Budget and Finance

TO:          All Faculty and Staff
FROM:      Stephen L. Weber, SDSU President
SUBJECT:  Budget Meetings
DATE:       January 9, 2004

 

Earlier today, during the unveiling of his $99.1 billion budget plan, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed cutting $240 million, or 9 percent, from the California State University system for the 2004-05 fiscal year.This proposed reduction is in addition to a $531 million cut in the CSU's 2003-04 General Fund budget.

Over the next days and weeks, San Diego State University will be evaluating the governor's proposed budget and any proposed action by the California State University to determine how we will address the proposed reductions in state funding. I will schedule a series of campus meetings, including a presentation to the University Senate, to share budget information with faculty, staff, and students. Budget information will be posted on the SDSU Web site, and Vice President for Business and Financial Affairs Sally Roush will continue to send out budget updates as information warrants. For now, the best source of information on the proposed California State University system reductions can be found by clicking on the "Budget Cuts Impact Access" link at the CSU Web site: http://www.calstate.edu

The Cabinet Budget Committee will begin its deliberations on January 23.

Because state budget figures typically fluctuate between now and when a final budget is signed by the governor, and because the outcome of the March deficit-bond initiative may significantly change the amount of funding available for public education, it is still too early to specify with any degree of certainty to what extent the proposed reductions will negatively impact SDSU. We have been saying for some time that the 2004-05 fiscal year is likely to be our greatest challenge. As 2004-05 draws near, the governor's message indicates we may well be in for a difficult year; how difficult remains to be seen.

Whatever the outcome, we remain committed to providing students with the greatest possible access and educational quality at San Diego State University.

TO:          All Faculty and Staff
FROM:      Stephen L. Weber, SDSU President
SUBJECT:  Budget Meetings
DATE:       February 18, 2004

 

As you know, California and, consequently, San Diego State University continue to address proposed reductions in state funding for 2004-05. In our ongoing effort to keep you informed, I have scheduled a series of campus meetings to share budget information with faculty, staff, and students.

As part of these briefings, I will meet with the University Senate on Tuesday, February 24, and with faculty and staff on Friday, February 27. The February 27 meeting will be from 9:15 to 10:45 a.m., in ENS-280. For those unable to attend in person, the meeting will be videotaped and posted on the SDSU Web site.

Many aspects of our budget are still unclear and are subject to initiatives on the March primary ballot as well as upcoming decisions in Sacramento.

Nevertheless, these meetings will provide an opportunity to consider our values as California faces this fiscal crisis; to discuss the university's funding priorities; and to learn more about our campus budget process, which has served us well. I hope you will join me to share information, concerns, and suggestions.

In addition to the series of meetings, other budget information will be posted on the SDSU Web site, and Vice President for Business and Financial Affairs Sally Roush will continue to send out budget updates as information warrants. For now, the best source of information on the proposed California State University system reductions can be found by clicking on the "CSU Budget Central" link at the CSU Web site, www.calstate.edu.

Thank you all for your dedication to our university and to the students we serve. I look forward to meeting with you.

TO:          All Faculty and Staff
FROM:      Stephen L. Weber, SDSU President
SUBJECT:  Budget Meetings
DATE:       June 25, 2002

 

On Monday, June 3, the University's Cabinet Budget Committee met to finalize its recommendation for the campus 2002/03 General Fund budget. Although the state budget process is not yet complete, SDSU must begin the fiscal year with a spending plan based on the most current information available. The CBC made its recommendations assuming the final state budget will be similar to the proposal put forth by Governor Gray Davis in May. This is the normal campus process. This year, however, because of the state's severe financial crisis, it is possible that further reductions could be made in the final budget, either now or later in the year. The CBC's recommendations allow for such a scenario.

In making its recommendations, the CBC sought to achieve several important objectives:

(1) In recent years, our highest priority has been to provide a sufficient number of faculty to meet our estimated enrollment demand. Our 2002/03 estimated enrollment will be at least 493 FTES more than our budget target of 27,040 FTES.

(2) Existing support services should be maintained by avoiding reductions to any division's current base budget.

(3) In order to maintain overall institutional quality, additional funding was proposed for several select initiatives, including tenure-track hiring, advancement activities, and doctoral program support.

(4) Finally, a significant reserve of one-time funds should be maintained in order to continue the disciplined allocation and use of resources that has served the campus so well this year.

I have approved funding to provide for the faculty necessary to support our estimated enrollment demand; the addition of some new (not as many as we would like) tenure-track faculty; ongoing doctoral program expenses in Computational Sciences as well as Engineering and Math / Science programs; replacement of support previously provided by Extended Studies summer programs (courses are now offered through regular state-funded university programs); continued expansion of the university's fund-raising and public relations efforts; the accommodation of students with disabilities; and compliance with new reporting requirements related to international students.

As recommended, I also approved setting aside sufficient funds to cover our estimated 2002/03 budget reduction while still maintaining a one-time reserve of $5.9 million. This reserve will be critical to helping us address any further budget reductions, any additional enrollment demand, or any unfunded mandatory costs, such as the 80 percent increase in the employer contribution to the state retirement system (PERS).

Over the next several weeks, legislative budget deliberations will continue. The legislature is required to present the governor with its
amendments to his budget by June 15. While this requirement was not met (it is often missed, even in a good year), current political analysis suggests that the governor and legislature may well reach a budget agreement early in July. Once the state budget is finalized, the campus community will be informed of the budget's impact on the CSU and, as soon as possible thereafter, SDSU.

A summary of the approved allocations, including the total General Fund amount by division, can be found at http://bfa.sdsu.edu/fm/pb/June2002a.pdf  

I commend the Cabinet Budget Committee for presenting a budget that meets essential requirements while maintaining a prudent reserve for future funding shortfalls.

Because of the careful planning of the broadly representative Cabinet Budget Committee and the good work of the men and women of SDSU who have been careful with expenditures, we are able to begin the coming fiscal year with a relatively sound budget. But this is no time to let down our guard. Many are concerned that there will still be a mid-year correction and that 2003/04 will also be very difficult. None of us knows what lies ahead, but so far we have weathered the storm by working constructively together. We must continue those efforts.

TO:          All Faculty and Staff
FROM:      Stephen L. Weber, SDSU President
SUBJECT:  Budget Meetings
DATE:       February 14, 2003

 

Dear Colleagues:

In her latest budget update (#17), Sally Roush, Vice President for Business and Financial Affairs, outlined the CSU Chancellor's Office estimate of the impact on San Diego State of the Governor's 2003-04 budget proposal.

Our 2003-04 budget will remain uncertain for quite some time. The Governor's message and the Chancellor's Office estimates of its impact are just the beginning of a long process that will involve legislative debate through the spring, the May revise, further legislative debate, and finally adoption of the California state budget for 2003-04 probably some time in the fall.

The Governor's budget proposal contains two important elements for The California State University and our campus:

Until now we all have been doing what we can to prepare for California's pending budget reductions, through prudent expenditures, deferring purchases, hiring temporary rather than permanent employees, and holding funds until we have a better sense of the magnitude of the reductions we face. The Governor's budget will surely change in the coming months; nonetheless it articulates a "hypothetical" 2003-04 shortfall of $11.3 million. While it is too early to fashion a response to a problem the extent of which we do not yet fully know, it is not too early to prepare ourselves to fashion that response.

We will continue to maintain an open, transparent budget process.

SDSU has developed a good, tested process involving individuals who know and understand the budget to advise me centrally. However, we may not yet have established processes at the divisional/unit level, where the understanding and experience needed to make the best-possible, least-damaging budget decisions reside. Consequently, I have asked the vice presidents and heads of major units on campus to work with their colleagues to develop processes and procedures to ensure a careful, open approach to budgetary decisions at the divisional/unit level.

In addition, I have asked James Frazee, Associate Director of Instructional Technology Services, to chair an SDSU committee that soon will begin soliciting and reviewing recommendations from across the campus for ways to reduce costs and generate revenues. Each of you will be asked to provide suggestions.

Finally, I have asked SDSU Universe to include a budget Q & A column that we will publish periodically. We may not be able to answer every question, but we can begin to systematically respond to your most pressing concerns consistent with the still-limited information available.

What else can you do to help? Obviously, everything you can do to continue to reduce costs while still providing services to our students and to our community will help. Beyond that, however, it is very important that you be informed and that you participate in the coming discussions.

Our first and most important goal must be to preserve, so far as possible, the quality and the integrity of services to our students and community. Budget and economic downturns are cyclical. The fiscal crisis we are facing currently will ultimately be resolved. Meanwhile, the challenge for each of us is to work together to see that these reductions do as little damage to our campus as possible and that we emerge from these budget cuts ready and able to move San Diego State to new levels of excellence and service.

TO:          All Faculty and Staff
FROM:      Stephen L. Weber, SDSU President
SUBJECT:  Budget Meetings
DATE:       April 11, 2003

 

For the last several months, Vice President for Business and Financial Affairs Sally Roush has been carefully and regularly updating the campus about the latest developments in the budget, and I am most grateful for her continuing efforts to keep the campus informed about these issues.

In addition to Vice President Roush's good efforts, I have asked that two new tools be developed: one to answer your questions about the budget and the other to solicit your ideas for budget efficiencies.

I am pleased to announce that both new initiatives will be launched on Monday. "Budget Q&A" will become a weekly interactive feature on SDSU Universe. It was designed to respond to questions you may have about the budget process and potential budget effects. The Q&A will include a form that enables you to submit your questions via e-mail; answers to a series of frequently asked questions about the budget; links to previous budget-related messages; and links to other sources of budget-related information. The Q&A will respond to at least one question every week, and answers will be archived on the Web site at http://www.sdsuniverse.info for easy reference.

The second initiative to be launched on Monday will be "IDEAS in Action," an employee suggestion program for faculty and staff at San Diego State. "IDEAS" stands for Innovative Discoveries for Efficiency And Savings. A campus-wide committee, headed by James Frazee, Associate Director of Instructional Technology Services, has devoted the last several months to creating a process and a new Web site for faculty and staff to submit ideas that will help reduce costs, improve the efficiency of a campus process or service, and/or generate new revenue for the university.

Bottom line: We are not helpless in the face of this budget challenge. We all need to be informed and to harness our considerable talent and experience to discover new ways to preserve our ability to continue this important work.