snow would like to expand the opportunities.
President Day said there has been a dramatic increase in the demand for prison education. They could use three full-time faculty members and as many as 19 additional general education courses to meet that demand. Prison education isn't something that institutions want to put as a high priority. Snow supports educational services in the prisons, but there has to be a closer partnership between higher education, public education, and the prisons or it will continually fall through the cracks. If education is a serious element in the attempt to reduce recidivism, it would not be a bad idea to sentence prisoners to educational achievement. Utah Corrections records show that of the prisoners leaving prison with an associates's degree, only two have returned to prison, one on an outstanding warrant in the state of Kansas and one in Montana. The other 23 have not yet returned to prison. They would need $145,000 to meet demands at the Gunnison Prison.
Dr. Carl Holmes, Executive Vice President at Snow College South, said the merger is going well. ATE programs at Snow South are continuing to expand and grow. This year, much to the credit of the expansion to Snow College, the students have come in greater numbers. They have many more full-time students that has caused the hiring of new instructors in several areas. At the same time, college enrollment offered through Snow, USU, and SUU has also increased.
Dr. Holmes said they are concerned that the performance and productivity part of the funding will be left out of the transfer from public education. That money was built into the institution as part of the total budget. The money would just be distributed among the other ATCs if it isn't given to Snow South.
Mr. Garriott said the productivity and performance funding is one-time funding and there is no guarantee that the institutions will get that funding from year to year. The analyst that does that budget subtracts it from the base each year and then it is appropriated to the State Board of Education for performance and other rewards for public education. Dr. Holmes said he understands the rational, but it has been put into their base budget for on-going programs. If they had been aware that it was one-time funding, they wouldn't have built it into on-going programs. He recommends that it be given to Snow South at least for this year.
Katie Jean Larson, Director of Outreach Education, said the Traditional Building Skills Institute was formed in response to needs in the field of building construction and restoration. They draw instructors from within and outside of the State to get the very best instructors they can get.
Wilson Martin, Division of State History, Dr. Peter Goss, Dean, UU Graduate School of History, and Russ Mendenhall, Snow Construction Department, discussed the importance of craftsman training and the demand for traditional building skills. Ms. Larson said the institute is growing and it is time to get it on sound financial funding. President Day said the workshops are all for fee, non-credit courses; administrative resources are handled by the College.
Sen. Blackham said the request is an initiative rather than a bill and funding is a one-time allocation of $50,000 and on-going of $51,900. He would appreciate the support of this Committee.
MOTION: Sen. Blackham moved to advise Executive Management that $50,000 in one-time funding and $51,900 in on-going funding for Snow College's Traditional Building Skills Institute is placed on the Higher Education Committee's unfunded list.
The motion passed unanimously.
Regent Atkinson said prisoners lack the skills and education they need to survive outside prison. She requested that the Higher Education Subcommittee support education and training of prisoners. Sen. Montgomery said the Corrections and Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittees all have some appropriations for prison education. Mr. Garriott said there is a $300,000 on-going amount that is now distributed among four institutions (SLCC, SUU, USU, and Snow). President Frank Budd said SLCC uses that money and some of the College's money as well for prison education. They have requested three full-time faculty to teach at the prison as one of their institutional priorities.
Brad Mortensen, GOPB, said transferring funding from Snow South to the public education budget would essentially hurt students and he recommends that the transfer not take place. Mr. Garriott said it was never intended to be on-going and it is set aside for performance rewards in public education. Dr. Max Lowe, USHE, said some of the criteria depends on enrollment not just performance rewards and it isn't seen as one-time money. Commissioner Foxley said the money ought to follow the students regardless of what system the money is in. Mr. Garriott said if people have built on-going programs with one-time money, it is unfortunate.
4. State Board of Regents Presentation_Commissioner Foxley said even though the base budget requests are under the Board of Regents, the money funnels down to the institutions. The regents' requests have been discussed throughout previous meetings. She asked that as much flexibility be allowed the institutions as possible. The regents will meet on Wednesday to set tuition levels. If there should be additional funding generated through tuition increases, Commissioner Foxley requested the flexibility for institutions to be able to put that funding where the needs are most great. She also requested flexibility to use the $30 enrollment increase as well.
Sen. Montgomery said he presented the Committee's unfunded list to the Executive Chair. Rep. Bradshaw said the Governor has recommended a 2.5% tuition increase and the analysts have figured a 4% increase. She doesn't think that money should be built into the budget until the regents make a decision. Mr. Garriott said they looked at what is happening nationally and in other institutions in the State and used the 4% figure. The analysts recommend supplementing the compensation package with tuition increases or funding other items that will directly help students in the institutional priorities from each institution. The EMIA problem is very serious. The figure is $6 million for a 4% tuition increase; each tuition percent increase represents $1.25 million in increased funding.
Co-Chair Bradshaw said the Committee should take the handout of unfunded institutional priorities and prioritize them. All institutions prioritized their lists except the University of Utah who prioritize as follows: (1)Access enhancement for high demand areas; (2)libraries_enhanced collections, digitizing collections, and distance ed/document delivery; (3)AHEC; (4)funding for human genetics; (5)management information systems
(PeopleSoft); (6)critical needs in academic technology; and (7)PhD in Public Health. The UEN doesn't appear on
any of the priority lists because it is funded separately.
Mr. Garriott said as far as the Executive Committee is concerned, the Higher Education Subcommittee can allocate
the money as they see fit, but they cannot exceed $2.3 million. The needs in higher education are as great as they
are in other committees. Mr. Garriott discussed the analyst handouts on unfunded items, those the Committee has
added to the on-going funding list, UEN, and institutional building blocks; bills pertaining to higher education are
also included on the handouts. Some items could be funded by the tuition increase and there is the WGU carry
forward one-time money plus the $414,000 in on-going that has been given to electronic courses and programs by
motion at an earlier meeting.
Sen. Montgomery asked if there is any unallocated FY 98 or FY 99 supplemental money. Mr. Garriott said the
WGU carry over money would fit that. He will check to see if there is any FY 99 supplemental money still
available. Commissioner Foxley is worried about an incomplete list of unfunded items and noted that the amounts
on the handouts are the Fiscal Analyst's recommendations and not the regents requests. The Campus Compact and
some other items are missing from the list.
MOTION: Sen. Montgomery moved to add $75,000 for the Campus Compact to the unfunded items list.
The motion passed unanimous with Sens. Julander and Peterson and Rep. Carlson absent at the time of voting.
5.
Legislative Intent_Analyst Debra Headden discussed proposed intent language.
Rep. Arent asked if the Growth Management Act enacted last week conflicts with the proposed fuel and power
intent language. Mr. Garriott said statute takes precedence over intent language so if there is a problem, the statute
would take precedence.
MOTION: Rep. Siddoway moved to adopt intent language as follows:
It is the intent of the Legislature that the State Board of Regents closely supervise fuel and power budgets. If surplus fuel and power funds appear likely in FY 1999, the Regents may authorize expenditures in excess of
10 percent of the projected surplus for energy efficiency projects, then other critical institutional needs. These
authorizations should be reported to the Legislature in the annual budget requests. No supplemental
appropriation for fuel and power will be considered except for emergency measures or for unanticipated rate
increases.
The motion passed unanimously with Sens. Julander and Peterson and Rep. Carlson absent at the time of voting.
MOTION: Rep. Snow moved to adopt intent language as follows:
It is the intent of the Legislature that the Utah State Board of Regents in consultation with the Utah Academic Library Consortium coordinate system library funding for the University of Utah, Utah State University, Weber
State University, Southern Utah University, Snow College, Dixie College, College of Eastern Utah, Utah
Valley State College, and Salt Lake Community College.
The motion passed unanimously with Sens. Julander and Peterson and Rep. Carlson absent at the time of voting.
MOTION: Rep. Saunders moved to adopt intent language as follows:
It is the intent of the Legislature that the programmatic funding for the Utah Electronic Course-work and Programs be designated for distance learning program development by the nine institutions of the Utah System of Higher
Education. Where appropriate, the Legislature intends for the State Board of Regents to administer a "Request
for Proposal" process for the distribution of funds to the nine institutions. It is the intent of the Legislature that the
State Board of Regents establish accountability measures and a master plan for the operation of the Utah
Electronic Course-work and Programs in consultation with the nine institutions and the Legislative Fiscal Analyst.
The motion passed unanimously with Sens. Julander and Peterson and Rep. Carlson absent at the time of voting.
MOTION: Rep. Siddoway moved to adopt intent language as follows:
It is the intent of the Legislature that all state agencies and institutions use facility operation and maintenance (O&M) funding only for O&M purposes.
Ms. Headden discussed funding recommendations based on the intent language. President Jones said CEU has been
heating and lighting their new building for a year even though it hasn't been occupied. Just because they didn't
move in doesn't mean they weren't doing O & M. Mr. Garriott said it was over-funded in the second year.
The motion passed unanimously with Sens. Julander and Peterson and Rep. Carlson absent at the time of voting.
MOTION: Rep. Seitz moved to strike intent language as follows:
It is the intent of the Legislature that Fiscal Year 2000 enrollment funding of USHE institutions will be no less than the total amount appropriated for enrollment in Fiscal Year 1999.
The motion passed unanimously with Sens. Julander and Peterson and Rep. Carlson absent at the time of voting.
MOTION: Rep. Arent moved to adopt intent language as follows:
It is the intent of the Legislature that scheduling and programming of technology delivered courses be coordinated through the Utah Education Network. It is the intent of the Legislature that each institution within the USHE have
access to distance education technology.
The motion unanimously with Sens. Julander and Peterson and Rep. Carlson absent at the time of voting.
MOTION: Rep. Saunders moved to adopt intent language as follows:
It is the intent of the Legislature that any salary increases be distributed to faculty, professional and classified employees in an equitable manner.
Rep. Arent declared a conflict of interest.
The motion passed unanimously with Sen Peterson and Rep. Carlson absent at the time of voting.
MOTION: Sen. Peterson moved to adopt intent language as follows:
It is the intent of the Legislature that the State Board of Regents, in cooperation with the Legislative Fiscal Analyst, prepare a report on graduate tuition to present to the Executive Appropriations Committee by October 1999.
The motion passed unanimously with Sen Julander and Rep. Carlson absent at the time of voting.
MOTION: Sen. Peterson moved to adopt intent language as follows:
It is the intent of the Legislature that Mineral Lease replacement funds appropriated to higher education be distributed before the Executive Appropriations Committee establishes guidelines for new funds.
The motion passed unanimously with Sen Julander and Rep. Carlson absent at the time of voting.
MOTION: Rep. Brown moved to delete intent language as follows:
It is the intent of the Legislature that the State Board of Regents, the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget, and the Legislative Fiscal Analyst adopt a common method for determining enrollment funding.
The motion passed unanimously with Sen Julander and Rep. Carlson absent at the time of voting.
MOTION: Rep. Siddoway moved to strike intent language as follows:
It is the intent of the Legislature that $25,000 from the allocation to Southern Utah University from the Mineral Lease Account for research be directed to the Division of Continuing Education Office of Distance Learning at
Southern Utah University to develop an environmental education literacy program.
The motion passed unanimously with Sen Julander and Rep. Carlson absent at the time of voting.
MOTION: Sen. Peterson moved to adjourn.
Committee Co-Chair Bradshaw adjourned the meeting at 4:47 p.m.
Minutes were reported by Rolayne Day, Secretary.