Senate Bill 17-18-20
| Bill ID: | 17-18-20 |
| Name: | Enhancing Senate Input on University Planning and Resources |
| Proposed: | 02/12/2018 |
| Sponsor: | Jordan Goodman, Ralph Bennett, Kent Cartwright, Mark Leone, Gerald Miller, Christopher Davis, Arthur Popper, Willie Brown, Marvin Breslow, Don Webster, Drew Baden |
| Proposal: | The Senate is the primary shared governance body at the University and includes elected representatives of the faculty, staff, and students. The Senate’s primary role is to advise, consult with, and make recommendations to the University’s administrators. This is defined in the University of Maryland Plan of Organization for Shared Governance, which states: Subject to the authority of the Board of Regents, the Chancellor, and the President, the Senate shall consider any matter of concern including, but not limited to, educational, budgetary, and personnel matters; campus-community matters; long-range plans; facilities; and faculty, staff, and student affairs. The Senate shall advise the President, the Chancellor, or the Board of Regents, as it deems appropriate. In addition, Article 1 of the Plan defines the Senate and its Functions. In 1.3.p., one of those functions includes: Consult and advise on long-range plans as they relate to institutional budget, physical plant development, and other aspects of campus life including ways in which these aspects may be improved, and provide means to keep such plans under continual review. The Senate’s effectiveness as an advisory body hinges on its ability to make informed recommendations. In order to facilitate this, an open and transparent budgeting process is necessary. While the majority of the Senate’s work focuses on policy, the campus budget is where policy is put into action. The Senate and its committees should have a clear understanding of the fiscal issues facing the campus in order to fully identify the implications of potential recommendations under consideration. A top priority in the University’s budgeting process should be enhancing academic excellence on campus. A well-informed Senate can provide valuable input from the various perspectives of the campus community toward this end, and can provide the advice needed to help the administration make the best possible budgetary and policy decisions. A clear understanding of the budget can also help members of the Senate to understand the fiscal issues facing the campus, provide the campus community the means to ask relevant and informed questions, and aid in developing future campus leaders. This level of clarity would allow the Senate to serve as a valuable conduit for disseminating information and educating the campus community on the complexities of resource realities and could also help reduce false assumptions about how campus resources are being utilized. We propose the formation of a new Senate Budgetary Affairs Committee whose broad charge would be to review and advise on the University’s budget. The proposed committee would provide transparency in the budgeting process, and ensure the administration has perspectives from the campus community as it considers priorities and implements policies. Proposed Membership: The members of the committee should include students, faculty, staff, and ex-officio representatives of the administration. Members of the committee should be selected by the Committee on Committees primarily from a slate of nominees provided by the Senate Executive Committee, and should include but not be limited to members of the campus community with budgetary experience. Ex-officio representatives on the committee should include members of the administration that are sufficiently knowledgeable on the campus budget such as the Associate Vice President for Finance and Personnel, the Chief Financial Officer, and/or any other representative of the Provost. Proposed Committee Charge: (1) Review, on a continuing basis, the fiscal policies and resources of the university; (2) Act as a vehicle to provide analysis and advice to the administration on strategies for the long-term and short-term allocation of university resources consistent with maintaining the missions of the university; (3) Report annually to the Senate on the budgetary and fiscal condition of the university and upon the request of the Senate Executive Committee; and (4) Act as a resource to other Senate committees on the fiscal implications of proposed legislation. |
| Active? | No |
Status
| Status: | Completed |
| Completed On: | 05/03/2019 |
History
| Status: | Complete |
| Related Files: |
| Status: | Complete |
| Reviewer: | Senate |
| Received: | 2019-04-18 |
| Decision Date: | 2019-04-24 |
| Decision: | The Senate voted to approve the creation of the special committee. |
| Next Step: | Presidential Approval |
| Related Files: |
| Status: | Complete |
| Reviewer: | Senate Executive Committee (SEC) |
| Received: | 2019-04-01 |
| Decision Date: | 2019-04-08 |
| Decision: | The SEC voted to place the report on the April 24, 2019 Senate agenda for consideration. |
| Next Step: | Senate Review |
| Related Files: |
| Status: | Complete |
| Reviewer: | Elections, Representation, & Governance (ERG) Committee |
| Received: | 2019-02-26 |
| Decision Date: | 2019-03-29 |
| Decision Due By: | 2019-03-30 |
| Decision: | The ERG Committee voted to send its recommendations to the SEC and Senate for consideration. |
| Actions: | Over the course of two meetings in March 2019, the committee finished drafting charge elements and considered the body's membership. It consulted with the Senate leadership and administrative stakeholders on the proposed structure, which it determined should be a special committee of limited duration. It also drafted a series of recommendations to ensure the special committee is regularly reviewed and, if appropriate, made a permanent body at the end of its term of duration. At its meeting on March 29, 2019, the committee voted to recommend the creation of a new Special Committee on University Finance. |
| Next Step: | SEC Review |
| Related Files: |
| Status: | Complete |
| Reviewer: | Senate Executive Committee (SEC) |
| Received: | 2019-02-18 |
| Decision Date: | 2019-02-26 |
| Decision: | The SEC voted to grant the extension. |
| Next Step: | ERG Review |
| Related Files: |
| Status: | Complete |
| Reviewer: | Elections, Representation, & Governance (ERG) Committee |
| Received: | 2018-08-27 |
| Decision Date: | 2019-02-15 |
| Decision Due By: | 2019-02-08 |
| Decision: | The ERG Committee requested an extension on its charge. |
| Actions: | The committee began discussing its charge at its meeting on September 7, 2018. The committee distributed a survey to Senate leaders at Big 10 and peer institutions. At its meeting on November 2, the committee spoke with one of the proposers. Chair Horbal and the committee's coordinators conducted follow-up interviews with several peer institutions, and met with the Associate Vice President for Finance & Chief Financial Officer; the Associate Vice President for Finance and Personnel; and representatives of the President and the Provost. In two February 2019 meetings, the committee discussed its findings, determined that there was merit in proposing a new body, and began drafting charge elements. The committee was unable to finish its work by the original charge deadline and requested an extension from the SEC. |
| Next Step: | SEC Review |
| Related Files: |
| Status: | Complete |
| Reviewer: | Senate Executive Committee (SEC) |
| Received: | 2018-02-14 |
| Decision Date: | 2018-02-21 |
| Decision: | The SEC voted to charge the ERG Committee with reviewing the proposal. |
| Next Step: | ERG Committee Review |
| Related Files: |