Campus Budget Hearings Set for April 30, May 1

As UC Merced continues its budget planning process for fiscal year 2013-2014, faculty and staff are invited to attend budget hearings April 30 and May 1.

Principal officers from each school and division, along with campus units, have assigned time slots to present their area’s budget proposals to the Budget Committee. Submitted proposals have been uploaded to UC Merced’s CROPS site and are available for review by faculty and staff with a UCMNetID.

During the two-day budget hearings, which will be held in KL 232, each presenting unit will be given time to set up, make its presentation and answer the Budget Committee members’ questions. While the majority of units have been allotted 20 minutes for their presentations, larger units – including the offices of the provost and executive vice chancellor, Student Affairs and administration -- have 40 minutes. The hearing schedule is available via CROPS.

Budget Committee members have 15 minutes to ask follow-up questions immediately after each presentation. In an announcement sent to faculty and staff this week, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Tom Peterson and Acting Vice Chancellor for Planning and Budget Daniel Feitelberg said audience members may be allowed to pose questions if time allows. Audience members who have questions that are not covered during the presentations may send their inquiries in writing following the hearings. A site has been established on CROPS site to submit questions and the Budget Office will make every effort to provide a response within 24 to 48 hours.

This year’s budget process marks a notable change from past practices. Under the new method, budget processes have been consolidated to develop a more integrated funding plan. The goals of this new process are to improve transparency, promote greater coordination between planning and budgeting functions and facilitate strategic resource allocation and long-term planning.

Under the new process, the Budget Committee was expanded and now includes all vice chancellors, school deans, one Staff Assembly representative, two Academic Senate Division Council members, one graduate and one undergraduate student representative.

Once the hearings are completed, the Budget Committee begins its deliberations and will send its recommendations to Chancellor Leland, who will make her final decisions by early to mid-May.