Good afternoon colleagues,
I hope the start of the semester is going well for you. I am thankful for all the work across campus that contributed to a successful move-in and start of the semester. I have enjoyed the energy and excitement of the new school year. I’ll jump right into a couple of updates on key priorities.
Budget
During town hall and staff/faculty senate meetings last spring and in this message at the end of the last semester, the senior team and I described the budget deficit facing UMD. We have discussed the primary drivers of the deficit — continued declines in undergraduate enrollment coupled with increased compensation and benefit expenses. Our budget compact proposal to system leadership sought to utilize system funding to cover more than half of the shortfall and one-time carry forward funds for the remainder.
U of M leadership has supported our proposal and UMD will see substantial new recurring investment from the university this current fiscal year. I am deeply grateful for this investment and appreciate the continued support and engagement from university leadership. However, it does not solve our ongoing problem and we must continue the work to ensure a sustainable UMD budget model. We need to find efficiencies and make sure that delivery of our academic mission accurately reflects continued enrollment challenges.
In doing this work, we will continue to follow an analytical and decision-making framework that prioritizes student success and support, maintains academic excellence, is collaborative, and leverages resources and support from the U of M System.
Academic and Student Success Analysis
A key initiative to our budget work this year includes an academic program array analysis (APAA). This includes graduate as well as undergraduate programs. Over the summer, EVCAA Hietapelto and the college deans developed metrics and the below process: - At the start of this semester in various conversations and meetings, the deans shared information with their leadership teams for feedback.
- Throughout September, department heads are compiling data and working with faculty in the departments to prepare a data-supported narrative about their programs.
- In October, this work will be shared with the entire college through assembly and retreats.
- By the end of October, the feedback from the departments and colleges will be shared with the deans, who will collectively review the summary narratives. This cross-collegiate review will facilitate transparency and external validation of the collegiate analyses.
- AVC Erik Brown and the graduate council will also provide input and graduate program review during the APAA process.
- In November, campus leadership will meet with governance groups and conduct town halls to collect input and provide an overview on APAA and other campus budget initiatives.
- In December and into the start of 2024, the senior leadership team will make strategic decisions based on the work done this fall.
Alongside this work, we have launched a new student success initiative co-led by associate vice chancellors Jeremy Leiferman and Trevor Eagle. This effort is still in formation but we expect it will build upon some of the work that AVC Jen Mencl led this summer across a series of three workshops.
PEAK
In his new role leading UMD’s PEAK efforts, Jason Davis has made quick progress engaging staff with human resources and finance responsibilities to help better design what PEAK will look like at UMD. Those discussions are active and in progress, so I won’t get into many details here other than to say that Jason will continue to work with system and campus leaders as well as those individuals directly affected, and their supervisors, with broader updates to come.
As we near implementation for campus and system operation centers later this fall, UMD has an opportunity to refine the implementation plans in ways that will best serve this campus and act as a model for the entire system. We need to take advantage of this opportunity and identify operational and work process changes that will truly benefit this campus for years to come. Please reach out to Jason if you have questions.
In Closing
Throughout these initiatives, the U of M System is engaged and providing support. We continue to move forward with Interim President Ettinger. There is a renewed focus on systemwide enrollment with emphasis on resources for the greater Minnesota campuses. He is also focused on improving relations with and investment from the Minnesota legislature. The system also launched a statewide media campaign which features UMD’s own Dr. Julie Etterson.
I want to recognize that this is difficult work. It will take coordination and support across campus and between units. It does mean change. It is an ambitious timeline and it is time consuming. This work involves really examining ourselves and taking a hard look internally. It is personal, emotional, and tiring. I know that and I am grateful for your engagement in this critically important initiative. It gets to the core of who we are, how we educate students, and how we engage in research. This work will be ongoing and sets the stage for this campus for years to come and will position us for continued success in a changing, challenging, and highly competitive higher education landscape.
I am committed to doing this well and doing it right. I ask for your support, patience, and help as we navigate this together.
Sincerely, |
