NDUS Budget Cuts (changed name to be system-wide)

[Bison Dan]

12 hours ago, homer said:

Put it to vote and have your students approve.  

Was not talking about student fees - just institutional funds which you guys tap at almost 10M.  I wonder if today's students would pass the fees they pay today.

[The Sicatoka]

36 minutes ago, Bison Dan said:

Was not talking about student fees - just institutional funds which you guys tap at almost 10M.  I wonder if today's students would pass the fees they pay today.

Yes, UND has a different Athletics funding model.
Yes, UND's Athletics and overall financial house is presently in order under that model; by comparison, NDSU's house at this time. 

[Bison Dan]

2 minutes ago, The Sicatoka said:

Yes, UND has a different Athletics funding model.
Yes, UND's Athletics and overall financial house is presently in order under that model; by comparison, NDSU's house at this time. 

Sugar coat it all you want; the fact is you tap the school for 5 million more (Taxpayer monies)to support your athletic department.  

[The Sicatoka]

19 minutes ago, Bison Dan said:

Sugar coat it all you want; the fact is you tap the school for 5 million more (Taxpayer monies)to support your athletic department.  

Again, UND uses a different funding model and its fiscal house is in order.

NDSU has a roughly $8M budget shortfall using a different funding model and is in the process of program and staff cuts and department and college, from seven to five, consolidations (see previous link). 

NDSU is literally asking the Legislature for things that should be part of a normal, managed budget (slide 16). They are asking for special funds for annual salary and operations expense increases! Did NDSU not plan and manage the fiscal house? (Hint: that ask is likely more than what you're pointing at at UND.) 

[homer]

36 minutes ago, Bison Dan said:

Sugar coat it all you want; the fact is you tap the school for 5 million more (Taxpayer monies)to support your athletic department.  

What’s stopping NDSU from doing the same? 

[The Sicatoka]

Pointed out to me by several NDSU students I know:

• Build Sugihara Hall (less than 3 years old) for Chemistry and Biochemistry, Earth, Environmental, and Geospatial Sciences
• The Department of Earth, Environmental, and Geospatial Sciences is home to NDSU's Geology and Geography programs. 
• Close the Geology, Major; Geology, Minor; Geography, Minor; Environmental Geology, Minor degree programs (slide 10) 

That's some visionary planning. 

 

[The Sicatoka]

Want another? 

Slide 13 - "Proposed Academic Strategic Investments" -> "Pharmacy Technician" 

A "Pharmacy Technician" degree does not fit within recent changes to the faculty teaching structure according to former faculty. That's before I mention it would be in direct competition with the NDSCS Pharm Tech program. 

More planning. 

[The Sicatoka]

The latest from President Cook at NDSU ... 

Quote

Dear NDSU Faculty, Staff, Students, Alumni and Friends,

I want to provide an update regarding our initiatives to transform NDSU, including decisions on our college mergers, academic leadership, strategic reduction and strategic investment plans. I appreciate the significant feedback I’ve received from all of you, including over 700 written responses.  That feedback has continued to inform our decision making and refine our efforts. I would again also like to thank our deans who have shown tremendous leadership over the past several months helping us navigate these challenging times.  

College Mergers and Academic Leadership.

I recently asked Dean Chuck Peterson, as NDSU’s most senior dean, to convene a special meeting of the deans to receive their input regarding: (1) the college merger plan and (2) the provost position.  I did not attend the meeting to encourage open discussion.  Dean Peterson reported back that the deans were unanimous in their support for the merger plan, which includes consolidating our seven colleges down to five.  After receiving additional campus input this past month, we have made a few slight modifications to the plan.  The organization structure with the most recent changes highlighted can be found here.  

A critical part of the realignment process is college leadership. We need deans who combine academic and administrative excellence with financial acumen.  We are in an excellent position with our existing deans and plans to recruit nationally to fill several open positions. Here is the status of college leadership:       

College of Arts and Sciences.  The current College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences is being merged with the College of Science and Mathematics and being renamed the College of Arts and Sciences.  Kimberly Wallin will continue to be the dean of the re-named college. Kimberly has exhibited courageous and strong leadership through recent changes.  I am extremely pleased and supportive of her efforts. Please join me in congratulating Dean Wallin. 

College of Business. The College of Business national dean search is currently being conducted.  Applications are due by March 1, and we expect finalists to be on campus by April.  This process is moving forward smoothly and I am excited to meet the candidates.  
 
College of Health Professions and Human Sciences.  Dean Peterson will be retiring this May after a long and successful career at NDSU.  We will be starting a national search for the new dean this fall.  I have asked the Provost to start an internal search for an interim dean to serve until the permanent dean begins.
College of Engineering. Alan Kallmeyer has begun his role as Interim Dean, while also filling the role of Interim Dean of the College of Business. I am extremely appreciative of Alan’s commitment to the university as he balances these two roles.  We will start a national search for a new engineering dean in the fall of 2024.
 
College of Agriculture, Food Systems and Natural Resources. Greg Lardy continues to fill the role of Dean; however, David Buchanan, the long-standing and successful Associate Dean of the College recently announced his retirement.  The Provost and I are working with Dr. Lardy and his leadership team to determine next steps with filling the Associate Dean position.
 
Provost. In addition to the college merger plan, the Deans also believed that stability at the Provost position is needed. With the transformation we are going through, including several dean searches, having certainty and expertise in the Provost role is critical to ensuring our success.  
 
At this point in the academic calendar, a national Provost search would not be feasible until the fall semester, with an expected hire some time in the spring semester of 2024.  The new provost would then require numerous months to become familiar with NDSU.  We would have to postpone the deans’ searches pending the conclusion of the provost search because many top candidates would be reluctant to apply with an interim provost.  This entire process would cause significant delays which would exacerbate our problems rather than alleviate them.    
 
Understanding this situation, the Deans unanimously supported to have Interim Provost Bertolini continue in his role for a term of three years, followed by a search for a permanent provost.  This is a strong vote of confidence from the Deans in David’s leadership as he has helped us through these difficult financial and organizational challenges.  In addition, I consulted with the Chancellor and the Chair of the State Board of Higher Education, who support this decision.  I have also discussed this matter with the leadership of each of the Senates and our equity office to ensure compliance with our hiring policies.  I concur with the Deans’ vote of confidence, and I am appointing David Bertolini as Provost with a fixed term of three years starting March 1, with a search to follow.  This stability will allow Provost Bertolini to continue working on our transformation activities and will allow our dean searches to proceed without delay.  Please join me in congratulating Provost Bertolini.  
 
Strategic Reductions.

Last month, I proposed a series of strategic reductions and investments, and I asked for community input.  We received considerable feedback, and I want to thank everyone who took time to provide their thoughts.  These are not easy decisions which is reflected in those comments.  Just like the material we received regarding the college mergers, the comments are available on the provost’s website here.

Last month, the proposals included a total reduction of 34.5 FTE positions, which included 26 current employees and 8.5 FTE vacant lines.  Those proposals can be found here.  After reviewing comments and exploring new academic arrangements, we may be able to reduce the number of reductions to 27.5 FTE which would include 19 current employees and 8.5 FTE vacant lines.  These FTE reductions do not include the two dean positions that are being eliminated as a result of the college mergers.

In order to achieve these changes, we analyzed student and workforce demand in the impacted departments of Earth, Environmental, and Geospatial Sciences as well as Hospitality and Event Management.  By aligning portions of these departments with other academic units, we may be able to keep a limited portion of the academic offerings.  The Provost and Deans are working with these units to explore these possibilities. These changes will likely still involve the termination of tenured faculty, and therefore we will follow guidelines required by  NDSU Policy 350.3.  

Beyond those two departments, twelve additional non-tenured faculty positions are being reduced in other departments (i.e., these are part of the 34.5/27.5 referenced above).  All employees whose position is affected are having one-on-one meeting with their Deans today.  We will be working with each of these employees to coordinate their remaining time with the university and our teach-out obligations for students in the impacted majors.

We also received considerable feedback related to the elimination of the Agricultural Systems Management major. As a result of that feedback, we will be merging the Precision Agriculture and Agricultural Systems Management majors together. The merger will still require difficult budget decisions, but it will allow us to offer two options in the new major to students that will meet the evolving needs of the workforce going forward.

All current and prospective students whose majors are affected by these cuts are being advised by NDSU personnel on their options.  Every current student has the option of continuing until graduation with their current major.  

Strategic Investments.

We cannot transform NDSU by simply making reductions; we must reinvest in ways to enhance our student experience.  Our enrollment issues are going to become more difficult in the future with increased competition from other institutions and demographic changes that will see fewer high school graduates in coming years.  Another challenge relates to policy-makers in Minnesota who are exploring a tuition freeze for public universities and “free” college for families with an annual salary less than $120,000.  More than 50% of our student population are Minnesota residents. I do not know whether these initiatives will succeed, but the trend line is clear.  We will be facing stiffer competition for a reduced number of students for years to come. 

With the current academic year coming to a close, we need to initiate limited and strategic investments to help with enrollment, retention and student success.  Given this situation, I have asked Provost Bertolini to immediately implement the following strategic investments:

Professional Advising.  We need to ensure that more students that start at NDSU complete their degree programs.  The best way to do this is to provide excellent comprehensive advising services to our 1st and 2nd year students through professional advisors.  This benefits our retention efforts and reduces the load on faculty enabling them to concentrate on teaching and research. 

Creating Fully Online Programs.  We take pride in our traditional, in-person education, and we should.  However, we need to strategically augment our current program offerings with fully-online degrees aimed at non-traditional student populations and the workforce needs of North Dakota.  Moving forward, we will launch new online programs aimed at addressing the state’s high-demand workforce needs.  These programs will help students achieve their professional goals while mitigating the state’s workforce shortages and alleviating NDSU’s enrollment shortages.

Bison Bridge Program. This is a successful program that we terminated years ago due to budget shortfalls.  Starting immediately, we will revitalize this initiative, learning from our past efforts, to prioritize how we recruit, retain, and invest in first generation, Pell-eligible and students of color. The program consists of programming before the first week of school, mentoring throughout the academic year, along with assistance with summer internship and scholarships for underserved students. 

Legislative Budget Impact.

Additional investments will be dependent upon the result of the legislative process.  Right now, the Legislature has reached the “cross-over” phase, where bills pass to the other chamber of legislature for further consideration.  We want to thank the Legislature, particularly the members of the House Appropriations – Education and Environmental Division and the Government Operations Division, for their hard work and support of our budget priorities.  We will have greater certainty for our budget situation at the end of legislative session in April. 

Budget Model and Financial Services.

Finally, the work on the new incentivized budget model and restructured financial services is continuing.  The new model and services structure will be in place by July 1, which corresponds with the day that we will convert from seven colleges to five. With these changes, NDSU is evolving its financial operations to meet our changing world.  

I want to thank every member of our community for their commitment to NDSU and its mission.  That support is never more important than when difficult decisions are necessary.  As we move forward together through these tumultuous times, I’m confident that NDSU will be in a stronger position to serve its mission as the state’s 1862 Land Grant University. 

 

So much in there to unpack. 

[The Sicatoka]

In the middle of program cuts and faculty layoffs they are looking for three new deans for their seven, no, wait, now just five colleges? And soon a provost too. 

Their "strategic investments" seem, well, in Cook's words "Additional investments will be dependent upon the result of the legislative process." Having spent a little time schmoozing state leaders and legislators in Bismarck the last couple weeks, that's a tough climb. As one western legislator told me quaintly, everyone has a tin cup out but there's only so much money. Going for more money when what you previously were given was not managed well doesn't help NDSU's or any NDUS school's case. 

I saw more willingness to fund state infrastructure projects (water*) than higher ed right now. The issue of child care around the state seems more in focus also. (Child care is a direct impact on workforce in small towns, and workforce was much heard also.) 

*New ND Rep (former Gate City CEO and NDSU fundraiser) Steve Swiontek, R-Dist 10, was more interested in talking water projects and electricity than higher ed. 

[UNDBIZ]

3 hours ago, The Sicatoka said:

In the middle of program cuts and faculty layoffs they are looking for three new deans for their seven, no, wait, now just five colleges? And soon a provost too. 

Their "strategic investments" seem, well, in Cook's words "Additional investments will be dependent upon the result of the legislative process." Having spent a little time schmoozing state leaders and legislators in Bismarck the last couple weeks, that's a tough climb. As one western legislator told me quaintly, everyone has a tin cup out but there's only so much money. Going for more money when what you previously were given was not managed well doesn't help NDSU's or any NDUS school's case. 

I saw more willingness to fund state infrastructure projects (water*) than higher ed right now. The issue of child care around the state seems more in focus also. (Child care is a direct impact on workforce in small towns, and workforce was much heard also.) 

*New ND Rep (former Gate City CEO and NDSU fundraiser) Steve Swiontek, R-Dist 10, was more interested in talking water projects and electricity than higher ed. 

Swiontek secured $59 million for an engineering building, $5 million of random additional money for NDSU operations, and the board office to pay for Bresciani's retirement package.  They also got $90 million for a new ag research building.  NDSU got everything it wanted from the House, but the statewide budget is currently $1.5 billion overspent.  We'll see how things go in the Senate.

[The Sicatoka]

24 minutes ago, UNDBIZ said:

We'll see how things go in the Senate.

Like Cook says, "the Legislature has reached the “cross-over” phase, where bills pass to the other chamber of legislature for further consideration"

And often cross-over is where bills are left to die. 

At $1,500,000,000 overspent at crossover, there's a reckoning coming. 

[The Sicatoka]

Never again shall UND accept off-hand comments about committees and consultants.

Here's the fine work of another's consultants:

Quote

Good morning, NDSU Faculty and Staff,
 
We wanted to provide you with an update on some of the work related to the financial re-organization around campus. Over the past handful of months, we have been working on understanding the current state and beginning to design the future state. We have now transitioned to the final phase from now through Summer 2023 where we will operationalize all of the design work. We know there is a lot of change occurring on campus and appreciate the partnership of you and your colleagues in this process.
 
Below we have outlined some key updates and action items:
 
•    Website:  A website dedicated to providing timely updates and information throughout this process is now live. The website will include project overviews, a timeline, roles and responsibilities, FAQs, and more, we encourage you and your staff to utilize this site as a tool for information. 
You can find the website at: www.ndsu.edu/vpfa/accounting_service_center/ 
 
•    Director of Accounting Services Center Job Posting:  The position for the Director of the Accounting Services Center was posted today, March 15. The goal is to find and prioritize qualified internal candidates. If we are unable to fill this role internally, we will begin an external search. If you or someone you know is a qualified individual for this role, we encourage you to apply for the position! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions!
You can find the job description here.
 
•    Financial Services Email: In order to quickly and easily answer any and all questions, we have established an email that we are monitoring daily: ndsu.financialservices@ndsu.edu. If you are unable to find an answer to your question on the website, feel free to send an email to and we will reply as soon as possible. 
 
Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions. 
 
Thank you, 
 
Bruce Bollinger
Karin Hegstad 
Huron Consulting Group

So these consultants have taken months to figure out an already known nearly $8 million shortfall and as the solution they've "operationalized" a website and an email account, and created a new paid position when the budget is already broken. 

Brilliant. 

PS - They're in the hole already; who is paying the consulting fees. 

[The Sicatoka]

PPS - If they need to create a "Director of Accounting Services Center" job posting and position, what were they doing for accounting up to now? Didn't they have a CFO or VP Finance that would de facto be the director of accounting services? 

[UNDBIZ]

1 hour ago, The Sicatoka said:

PPS - If they need to create a "Director of Accounting Services Center" job posting and position, what were they doing for accounting up to now? Didn't they have a CFO or VP Finance that would de facto be the director of accounting services? 

One of the other names at the bottom of that email/letter, Bruce Bollinger, is the VP of Finance and Administration.  If they're like UND, there's a couple associate VPs, then budget and accounting directors, then accountants below him.

[The Sicatoka]

A new and an incumbent on ND SBHE. 

https://www.am1100theflag.com/news/regional-news/63130-burgum-appoints-curtis-biller-reappoints-timothy-mihalick-to-north-dakota

[the green team]

Here we are in May, and I have heard little to none about the budget challenges that had been facing NDSU.  I’ve heard barely a peep. In fact, their equestrian team that was on the chopping block made nationals. 
 

For all the “dark days are ahead” talk or thoughts. It doesn’t seem to have gone that way, at least you hear very little about anything too serious.  Comparatively, when UND was going through it, there were stories daily, sometimes more than one… rampant speculation from supporters, haters of all sorts, and yet in my observation, this situation it would seem has been little more than a speed bump for NDSU. 
 

It’s interesting to see how different a feel of a budget cut situation has been from one place to the other.  Maybe I’ve missed some of it, but it sure feels far different than when UND had to go through things.

[UNDBIZ]

17 hours ago, the green team said:

Here we are in May, and I have heard little to none about the budget challenges that had been facing NDSU.  I’ve heard barely a peep. In fact, their equestrian team that was on the chopping block made nationals. 
 

For all the “dark days are ahead” talk or thoughts. It doesn’t seem to have gone that way, at least you hear very little about anything too serious.  Comparatively, when UND was going through it, there were stories daily, sometimes more than one… rampant speculation from supporters, haters of all sorts, and yet in my observation, this situation it would seem has been little more than a speed bump for NDSU. 
 

It’s interesting to see how different a feel of a budget cut situation has been from one place to the other.  Maybe I’ve missed some of it, but it sure feels far different than when UND had to go through things.

Legislature gave them an extra $5 million to bail them out.

[the green team]

Really?  did UND get an extra 5 million as well when it was going through it?  
 

if they did get an additional 5 million to help, and UND did not, I guess that goes a long way in my thinking of whether or not the state legislature has a favorite.  That’s tough to hear. 
 

If I recall about 8-10 years ago state institution(s) were given the opportunity to raise money with a match from the state.  I’m  a bit hazy on this as I’m getting older, but at the time the state put up the parameters that was not to be used towards athletics. I believe 2 schools did not adhere to that, one was NDSU, the other Dickinson State…. I’m not sure anything came of that either, I know DSU has had a ton of issues beyond that.  I believe if it had been UND doing it that way, things would have been on DEFCON with media coverage and various outrage. When it comes to similar situations, it seems one school gets the benefit of the doubt  far more often.  
 

I realize that with the Med School, Law, Aviation, Business etc, UND has been incredibly fortunate with what it has received from the state, however it seems it certain instances that UND either gets slightly different treatment(perceived or actual) than it’s neighbor to the south. 

 

[JohnboyND7]

4 hours ago, the green team said:

Really?  did UND get an extra 5 million as well when it was going through it?  
 

if they did get an additional 5 million to help, and UND did not, I guess that goes a long way in my thinking of whether or not the state legislature has a favorite.  That’s tough to hear. 
 

If I recall about 8-10 years ago state institution(s) were given the opportunity to raise money with a match from the state.  I’m  a bit hazy on this as I’m getting older, but at the time the state put up the parameters that was not to be used towards athletics. I believe 2 schools did not adhere to that, one was NDSU, the other Dickinson State…. I’m not sure anything came of that either, I know DSU has had a ton of issues beyond that.  I believe if it had been UND doing it that way, things would have been on DEFCON with media coverage and various outrage. When it comes to similar situations, it seems one school gets the benefit of the doubt  far more often.  
 

I realize that with the Med School, Law, Aviation, Business etc, UND has been incredibly fortunate with what it has received from the state, however it seems it certain instances that UND either gets slightly different treatment(perceived or actual) than it’s neighbor to the south. 

 

I believe the med school and law school are funded separately from the U itself?

Regardless, you listed basically all the programs offered by the university of North Dakota lol outside of education.

[fightingsioux4life]

7 hours ago, the green team said:

Really?  did UND get an extra 5 million as well when it was going through it?  
 

if they did get an additional 5 million to help, and UND did not, I guess that goes a long way in my thinking of whether or not the state legislature has a favorite.  That’s tough to hear.

If true, that is outrageous. What's next, giving NDSU money to build a new stadium and move to FBS?

[The Sicatoka]

11 hours ago, fightingsioux4life said:

If true, that is outrageous. What's next, giving NDSU money to build a new stadium and move to FBS?

Been floated by the true believers. 

[Kab]

Was this at the request of the governor, if it is  true why has it been so quiet

They need to change the name of NDUS to USND

the first is too much like ndsu 

[JohnboyND7]

53 minutes ago, Kab said:

Was this at the request of the governor, if it is  true why has it been so quiet

They need to change the name of NDUS to USND

the first is too much like ndsu 

Nothing says effective governance like changing the name of departments.

[Kab]

Every  time I see ndus I immediately think it’s ndsu, that’s all I’m saying 

not sure who picked that name but it gets confusing 

[UNDBIZ]

22 hours ago, the green team said:

Really?  did UND get an extra 5 million as well when it was going through it?  

if they did get an additional 5 million to help, and UND did not, I guess that goes a long way in my thinking of whether or not the state legislature has a favorite.  That’s tough to hear. 

If I recall about 8-10 years ago state institution(s) were given the opportunity to raise money with a match from the state.  I’m  a bit hazy on this as I’m getting older, but at the time the state put up the parameters that was not to be used towards athletics. I believe 2 schools did not adhere to that, one was NDSU, the other Dickinson State…. I’m not sure anything came of that either, I know DSU has had a ton of issues beyond that.  I believe if it had been UND doing it that way, things would have been on DEFCON with media coverage and various outrage. When it comes to similar situations, it seems one school gets the benefit of the doubt  far more often.  

I realize that with the Med School, Law, Aviation, Business etc, UND has been incredibly fortunate with what it has received from the state, however it seems it certain instances that UND either gets slightly different treatment(perceived or actual) than it’s neighbor to the south. 

 

When UND was really cutting in 2017 the state didn't have any money either, so no.  They did give UND an extra $2 million in 2019 to get the law school on track.