President sees progress on funding formulas

In reports to the Academic Senate and Board of Trustees, President Bernie Machen indicated he is seeing faster-than-expected progress toward attaining budget flexibility for the Utah System of Higher Education schools and a model of state funding not based exclusively on enrollment growth. "Accountability has helped with the Legislature," he says. "We can talk about these other issues, now that we are past the are-you-working-hard-enough question."

The flexibility issue is getting a fair hearing by legislators, Machen says. As a tactic in the budgeting process, the USHE will not declare itself on any tuition increase a year in advance, as done in the past, but will wait until there are better estimates of state revenues. It does look like the University will get approval to set differential tuition for some graduate/professional schools when it is appropriate to do so.

The University is working toward a state funding model that would be based on total enrollment-rather than just growth-and would include non-personnel budget increases that higher education has not received for more than a decade. Machen says the Legislature may consider a new funding formula as early as the coming session in January.

The administration is contemplating (no decision yet) issuing paychecks twice each month, rather than every two weeks. This means there would be 24 paychecks per year, rather than 26 or 27 (see related item in this issue of FYI). "With 261 working days most years, we actually have 26.1 pay periods, but this is not something the PeopleSoft payroll system is set up to handle without extensive modifications," says Ron Tremea, director of Governmental Accounting and Support Services. "The simplest solution is to pay twice per month, as many employers do." If the proposal is adopted, paydays would be the 7th and 22nd of each month, or the preceding Friday if the date falls on a weekend.

A year's pay would still be a year's pay. Divided by 24 instead of 26.1, each paycheck would be about 8 percent larger. Tax withholding would also be slightly more, and it is a phenomenon of withholding schedules that withholding would go up about $15 total for the year on a $24,000 salary (not $251, as incorrectly reported in the Nov. 12 Daily utah Chronicle). In any case, the taxes you actually pay are determined by your income for the year, not the number of paychecks.

Because the University pays every two weeks instead of twice a month, you occasionally receive three paychecks during a calendar month, and-about every 10 years-you get 27 paychecks during a calendar year. 1998 is such a year.

Each check gives you two weeks pay for two weeks work at the rate of your annual salary, so the only people to feel any unusual effect of the 27th check will be those who participate in the Flexible Spending program. No Flexible Spending deduction will need to be taken from the Dec. 30 paycheck.

The Philosophy Department and Philosophy Club are hosting a national colloquium, "Violence and Non-Violence," Saturday, Nov. 21 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. At the Alumni House. Authors, religious leaders, pacifists, and a representative of the U.S. Military Academy will discuss everything from Gandhi's philosophy to nuclear weapons, followed by round-table discussions by participants. Registration is free.

Gerald Stringfellow, Distinguished Professor and chair of Materials Science and Engineering, has been appointed dean of the College of Engineering, effective Dec. 1. Stringfellow earned his B.S. degree at the U of U, and Ph.D. at Stanford. He was a project manager for Hewlett Packard before joining the U faculty in 1980. Stringfellow has won numerous awards in science and technology, and he is the author of 330 technical papers and several books. He replaces David Pershing, who is now senior vice president for Academic Affairs.

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As part of its planning effort, the Board of Regents queried trustees of each of the Utah System of Higher Education schools on various points. The U administration worked with the Board of Trustees to prepare a response. Here is a summary of the points in the response:


• The University's mission is fine as it is.
• If called upon to do so, the U of U could expand enrollment by 2,500 to 3,500 students with current facilities, if it has adequate funds for remodeling and operations. Some specific programs can absorb more enrollment; others cannot, without additional facilities.
• If the U actually "built out" all available space designated in the Long Range Development Plan for facilities, the maximum capacity of the main campus would be 35,000 to 37,000 students. Expansion of that magnitude would require an enormous planning effort, considering such factors as impact on surrounding neighborhoods. Growth might also be routed to off-site locations.
• The role of technology will continue to grow, especially as an augmentation to classroom instruction. Present needs for renovation and upgrading to accommodate technology amount to about $3.5 million for classrooms and labs, $1 million to complete the communications backbone, and another $14 million for networking and telecommunication equipment.
• Planning issues at the U include: adjusting to the semester system, securing adequate parking and transportation, meeting the markets for staff and faculty salaries, securing resources to keep up with technology, finding the appropriate niche for the U in distance learning, and coping with an ever-changing health care industry.
• Issues the USHE as a whole needs to address include: the funding model, priorities in facility funding, adjustment of institutional missions as enrollment grows, and distance education policies.

Volunteer positions are open for those who want to get involved in the 2002 Winter Olympics early by serving as a volunteer at the pre-Olympic events that will be used to test the venues before that actual games begin. One such opportunity will be the United States Figure Skating Championship, this coming February at the Delta Center and the E Center in West Valley. The event will be televised on ABC with Peggy Fleming and Dick Button as commentators.

Through the Office of Olympic Coordination, the University has agreed to send a block of 200 volunteers to handle registration and credentialing of athletes, coaches, chaperons, and media. Volunteers must be willing to work three shifts of four hours each during the period Feb. 5-12, 1999, at the Salt Lake Hilton. In return, volunteers will receive a uniform, a ticket to the figure skating opening ceremony (with option to purchase more), and four vouchers to attend junior events at the E Center. For a registration form, contact Gwen Springmeyer, 316 Union, ext. 5-7180.

Tickets are available at the University for many concerts and other events held in and around Salt Lake City, even when they don't take place on campus. Kingsbury Hall on Presidents Circle is an outlet for all the ArtTix performances, including Ballet West and the Utah Symphony. (For that matter, you may purchase tickets to Kingsbury Hall events at other ArtTix outlets, but they will cost $1.50 more than here.) By the same token, the Jon M. Huntsman Center ticket office handles all the events ticketed through Smith's Tix. This will include Utah Jazz games when the NBA resumes play.

Risk Management reminds supervisors that they are responsible for ensuring that employees who drive as a fundamental part of their jobs take an approved 30-minute defensive driving course annually. Those who occasionally use U of U vehicles, rental cars, or personal vehicles on University business must take the course every three years. Supervisors must also ensure that drivers have a valid driver's license, and that employees involved in an at-fault accident, reckless driving, or DUI, must complete the course.

The Human Resources Training and Development Office, ext. 1-5470, offers the video/workbook course "The Ultimate Driving Challenge" monthly. The course is also available at the reference desks of the Marriott Library and Eccles Health Sciences Library, or from Risk and Insurance Management, ext. 1-5949. The latter also has copies of an alternative course, "National Driving Test II."

State contracts for car rentals have changed. Travelers on University business may now receive special state-contract rates with the Alamo (contract #113111), National (#50001180), and Dollar (#UT6009) agencies. Travelers within the U.S. and Canada who use these agencies do not need to purchase insurance from the car rental agency or pay the U self-insurance fee. (When renting not on the state contract, in other countries, or a vehicle larger than a van, do purchase loss-damage-waiver insurance.) Full instructions about renting vehicles can be found at the Travel Office Web site, www.travel.utah.edu. Any accident involving a rental vehicle should be reported to Risk and Insurance Management, ext. 1-5590, as soon as possible.

Faculty and staff are invited to join in Alternative Spring Break community service activities March 13-21 at 12 locations around the West, either as "partners" (leaders), or as participants. Those who become partners will be involved in planning, act as mentors for students, and assist site leaders during the week in the field. Projects will focus on environment, youth, HIV/AIDS education, and the like. Locations include five west coast cities, the Navajo Nation, a town near the Mexican border, and two locations in Colorado. There will also be a four-day project at an animal shelter in Kanab.

Costs vary from $50 to $200 for lodging, meals, and transportation. For information, contact the Lowell Bennion Community Service Center, ext. 1-4811, or call Kacy Dustin in the Office of Health Promotion, ext. 5-1274.

Methanol, ethanol, simple salts-you name it-National Product Sales, a Salt Lake City supplier, is offering its surplus chemicals free to University departments. Lewis Wall, NPS director of compliance and safety of hazardous materials, says the company is happy to donate its extra chemicals to the U. Available chemicals change frequently, and include commonly needed items such as paint thinner and darkroom chemicals. For information, contact Wall at 972-4132.

The Moran Eye Center is well on its way to its stated goal of becoming one of the top 10 vision centers in the nation. Moran plays the same role in behalf of vision and the human eye that the hospital does in medicine. The Ophthalmology Department in the School of Medicine conducts teaching and research, while clinical treatment comes under the University Hospitals and Clinics organization.

Like the hospital, the Moran organization is establishing off-campus clinical locations that give patients nearby access to U of U care anywhere on the Wasatch Front. Patients benefit from the same emphasis on customer service found in University Hospital and Clinics and the University of Utah Health Network. A showpiece is the Moran Vision Center at 6360 S. 3000 East, known as the "Old Mill" site. "This facility is like a five-star hotel of high technology, set up in response to patient needs," says Wayne Imbrescia, Moran administrative director. At the center, computerized refraction increases the speed and accuracy of determining prescriptions for eyeglasses, while advanced laser surgery techniques sometimes eliminates the need for glasses altogether.

The clinics are backed by the high level of faculty expertise found on-campus in the Moran Eye Center building, located just north of University Hospital. Moran is the only specialty eye treatment referral center of its type between the Mississippi River and the west coast. Research interests include study of advanced surgical techniques, safer implantable lenses, neurons in the retina, corneal transplants, treatment for "dry eye," genetics in eye disease, an the impact of medical conditions of other parts of the body upon the eye. Moran Eye Center is also the Department of Defense test site for developing methods of eye examinations remotely using electronic links to the central facility. "The bottom line is that patients can't help but benefit from the level of expertise found in association with such research," says Imbrescia.

The Board of Trustees approved a greatly simplified policy (3-1) regarding disclosure of University financial information to the public. The University provides "complete and accurate" financial information in regular reports and in response to queries, the policy says. Rather than specify procedures, the policy simply declares that disclosures will be made in accordance with the Utah Government Records Access and Management Act. The current text of U of U policies can be found at www.admin.utah.edu/ppmanual or at campus library reference desks.