Minutes of a Regular Meeting, June 22-23, 2004 - Digital Collections

June 22-23, 2004 29229CAMERON UNIVERSITYFISCAL YEAR 2005 BUDGETCameron University’s proposed 2004-05 budget is guided by and consistent with thegoals and objectives detailed in Plan 2008: Preparing for Cameron University’s SecondCentury. Designed to lead the University into its second century, this comprehensive plan isbold and progressive. Most importantly, Plan 2008 and the proposed budget put student learningas the University’s top priority.The challenge of providing students the quality education they deserve and need hasproven difficult in recent years. Reductions in State funding support to Cameron students haveeroded academic quality and student access. Most notably, faculty salaries have not kept pace.Cameron’s faculty salaries suffer not only in comparison to faculty at regional universitiesoutside of Oklahoma, but also within the State. Currently, Cameron’s faculty salary averageranks sixth among the eleven regional universities and is $13,883 behind the national average forregional universities.The primary focus of the proposed 2004-05 budget is recruiting and retaining qualityfaculty and staff. Coupled with the adoption of the ambitious goals in Plan 2008 is a revision ofCameron’s Faculty Handbook. The Handbook revisions require higher standards for facultyincluding the development of departmental standards for promotion and tenure, annual facultyevaluations, and post-tenure review. It is imperative that the meritorious performance of facultyand staff be recognized.Major initiatives in Cameron University’s 2004-05 budgets include:• Requiring a terminal degree for regular faculty members at the rank of assistantprofessor and above• Raising the minimum salaryo Assistant Professor $40,000o Associate Professor $42,000o Professor $45,000• Providing faculty and staff equity adjustments• Planning for the first merit-based salary adjustment in three years• Initiating operations in the new Center for Emerging Technology and EntrepreneurialStudies (CETES)• Investing in University facilitiesOverview of Budget ReductionsTo understand the 2004-05 budget priorities, an overview of Cameron’s recent budgethistory is required. Since 2001-02, the State appropriated budget has been reduced by$1,463,600 (7.4 percent). Added to the budget reductions have been increased mandatory costsin areas such as utilities and insurance totaling approximately $858,000. Cameron students havebeen forced to partially offset the State budget cuts and increase in mandatory costs by payingincreased tuition and fees.For the coming fiscal year, Cameron University has received $246,100 (2.3 percent)in additional State dollars for Campus operations. With anticipated increased mandatory costs of$750,200, students again will pay more. Anticipated tuition and E&G fee revenue will result inan additional $763,750 in the 2004-05 budget. The net dollars plus reallocated funds areproposed to address Campus priorities.