Spring Break
Academic affairs asks for 2 percent staffing cut
Reduction will be made largely through attrition, officials say
Krystal Moya / Administration Editor
Issue date: 3/30/09 Section: News
The Office of Academic Affairs has asked department heads to consider a 2 percent staffing cut for the Fiscal Year 2010 budget, while holds on filling civil service positions, such as maintenance and office staffing at Eastern, are being confronted by a surge of applicants.
Growing economic decline in the state and nation has caused Eastern to "err on the side of caution" and plan for potential cuts in areas of the budget including personnel, said Blair Lord, provost and vice president for academic affairs.
Lord said the discussion is university-wide to save money for the impending fiscal year, in which Eastern could face cuts to general funds granted by the state, despite Gov. Pat Quinn's budget proposal that would allow general funds to increase by about $1 million for the university.
"This all really came about when (Gov. Blagojevich's) office through the Illinois Board of Higher Education announced that we were going to have to reserve 2.5 percent of this year's budget," Lord said. "In other words, they are going to take it back at some point."
Because of the reservation of funds, Lord said the administration was immediately forced to consider other potential budget cuts from the state resulting in planning for less spending.
"You immediately start saying, 'How can we not spend 2.5 percent of the state appropriation over the course of the year?'" he said. "Well, one way you can do that is to be a little slower in filling vacancies as they arise — to take opportunities as they come, to slow down the hiring process, if you will."
Academic affairs has had less pressure to not fill positions than other units, such as civil services, because positions are already based on need. Faculty staffing is first determined by the number of class seats. However, Lord still asked for the 2 percent cut that would "result in slightly smaller complement of instructors next year across each division."
The cut will be based on what Lord calls "taking advantage of the natural turnover of instructional staff."
The university divides faculty hires into three groups: unit A, unit B and adjuncts. Unit A is tenure-track, or tenured employees, unit B is faculty hired with one-year contracts, and adjuncts are hired on a per-course basis.
Unit B and adjunct groups will be the groups participating in the "natural turnover." Some contracts in those two groups will not be renewed based on needs determined by the departments.
The personnel portion of Eastern's budget makes up close to 80 percent of spending. This includes faculty, administration, civil services and others. Lord said it is "only natural" to assume some cuts in personnel spending will be made.
"Each of the units was asked to be prudent, but literally the university is hiring somebody every single day," he said. "Managers are asked if you don't need this position right away, we are probably going to delay filling it."
He said the Office of Business Affairs has looked "very hard" at what can be cut or held to save money. This is because of President Bill Perry's directive to focus on non-safety required maintenance staffing cuts to address the 2.5 percent on reserve.
"The state has a very big budget hole staring it in the face, so certain kinds of positions — crafts positions, maintenance positions, positions like groundskeepers — are being postponed," Lord said.
Despite the slowdown on institutional hiring, Sandy Bowman, director of employment in civil services, said there has been a record number of applicants seeking university jobs because of community layoffs and lack of job security. There has been a 25 percent increase in applicants in the first two months of this year as compared to last year by the Civil Services Office.
"We have had to incorporate mass testing times for applicants providing the testing for 20 or more," Bowman said. "We haven't traditionally had to deal with that. And even though there has been an increase in applicants, we are under the directive to fill mission-essential vacancies appropriated for hire by the VPs."
Departments that ask for a new secretary or halls that need a new maintenance worker are required to address why that position is critical for hire, Bowman said.
Then the vice presidents determine when that positions will become a hireable position as they gauge the need, she said.
Finally, Bowman and her office hire for the position.
Lord said it was unknown what the outcome of the state budget would be.
"We don't know what's going to happen financially with the state right this moment, but the point is no one is going to be fired," he said.
Lord said other institutions in other states are facing higher state budget cuts, some between 10 and 20 percent. Those institutions have resulted in planning layoffs and furloughs.
"Our administration has been able to accommodate our cuts without incorporating these extreme displacements," Lord said.
The administration hopes to have the budget completed by the end of the Spring Legislative Session. Clarity on faculty and other staffing cuts will be relayed then.
Krystal Moya can be reached at 581-7942 or at ksmoya@eiu.edu.
Growing economic decline in the state and nation has caused Eastern to "err on the side of caution" and plan for potential cuts in areas of the budget including personnel, said Blair Lord, provost and vice president for academic affairs.
Lord said the discussion is university-wide to save money for the impending fiscal year, in which Eastern could face cuts to general funds granted by the state, despite Gov. Pat Quinn's budget proposal that would allow general funds to increase by about $1 million for the university.
"This all really came about when (Gov. Blagojevich's) office through the Illinois Board of Higher Education announced that we were going to have to reserve 2.5 percent of this year's budget," Lord said. "In other words, they are going to take it back at some point."
Because of the reservation of funds, Lord said the administration was immediately forced to consider other potential budget cuts from the state resulting in planning for less spending.
"You immediately start saying, 'How can we not spend 2.5 percent of the state appropriation over the course of the year?'" he said. "Well, one way you can do that is to be a little slower in filling vacancies as they arise — to take opportunities as they come, to slow down the hiring process, if you will."
Academic affairs has had less pressure to not fill positions than other units, such as civil services, because positions are already based on need. Faculty staffing is first determined by the number of class seats. However, Lord still asked for the 2 percent cut that would "result in slightly smaller complement of instructors next year across each division."
The cut will be based on what Lord calls "taking advantage of the natural turnover of instructional staff."
The university divides faculty hires into three groups: unit A, unit B and adjuncts. Unit A is tenure-track, or tenured employees, unit B is faculty hired with one-year contracts, and adjuncts are hired on a per-course basis.
Unit B and adjunct groups will be the groups participating in the "natural turnover." Some contracts in those two groups will not be renewed based on needs determined by the departments.
The personnel portion of Eastern's budget makes up close to 80 percent of spending. This includes faculty, administration, civil services and others. Lord said it is "only natural" to assume some cuts in personnel spending will be made.
"Each of the units was asked to be prudent, but literally the university is hiring somebody every single day," he said. "Managers are asked if you don't need this position right away, we are probably going to delay filling it."
He said the Office of Business Affairs has looked "very hard" at what can be cut or held to save money. This is because of President Bill Perry's directive to focus on non-safety required maintenance staffing cuts to address the 2.5 percent on reserve.
"The state has a very big budget hole staring it in the face, so certain kinds of positions — crafts positions, maintenance positions, positions like groundskeepers — are being postponed," Lord said.
Despite the slowdown on institutional hiring, Sandy Bowman, director of employment in civil services, said there has been a record number of applicants seeking university jobs because of community layoffs and lack of job security. There has been a 25 percent increase in applicants in the first two months of this year as compared to last year by the Civil Services Office.
"We have had to incorporate mass testing times for applicants providing the testing for 20 or more," Bowman said. "We haven't traditionally had to deal with that. And even though there has been an increase in applicants, we are under the directive to fill mission-essential vacancies appropriated for hire by the VPs."
Departments that ask for a new secretary or halls that need a new maintenance worker are required to address why that position is critical for hire, Bowman said.
Then the vice presidents determine when that positions will become a hireable position as they gauge the need, she said.
Finally, Bowman and her office hire for the position.
Lord said it was unknown what the outcome of the state budget would be.
"We don't know what's going to happen financially with the state right this moment, but the point is no one is going to be fired," he said.
Lord said other institutions in other states are facing higher state budget cuts, some between 10 and 20 percent. Those institutions have resulted in planning layoffs and furloughs.
"Our administration has been able to accommodate our cuts without incorporating these extreme displacements," Lord said.
The administration hopes to have the budget completed by the end of the Spring Legislative Session. Clarity on faculty and other staffing cuts will be relayed then.
Krystal Moya can be reached at 581-7942 or at ksmoya@eiu.edu.
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Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
Direct Instruction
posted 3/30/09 @ 6:44 AM CST
EIU would find enormous savings by making cuts to Assistants to the Deans, Associate Chairs, Assistant Vice-Presidents, Assistant Program Coordinators, Associate Vice-Presidents, Technical Specialists, Administrative Assistants, Interim Associate Vice-Presidents, External Relations Assistants, Alumni Services Coordinators, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera - positions which have exploded in numbers in the last decade alone, rather than make cuts in those positions that actually TEACH our students. (Continued…)
That's what I call ...
posted 3/30/09 @ 8:22 AM CST
The previous comment presents the problem honestly. That's what I call speaking the truth to power.
Dev
posted 3/30/09 @ 9:20 AM CST
The first poster nailed it. This is the problem with several higher education institution were the $$'s are sucked out at the administrative level. More $$'s must be spent hiring faculty and teaching our students. (Continued…)
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