OVER THE EDGE _ February 9, 2007

UNBC Facing Budget Deficits

President Cozzetto outlines New 3-Year Plan

CAMERON ORR
News Epiror

Students and members of the
community are now becoming
aware of a serious deficit in the
UNBC budget. Recent number
crunches have forecasted a cumu-
lative deficit of $16 million.

UNBC has always trimmed
the numbers to maintain balanced
budgets but poor forecasting of
current academic trends and and
over-zealous spending projects
have left UNBC in a position of
downsizing.

It is predicted that by 2010
the revenue of UNBC will be
$64,676,000 million, which will
only partially cover.a $70,915,000
million expense tab.

“We’re being strategic about
it [...] We’re focusing on,target

areas,” says Don Cozzetto, UNBC
President.

Among some of the details of
UNBC’s 3-year plan is
to encourage early retire-
ment and to conglomer-
ate certain departments
around the campus.

Vice-President Re-
search, a title currently
held by Max Blouw, will not be
filled. Max Blouw, as has been
previously reported by Over the
Edge, is moving on to become
President at the Wilfrid Laurier
University in Ontario.

The position left by Blouw
will become the Vice Provost of
Research and Graduate Studies.
Another position being retooled
is the Vice President of Finance,
which will make way for a Chief
Financial Officer. Cozzetto
explains that this restructuring
will save money and make the
operation of the school more
efficient.
The new

addition
of Vice
iP ror
vost of Research and Gradu-
ate Studies will link together
gtaduate studies and research
into one streamlined section

$

of the university. The Chief Fi-
nancial Officer as well will report
directly to the President.

“We're analyzing how we can |
at synergies between departments,
— President Don Cozzetto

This 3-year plan was decided
upon during a recent UNBC Board
of Governors retreat in Vancouver
which was devoted entirely to dis-
cussing the budget. In response to
criticism of sending the govern-
ors to Vancouver during a budget
crisis, Cozzetto replied that the
retreat had been planned a year in
advance and is a regular function
of the board. The cost of having
the retreat in Vancouver is not any
more costly than it would have
been having it in Prince George,
he also states that many of the
governors live outside of Prince
George anyway.

The bottom line for the budget
crisis, as Dr. Cozzetto explains,
is the stagnant number of UNBC
students enrolled over the
past few years. While enroll-
ments grew in 2006, there was
a decline in 2005, and overall
numbers have not increased any
substantial amount.

To coincide with this stagnant
enrollment the number of staff and
faculty have grown to levels that
exceed the carrying capacity of the
students. The cause of this imbal-
ance is the university’s continuing

expansion. As new programs have

been introduced, new staff has

been hired to support them. Lower

than expected registration to

ook these programs has hurt the
» ability to sustain them.

Students provide approxi-
mately. 90% of the revenue to
operate the school.

Cozzetto also emphasizes
that this restructuring is a function
which most organizations experi-
encing rapid growth undergo.
UNBC, he says, will become even
stronger for this restructuring.

Cozzetto will be meeting with
the heads of the student govern-
ments and consulting with them
on how best to spread information
out to the students Friday, Febru-
ary 2. ;

Departments in the university
will also be restructured to bet-
ter fit the budget. Departments
may be combined with others that
share similar curriculums.

Cozzetto is looking at ways
in which two departments which
may share similar courses and fo-
cuses can be combined to operate
with less people than the two de-
partments separately would.

“We’re analyzing how we can
look at synergies between depart-
ments,” says Cozzetto.

He highlighted certain depart-
ments which are meeting or ex-
ceeding expectations and enroll-
ments, such as Psychology and
health programs. Cozzetto had no
comment on any particular depart-
ments which may be the subject

of intense retooling. He says the
Deans of all the departments are
working out the numbers.

Many of students around cam-
pus do not share the same optimis-
tic view of UNBC’s restructuring.

“To pass this issue onto the
next generation of students is un-
nacceptable,” says Rion Floris,
a chemistry major. “I think they
rushed too fast to build the sport
centre and develop the medical
program,” he continues.

Floris disputes the effective-
ness of merging certain depart-
ments. For Chemistry particularly,
with its multitude of sub-topics,
such as organic and inorganic,
“you can’t expect these profs to
cover two areas”.

“There won’t be as many sec-
tions of courses in departments,”
says Cozzetto.

Cozzetto believes that this
won't hurt the overall educational
progress of students at the univer-
sity. “There will still be lots of
courses to offer students”

The student impact is assured
to be minimal. By developing
the 3-year plan, Cozzetto is ‘con-
fident that the school will remain
strong.

“Tt’s a wonderful university,”
he says, later adding that, “In a
few years people won’t even re-
member this happened.”

For information on the new
budget, visit © www.unbc.ca/
budget/index. html.

Cozzetto Speaks to The Media

The Deficit-Related Tension

ELIZABETH FYLES
"Copy Eprror

Can you feel the tension?
UNBC has just discovered it is
falling into a deeper and deeper
deficit. UNBC’s newly appointed
president, Don Cozzetto, weighs
in of the subject of reductions.

At a meeting with the media
on Monday, January 29, Cozzetto
informed those present that the
Board of Governors has spent the
previous Saturday hashing out
the reorganization of the Univer-
. sity that would allow UNBC to
fix the dilemma it has found it-
self in. Cozzetto stressed that he
was “confident [the changes] will
make us stronger,” and that the
university is now “trying to move
from a very strong growth mode...
into a mode of sustainability.”

He also emphasized that this
was a much needed balancing and
realignment of priorities and that
faculty and staff reductions would
be spread over three years to mini-
mize, wherever possible, the im-
pact on the university and the stu-
dents at large. Cozzetto suggests
that the majority of the university
won’t be affected and the UNBC
continues to make its biggest pri-
ority the success of its students.

It was suggested at the media
meeting that UNBC may have
been living over and above its
means as the budget is produced
year by year and student enroll-
ment numbers have been below
predictions for five years. the
expected growth has simply not
materialized. To explain why the
budgets have not matched with ac-

tual growth Cozzetto says “ when
you’re in a growth.-pattern, you
have to continue in the growth
model fashion.” Now, however,
the university has “built into [its]
revenue program a 2% growth”
which he and the Board of Gov-
ernors feel is a “do-able strategy.”

In addition to this UNBC
will be expanding its recruitment
beyond the region and into the
non-traditional student market.
Looking towards the place-bound,
those working full-time’ and those
otherwise unable to become trad-
itional students.

The predicted reductions
will include 25 staff and 25 fac-
ulty positions over the next three
years. Some of the staff reduc-
tions will happen immediately al-
though because of the many chan-

nels to move through, faculty cuts
will not take place right away.
In addition some savings will be

- realized immediately because of

the nature of the reorganization
strategy arrived at by the Board of
Governors.

Cozzetto also reiterates that the
Teaching and Learning Center’s
and the Northern Sport Center’s
continued construction will not
be affected by any reorganization
strategies as these projects have
already been committed to and
will not affect cuts in other areas.

When questioned as to whether
there have been specific programs
which have not met enrollment
expectations Cozzetto had noth-
ing negative to say. He indicated
that both the Business and Health
Sciences programs have exceeded

expectations and that more study
will be needed before any conclu-
sions can be drawn as to short-
comings in any programs.

Cozzetto highlighted that
many people are concerned about
UNBC and about jobs at UNBC.
He states that there will not be
major program cuts but that some
ptograms will be combined to re-
duce costs. “{Our] mission state-
ment hasn’t changed, but we’re
more focused on that mission.”

Providing further explanation,
Cozzetto suggests that “[this is]
something that’s impacting higher
education in the province... its not
unique to UNBC.” However, he
is still committed to providing the
best quality education possible to
the students.

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