College of Health Sciences
Budget Committee Meeting
May 10, 2006 - 1:30-2:45 pm

The following were present:
Dr. Florencetta Gibson, Dr. Linda Sabin, Dr. George Roberts, Dr. Mike Ramsey, Ms. Peggy Meredith, Ms. Donna Eichhorn, Dr. Judy Fellows, Ms. Norma Johnson, Ms. Beverly Jarrell, Ms. Sharon Chaney, Ms. Deborah Shell, Mr. Brett Bennett, Dr. Paxton Oliver, Dr. Jessica Dolecheck, Dr. Jan Corder

Unable to attend: Ms. Sandra Jones

Dr. Corder read the e-mail from Dr. Richters outlining the parameters of the budget cuts that are required from the College of Health Sciences that included the following:

A $200,000 cut for the next year with the following stipulations:
1. The base is the 2005-06 budget.
2. The personnel costs are the revised personnel costs after the raises
3. May use the $400 per faculty “support” funds
4. May not use the reduction due in OT personnel
5. Should not count the new HS Deans salary
6. Must count any new positions in the dean's office

Dr. Corder passed around a copy of budget pages for each department that included numbers from last year's budget for each of the categories and numbers that she had worked on for each category for each department. Each category was discussed at length. Travel for each department has been left the same or cut from last year. Operating services only includes phone, postage, and dues and fees for accreditation and required memberships. Supply category includes only supplies for labs and clinics. Office supplies have been moved to the Health Science Operations budget. Hopefully ordering for the whole college will help to save on supplies and allow us to monitor supplies better. The largest costs are for personnel.

In planning to centralize work of the college when we are able to have space for the Dean's office, the two advisors from nursing were moved from nursing's budget into the dean's office budget to become advisors for all pre-professional students in the college. With the volume of students we have, a third advisor will be needed but has not been proposed for this year.

A business office manager for the college is proposed from the dean's office to assist with managing the budgets for the dean's office and for each of the departments. This person would also be responsible for facilities management, inventory and other duties.

The department head positions for dental hygiene and clinical laboratory science are proposed to become 9 month positions. The two coordinator positions in nursing are proposed to become 11 month positions. OT department head position is already 9 months, and nursing director and associate director, communicative disorders department head and radiologic technology department head positions have been proposed to stay 12 months.

With these cuts we have only been able to reach approximately $150,000. Dr. Corder asked for further suggestions related to budget issues.

After much discussion the following 5 suggestions came forward:

1. Increase lab fees - Nursing is the only department that currently has lab fees to offset the cost of supplies for the labs. Dr. Gibson has already suggested that these fees need to be increased. The group recommended that funds from lab fees be in an account controlled by the dean and/or department heads specifically for purchase of lab and clinic supplies.
2. Increase professional fees - The professional fee that students pay in the professional programs could be increased.
3. Do not hire a business office manager for the college this year.
4. Allow clinic fees from dental hygiene and CODI clinic to offset some of our cuts since these fees are deposited into the general fund and not into the department or college fund.
5. The suggestion was made and unanimously supported, to request that the administration reconsider allowing the college to count the reduction from the OT personnel and other savings. The consensus of the group was that the college had given up quite a bit with the loss of the OT program.

Dr. Corder thanked the group for the input and the meeting adjourned at 2:45 pm

Presiding and recording: Dr. Jan Corder, Interim Dean


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