Trustees cut Student Actvities job

By JACKIE ANDRUS
UNIVERSITY JOURNAL

Nikki Nicholas, assistant director for Student Activities, received a letter from Student Services administrators Tuesday indicating her position would be cut during the third round of budget cuts, said Georgia Beth Thompson, associate vice president for Student Services.
Nicholas’ cut position is just part of the $750,000 ($2.4 million total since July 2002) being cut from personnel positions and programs across the campus during the third round of budget cuts.
“It will make a difference; all this slimming down we have to do makes it harder on all of us,” Thompson said. “It does mean student government people will have to work harder. I think we’ll all have to step to the plate and make up that load.”
Nicholas, who works with SUUSA and the C&O Assembly, said she will finish her contract for the year but will not return Fall 2003.
“If retention is a part of the university’s goal, then, by cutting this position, they’re not adding to retention,” Nicholas said.
Nicholas said the university did away with the position of assistant director for Student Activities once before in 1998 but brought the position back in 2001 when she was hired.
“I’m essentially out of the loop now,” Nicholas said. “I’m just finishing my contract and I have no clue if they’ll bring that position back.”
While $750,000 has been cut from the university budget during the latest round of budget cuts, which includes a $1.1 million cut in July 2002 and a $730,000 cut during the second round of budget cuts, this latest cut is only part of the larger cut now just under $2.4 million, said Gregory Stauffer, vice president for Administrative & Financial Services. “The impact of these cuts is being felt on campus with students, employees, and the community,” Stauffer said. “The cut doesn’t exist in a vacuum. We’ve had to make sacrifices with things we’ve cut because we didn’t have that much junk lying around to begin with.”
About $100,000 was also cut from the Master of Fine Arts program, though MFA director Robert Fass would not comment on specific changes to the program other than to say the program will not accept any new students Fall 2003 and will run as it has been with the remaining students.
“We’re looking at the changes we can make to the program now and then we’ll file a report with the administration next fall,” Fass said.

Budget cuts are also continually diminishing employee benefit packages as substantial cuts will be made to the existing package as of July 1, Stauffer said.
“Employees across the board are going to take another hit with their benefits package,” Stauffer said. “All this is on top of no faculty development money, which is ultimately going to affect students because more responsibility is being placed on staff and faculty who may begin to feel unappreciated because they’re not seeing any rewards or incentives in their benefits or paycheck for the work they’re doing.”
Cut positions also are going to be an added stress to remaining employees as there will be fewer staff and faculty to handle situations, Stauffer added.
“With existing employees there’s going to be a morale issue,” Stauffer said. “Some employees will be doing two people’s jobs now while being reminded they are tremendously underpaid in the national market.”
Since the first round of cuts July 2002, the Provost’s office has cut 14 positions and $1.5 million from their budget, Student Services has cut three positions and $190,000, and University Advancement & Regional Services and the President’s Office together have cut two positions and $150,000, Stauffer said.
Nearly $125,000 has been cut within Administrative & Financial Services during the latest budget cut. In all, nine positions and $650,000 has been cut, Stauffer added.
“We’re going to survive, but we’re not going to prosper to the same level we were at before,” Stauffer said.
One position includes an incumbent position within the Department of Public Safety, that although is vacant will not be filled. However, funds in a non-appropriated account, which is not tax-funded, will be used to cover hourly wages for Public Safety officers during bigger events so Public Safety coverage will not diminish, Stauffer said.
Stauffer also said $25,000 of state money that goes to cover credit card fees alone at the Cashier’s Office must now come from other accounts simply because the money is no longer there.
“Students pay about one-third of their education bill and the state pays two-thirds,” Stauffer said. “A lot of that two-thirds of state support is gone now, so we have to make adjustments and cut some courses with state support.”
To make up for that lost state support, the university can either make classes larger, which is not practical for a good education, or student fees must go up, Stauffer said.
“We’re shifting more to a user-fee environment,” Stauffer said. “More responsibility is going to be placed on students, university employees, and the community to pay for programs they use.”
Stauffer said despite all the negatives surrounding the budget cuts, the tuition increase has been a “bright spot” that reminds the university of its student focus.
“The tuition increase has been hugely positive at a time when the task has been to try to maintain services,” Stauffer said.