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April 15, 2009
For Immediate Release
For an Interview:
Erin Spurgeon
(801) 863-6807
In the final event of Utah Valley University’s 2008-2009 planning and budgeting process, Interim President Elizabeth Hitch spoke today about UVU’s recent successes, budget impact and decisions on resource and space allocation. Her remarks were given during "Lunch with Liz," which is a standard meeting held annually as the final part of UVU’s transparent Planning, Budgeting and Accountability (PBA) process. UVU employees, students and the public gathered in UVU’s Grande Ballroom to hear Hitch’s remarks.
"This was a remarkable year at UVU," Hitch said after the meeting. "We saw some amazing triumphs, including university status to begin the academic year, UVU’s first master degrees, rising enrollment and our classification by the Carnegie Foundation as a ‘community engaged’ institution. We have grappled with the unfortunate circumstance of severe reductions in state funding that will affect the institution for some time, but we’ve responded appropriately and we’re optimistic about UVU’s bright future."
University update
In addition to successes that include university status and increased enrollment, Hitch noted the accomplishments of individual students and campus groups. Notable accomplishments include those of Bridger Maxwell, a UVU computer science student who created one of the first game applications for Apple’s popular iPhone, and the School of the Arts’ presentation of "Nosferatu," an innovative mixed-media theater production of the 1922 vampire film by the same name. UVU’s production was selected as a regional finalist at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival.
Budget impact
Hitch announced that UVU finished adjusting its budget to comply with a 17 percent ongoing reduction. While some one-time backfill funding will lessen the impact, such a significant reduction in public funding is magnified because UVU has simultaneously experienced double-digit enrollment growth. In response to the budget reduction, UVU has made a series of central and across-the-board adjustments over the past few months. Those adjustments include a 5.66 percent increase in second-tier tuition, increased medical premiums for employees, a voluntary separation incentive program and a reduction of 65 state-funded full-time-equivalent positions. Hitch noted that while losing even one employee is difficult, especially for a growing institution, UVU’s net loss from involuntary separation was only four employees.
While UVU did not receive public money to support rising enrollment, the institution did allocate $5.6 million to its base budget from non-tax funds, including tuition from a larger student population. This tuition money will be used to support UVU’s strategic initiatives and areas of highest student interest and need.
"We wanted to deploy our resources to match student and program needs," said Linda Makin, UVU’s Executive Director of Planning and Budget. "We’ve been very careful throughout the budgeting process to determine the best use of our resources to serve our growing student body and support the institution’s strategic directions."
Resource and space allocation
Each year, UVU administrators, faculty and staff gather to discuss budget and planning priorities and determine the best use of the institution’s resources. Hitch spoke about how the University’s resources would be allocated to support the institution’s mission to serve students and the community. Funding requests that were approved include, among others, adding advisors to reduce the student-advisor ratio from 468 to 435, hiring nine salaried faculty, increasing support for UVU’s Business Resource Center and Small Business Development Center to spur economic growth and, in response to student demand, expanding evening hours for student computer labs.
UVU currently has 122.5 square feet per student, which is the lowest mark among all colleges and universities in Utah’s System of Higher Education. To meet the challenges associated with insufficient space, UVU implemented a Space Summit to identify options for addressing particular areas of high need. A few new buildings - including the UVU Library and Alumni and Visitor Center - along with the renovation of the Student Success Center, should help to alleviate space concerns, although UVU is projected to need another 310,000 square feet by 2015 just to maintain the status quo.
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Written by:
Brad Plothow
(801) 863-7149