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Financial Impact
It is clear that the forthcoming academic year will bring yet more financial challenges for the university. Because of the recent national financial paroxysms, state income taxes and sales taxes will be less than last year leading to further budget cuts. Inevitably we will face proration as the state budget picture becomes clearer.
We all can do something immediately to mitigate the immediate financial effects on the university:
Vote YES for Amendment 1 in the November 4 election, as recommended by the Huntsville Times and many other state newspapers.
For more information, please go to the Government Relations web site and read Gary Smith’s eloquent article justifying this vote.
There is little we can do to stave off the consequences of the economic crisis facing the nation. Most other state governments are also facing financial difficulties that are well documented in the press. However, there is much we can do as individuals to help the university weather the forthcoming cuts. There are two ways to do this:
1) Implement enterprising cost-saving measures
2) Work together to generate new income
As a research-intensive university, we are an intellectual community, brought together to create new knowledge and find better ways to transfer that knowledge to students and ourselves. It is time to turn our enterprising, creative strengths to solve our own financial problems. If you want to find out more about the university budget go to (http://www.uah.edu/president/documents/fy0809budget.pdf) where the planned 2008-2009 academic year budget details are published for all major parts of the university.
Just a few cost-saving suggestions:
- Go to the "Why not" section on ChargerNet or visit it here and propose YOUR solutions to inefficiencies, both large and small that you see slowing down the smooth running of the university or wasting precious university resources.
- Go to the facilities services energy-reduction web site and report energy wastage that YOU see.
- Follow the energy-saving suggestions already listed there:
Switch off YOUR computer and YOUR monitor when you leave the office for more than an hour. If we all do this we will save $62,000/year.
Turn off YOUR office lights when you leave the office for more than one hour. UAHuntsville spent $5M on utilities last year. Experts estimate that one-fourth of energy usage goes for lights. Thus just a ten percent reduction in the hours UAHuntsville’s lights are ON could mean an annual savings of up to $125,000!
Close down unused offices/labs/classrooms.
Don’t bring in a space heater this winter when your office is a little cooler than usual: wear a Charger Blue sweater instead. University-wide, for every degree we don’t have to heat or cool an office or lab, we save $250,000/year
- Be conservative with expenditures and hiring until the budget problem is defined more clearly.
Just a few income-generating suggestions would include:
- We are all recruiters and retainers of our students. We do this one student at a time.
- While it is not appropriate to regard our students as "customers", in every interaction with every student, please remember that they are contributing to YOUR paycheck.
- Every student who is interested in UAHuntsville is a potential new source of income.
- Every student who is already here came to UAHuntsville because they wanted to study with us. Thank them and encourage them to stay by YOUR actions.
- If each faculty member works with Rick Barth and Sandra Patterson to attract and retain ONE out of state student, our tuition income will increase next year by $4 million.
- If we increase our freshman-sophomore retention by 10%, we will increase tuition income by $860,000.
- If we increase our sophomore-junior retention by 10%, we will increase tuition income by $600,000.
- If we increase our external research funding by 10%, we will increase overhead income by $1,500,000.
- While pay raises will be scarce for the near future, every faculty member in areas that can generate external funding has the opportunity to increase their academic-year salary by up to 41% and in so doing increase our overhead return.
Find new ways to attract and retain our students. Find better ways to teach them, find new ways to share your courses and create more attractive courses. Put all your teaching material on-line so students who miss your class or miss your course can take it on-line, thus staying registered, therefore continuing to pay tuition and consequently graduating sooner as a satisfied alumnus/alumna who in the future will contribute to UAHuntsville.
Our future is in OUR hands. The Powers of 10 that we all worked to generate as our goals are all focused on generating more income. Together we can beat the financial challenges but we must start now. Let’s use our collective wisdom and determination to ensure our tomorrow.
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