I received a note from David Dunn, Vice Chancellor for University Relations and Community Affairs this morning that revealed some very troubling facts. The NC General Assembly is proposing to cut down our budget… big time! I’ve included some excerpts from David Dunn’s email below:
The House version of the budget eliminates $68 million in funding to over 1,100 open faculty positions system-wide, including $18 million and 232 open positions at UNC Charlotte!
We have a large number of such positions for two primary reasons: 1) we are a rapidly growing campus and have received many new positions due to enrollment growth and the doctoral/equity funding provided last year; and 2) Chancellor Dubois held back about half of our new money (and positions) for the budget re-examination exercise completed this year. Unfortunately, the House approach would penalize a campus that has attempted to actively manage its resource base to meet the needs of a growing student body.
The Senate is moving quickly to write their version of the budget and we must communicate to Senators that these cuts are simply not acceptable to the campuses - especially UNC Charlotte which has labored so hard over the years to provide the highest quality instruction possible in an underfunded environment.
As noted, the impact of a reduction of the magnitude proposed would be severe:
• We would have to increase class size and limit the number of sections offered which would negatively impact the quality of instruction and time to graduation, actions which run contrary to students’ priorities, as evidenced by their approved uses of CITI funds. Our regular faculty teach an average of 5.95 organized sections per year. Thus, a loss of 232 faculty would mean, at minimum, the elimination of 1,381 sections per year. It takes over 30 instructors teaching 8 sections per year just to meet our English composition requirement for our 2,800 first time freshmen at our current class sizes.
• We would have to cut back on our commitment to a quality general education program, as well as several new PhD programs, at a crucial point when we are called upon to rapidly add programs to meet the growing demand for higher education in North Carolina.
• We would have to delay the expansion of undergraduate programs for nurses and lateral entry teachers and the planning of graduate programs in areas such as nursing and nanoscience, all areas specifically identified as critical concerns by the State of North Carolina.
• We simply cannot lose what resources we do have to provide campus security; we are already under pressure to provide an adequate level of service with a static workforce over a greatly expanded campus (over 500,000 SF added within one year), during a time of understandably heightened awareness of students’ safety. Following a leadership transition, we have committed significant resources to improve our police recruitment.
• We would experience severe decrease in necessary maintenance of facilities, increasing the likelihood of major disruptions of critical service. We would be unable to properly maintain new facilities.
Contact your legislators from Mecklenburg County and tell them how important UNC Charlotte is! Here are the phone numbers and email addresses for members of the Senate who represent Mecklenburg County:
Daniel G. Clodfelter 919/715.8331 Danielc@ncleg.net
Charlie Smith Dannelly 919/733.5955 Charlied@ncleg.net
W. Edward Goodall 919/733.7659 Eddieg@ncleg.net
Malcolm Graham 919/733.5650 Malcolmg@ncleg.net
Robert Pittenger 919/733.5655 Robertp@ncleg.net
Here is a letter that I wrote to legislators:
As you prepare to work on the Senate’s proposed budget plan I ask that you consider the future of North Carolina through its education system. As North Carolina grows towards the 7th largest state in the nation over the next decade, the UNC system must maintain a rapid pace of growth to provide a quality educational experience for every student at every institution from every conceivable background.
At UNC Charlotte our institutional mission is to serve the largest city in North Carolina. We are the engine that drives the 2nd largest banking center in the nation to greater economic development. The budget as currently proposed by the house would undercut UNC Charlotte’s ability to provide an education to the more than 22,000 students that will one day graduate and provide a talented and developed workforce for NC employers. Our graduates love North Carolina and the Charlotte area. Many of our students stay in the area after they graduate, allowing UNC Charlotte to directly impact the region’s financial growth.
The proposed budget from the House eliminates 1100 faculty positions across the UNC system, and 20% of those eliminated positions would be from UNC Charlotte. By eliminating these positions UNC Charlotte will have to delay the expansion of programs for nurses and teachers. UNC Charlotte’s College of Education already leads the state in the number of teachers that graduate every year. To properly serve the state, we must increase the number that graduates significantly. The most detrimental impact of these budget cuts would be the inevitable increases on class sizes, which would water down the personal experience that our students have with our faculty. Through my four years at UNC Charlotte, nothing has spurred me to success more than the relationships I’ve had with my professors.
Thank you for considering the future of education in the Senate’s proposed budget.
