Budget and Investments
Q: OUR STRATEGIC PLAN EXPIRED IN 2020. WHY ARE WE LOOKING AT PROGRAM REDUCTIONS BEFORE DEVELOPING A NEW STRATEGIC PLAN?
Enrollment projections show a 10-year enrollment decline – and that was before the COVID-19 pandemic caused additional enrollment losses. Enrollment trends indicate that we need to begin addressing the situation now. Guided by the President’s Strategic Priorities, the APRCA Guiding Principles and Priorities, and the ReImagine Projects and Process we can make decisions that support the future of the University.
Q: HOW MUCH MONEY NEEDS TO BE SAVED THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS? WHAT PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL CUTS WILL BE ABSORBED BY ACADEMIC UNITS AND WHAT PERCENTAGE WILL BE ABSORBED BY NON-ACADEMIC UNITS?
In the University's plan toward financial stability, each division's operating budget is partially funded by general funds and management reserves. The portion on management reserves is called "bridge funds". It is a mechanism not to take a more dramatic cut and to phase in reductions. This is not unique to Academic Affairs and will happen in FY23 and FY24 as well.
The current plan is that all divisions will take a 1.5% budget reduction over the next few fiscal years, plus use management reserves as bridge funding to support the operational budget.
Q: IS THE UNIVERSITY EXAMINING EXPENDITURES OUTSIDE OF THE ACADEMIC DEPARTMENTS?
The university is examining non-academic programs through two separate reviews. Huron Consulting has been contracted to conduct a support services review. Huron Consulting works exclusively in higher education and has completed many similar engagements for peer institutions. The timeline for the support services review begins in late September or early October when the contract is finalized and concludes in early January.
In addition, President Percy appointed the Athletics Futures Committee and hired Collegiate Consulting to conduct a review of Athletics. The Athletic Futures Committee has begun to work on their final report, which should be finalized by mid-November. These reviews paired with program reviews form the core of our multi-year plan to achieve financial stability.
Q: MANY STUDENTS HAVE EXPRESSED INTEREST IN CONTINUING REMOTE AND ONLINE CLASSES. IS THIS BEING LOOKED AT AS ANOTHER FORM OF DELIVERY FOR STUDENTS?
Yes, the lessons of the pandemic have further motivated us to consider what it would mean to become a fully hybrid university with the flexibility that many of our students need to stay in college and graduate. This question fits into the larger framework of ReImagine PSU, our ongoing effort to better position our campus for the future.
Q: ARE WE PARTNERING WITH THE MAYOR'S OFFICE, THE PORTLAND BUSINESS ALLIANCE/CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, ETC., IN REIMAGINING (OR REAFFIRMING) OUR CONNECTION TO THE CITY?
Kevin Neely, Vice President for Government Relations and his team are partnering with several government and business partners to ReImagine and reaffirm PSU’s connection with the city. Please email govrelations@pdx.edu for questions about this work.
Q: IS PART OF THE PROGRAM REDUCTION PROCESS TO CONSIDER INVESTMENT IN PROGRAMS THAT HAVE HIGH STUDENT DEMAND?
Yes, this is one possible outcome of the review process.
Q. WHAT IS BEING DONE ABOUT RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION AT THE UNIVERSITY LEVEL AND ON BEHALF OF THE SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES?
Enrollment Management is responsible for meeting the undergraduate new student enrollment targets as outlined in the Strategic Enrollment Plan. Retention is being directly addressed at the university level through Students First where Provost Jeffords has outlined a strategic framework for organizing and coordinating a campus-wide focus on student success.
Q: IS IT CONCEIVABLE THAT A BILL COULD BE SPONSORED THAT WOULD PREVENT TERRITORIAL COMPETITION BETWEEN STATE UNIVERSITIES WITHIN THE STATE OF OREGON?
Representative Gorsek introduced HB 2651 during the 2019 Regular Session directing the Higher Education Coordinating Commission to conduct a study to identify duplications and redundancies among public university degrees, certificates, and classes with the purpose of consolidating or eliminating duplications and redundancies. However, the bill did not gain any traction.
Q: ARE FEDERAL COVID RELIEF FUNDS BEING USED TO ADVANCE THE REIMAGINE AGENDA, e.g. REIMAGINE GRANTS?
No, the federal relief funds were not used to fund the ReImagine Grants.
Transparency and Shared Governance
Q: THE APRCA COMMITTEE HAS NO REPRESENTATION FROM MCECS, SBA, SPH, OR COTA? WILL THIS CHANGE GOING FORWARD TO PROVIDE BROAD REPRESENTATION IN THIS PROCESS?
The APRCA Committee was designed to include representatives from five major Faculty Senate committees: Steering, Budget, Educational Policy Committee, Grad Council, and Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, with the goal of having curricular issues, policy matters, shared governance strategies, and budgetary considerations passed between the APRCA committee and the other major Senate committees (all of which have representatives from each of the University's Schools and Colleges). In addition, APRCA also includes four representatives and a diversity advocate chosen by the Committee on Committees and four representatives chosen by OAA. The Committee's membership changes as designers join and leave. The APRCA Committee is charged with ensuring the broadest possible participation in conversations about program reduction and review, so that all faculty (not merely those who serve on the committee) have access to information and decision-making opportunities.
Q: WHAT ARE OUR PLANS FOR CONTINUING TO ENGAGE FACULTY AND STAFF IN THIS CONVERSATION SO WE CAN ENGAGE IN A BALANCED, HOLISTIC ASSESSMENT OF WHAT PSU NEEDS?
During the 2021-2022 Academic Year, Academic Affairs, the APRCA Committee, and the Deans of the various Schools and Colleges will organize campus-wide and college-level forums for consideration and discussion about ongoing budget reductions and curricular review. Interactions will include (but are not limited to) budget forums (held both for the Faculty Senate and for the campus community), events with the Provost's ReImagine Fellows, and School- and College-level conversations about reorganization and other cost-saving initiatives. The Principles and Priorities designed by the APRCA committee in conversation with faculty feedback will guide the reorganization, in tandem with the Provost's driver metrics and value metrics dashboards.
Q: HOW CAN WE COMPENSATE FACULTY/STAFF/STUDENTS FOR THE REIMAGINE PSU PROCESS?
The ReImagine grants are designed to support faculty and staff who are participating in components of the ReImagine PSU process.
Q: WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO A TENURED PROFESSOR IN THE CASE OF A DEPARTMENT BEING ELIMINATED?
The University Promotion and Tenure Guidelines state that Indefinite tenure appointments are appointments of .50 FTE or more given to selected faculty members by the institutional executive under the authority contained in IMD 1.020 and OAR 580-21-105 in witness of the institution’s formal decision that the faculty member possesses such demonstrated professional competence that the institution will not henceforth terminate employment except for (a) cause, (b) financial exigency, or (c) program reductions or eliminations. Because tenure is institutional, not system-wide, faculty who have achieved tenure status in one state system institution cannot hereby claim tenure in other institutions of the state system (OAR 580-21-105).
The above is from an OAR as referenced in the University P&T Guidelines.
Q: HOW DOES THE ADMINISTRATION DETERMINE THE NEEDS OF STUDENTS?
Since 2017, with the creation of the Office of Student Success, PSU has engaged over 25,000 students via interviews, student engagement sessions, focus groups, surveys, employment, and user sessions. We consistently and routinely ask students for their input and perspective, and we partner with students to collaboratively improve student success with and for students. Additionally, PSU leadership has a close relationship with ASPSU giving us another means for understanding student wants and needs.
Q: HOW WILL INPUT FROM STUDENTS, STAFF, AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS BE COLLECTED?
Deans will be asked to develop processes in each college and school that allow for broad-based participation in these discussions.
Q: WHO IS ULTIMATELY RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING PROGRAM REDUCTION DECISIONS?
Based on all of the input and materials, the Provost will make any final program reduction decisions.
Data, Dashboards, and Program Reduction
Q: HOW DO WE GET QUESTIONS ANSWERED ABOUT THE DASHBOARDS?
Contact the Office of Institutional Research and Planning (OIRP) at instres@pdx.edu.
Q: SCH is difficult to estimate for units that teach a lot of SINQ courses. The numbers are inaccurate.
We are not estimating SCH. We are simply counting the SCH that was delivered for all courses including SINQ courses taught. These SCH are counted in the "faculty load" data on the lower left-hand side of the dashboard. Every course taught by every faculty member assigned to a department is counted there including courses in UNST, Honors, and for other departments. If there are questions about the data, you can contact OIRP at instres@pdx.edu.
Q: Why combine undergraduate and graduate students for student credit hours (SCH)?
In some measures, undergraduate and graduate SCH is combined; in others, it is separated. When combined, the measures indicate the total volume in a department, which is important to know. There are also two additional measures, the total undergraduate SCH, and the total graduate SCH. Since each of these measures is captured separately then a more comprehensive picture of the department can be described.
Q: WHY ARE STUDENT CREDIT HOURS (SCH) USED FOR THE BUDGET PROCESS?
Budgeted SCH refers to the forecasted SCH for the following year that is used in developing budget estimates for the following year. The forecast is developed by OIRP, and then can be adjusted by Colleges in response to changes that may affect SCH. In most cases, the OIRP forecast is used to project SCH and units do not modify the estimates.
SCH is part of the state payment model so we can't completely ignore SCH. SCH is also an indicator of enrollment and student demand across programs and helps us understand what programs students are interested in. We can reduce the impact of SCH on unit budgets by setting priorities like student success and graduation and including them in the budget model, which is currently being done.
Q: GIVEN THE LARGE FINANCIAL ASPECT, WOULD IT BE USEFUL TO BREAK DOWN THE SCH WITH THE PERCENTAGE OF IN-STATE VS OUT OF STATE?
We chose not to do this because it adds complexity.
Q: HOW WILL THE VALUE METRICS BE USED IN THIS ANALYSIS?
Value Metrics reflect key values of the university and are intended to recognize how units are contributing to those key values. Value Metrics will be used to refine assessment from the Driver Metrics, with a principle focus on the positive contributions units make to these values.
Q: WILL THE UNIT-LEVEL NARRATIVE ASSESSMENTS ALSO BE MADE PUBLIC? WHAT IS THE PROCESS FOR DEVELOPING AND SUBMITTING THIS IMPORTANT INFORMATION?
Yes, the unit-level narrative assessments will be made public on the Academic Affairs Program Reduction webpage when they are available.
Q: ARE ANY MEASURES BEING CONSIDERED THAT CAPTURE OR VALUE THE SOCIAL MOBILITY PROVIDED BY VARIOUS PROGRAMS? METRICS THAT MEASURE STUDENT EMPLOYMENT/EMPLOYER SALARY/DEMAND FOR GRADUATES ARE AVAILABLE.
At this time, social mobility will not be added to the current dashboard, but it will be considered when units submit their narratives.
Q: THE ADMINISTRATION PREVIOUSLY SHARED NATHAN GRAWE'S FORECASTED CHANGE FOR THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS ATTENDING FOUR-YEAR INSTITUTIONS FROM 2012 TO 2029 WHICH SHOWED AN OVERALL DECLINE, BUT DIDN'T MENTION THAT PORTLAND WAS THE NATIONAL HOT SPOT FOR GROWTH AND IS EXPECTED TO HAVE THE HIGHEST GROWTH IN COLLEGE-AGE DEMOGRAPHICS (20% THROUGH 2029). HOW DOES OUR UNIVERSITY PLAN FOR BUDGET CUTS REFLECT THESE PREDICTIONS?
Please see the Enrollment Management Strategic Enrollment Plan for more information regarding expected enrollment and enrollment investments.
Article 22 Process
Q: HOW DOES THE ARTICLE 22 PROCEEDING FOR THE INTENSIVE-ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROGRAM FIT INTO THIS PROCESS?
The IELP reduction that was discussed at the faculty senate special meeting on March 15 is separate from this process.
Q: CAN WE WORK TO BRING IN AND SUPPORT MORE INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS, MANY OF WHOM PAY FULL TUITION?
We have been actively engaged in recruiting international degree-seeking students to PSU. Undergraduate applications are up due to waiving fees for applications. However, applications are not a guaranteed enrollment or commitment to PSU. In addition, the IELP, under its new umbrella organization, the Office of Global Engagement and Innovation (OGEI) has continued their work in the recruitment of students—both degree-seeking and non-degree seeking students. The OGEI continues to work with colleges and academic departments to develop their international goals and priorities. International students remain a priority for PSU and will long into the future.
Q: IF THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION LIFTS RESTRICTIONS ON IMMIGRATION, WILL THAT BOOST IELP ENROLLMENT? ISN'T THE DECLINE BASED ON TRUMP'S POLICIES?
The decline in international students started before the Trump administration. Nationally, enrollment in IEP programs has been on the decline for a while. It would be the hope that if immigration rules and regulations change we would be in a better position, nationally and locally, to receive more students. As of right now, the pandemic has caused our numbers to be very low and building back to pre-COVID numbers will take a few more years.
ReImagine PSU Proposal Process
Q: HOW ARE THE REIMAGINE PROPOSAL FUNDS BEING USED?
ReImagine proposals can range in scope from local changes to institution-wide transformations and proposals on structural changes are welcome. The ReImagine funds are being used in multiple ways, from providing faculty stipends to funding short-term staff or GA support for projects to funding consultants relevant to specific projects. Several ReImagine proposals requested funds to develop anti-racism and racial equity work at the unit level. ReImagine proposals are reviewed before funding to ensure that they present plans for sustainability, if relevant. The expected outcomes vary depending on the proposals. For more information regarding specific ReImagine Projects, visit the ReImagine PSU Project Information webpage.
Q: WHAT ARE THE DEADLINES FOR THE REIMAGINE PSU PROPOSALS AND WHEN WILL PROPOSALS BE SELECTED?
Summer term ReImagine PSU proposals were selected at the end of spring term so that the work could begin over the summer. Fall term proposals are due by Friday, October 15, 2021. For more information and to submit a proposal, please review the ReImagine PSU Web page.
Q: CAN UNITS NOT AFFILIATED TO A SPECIFIC SCHOOL SUBMIT A PROPOSAL?
Yes, units that are not affiliated with a specific school or college are welcome to submit a ReImagine PSU proposal. For more information and to submit a proposal, please review the ReImagine PSU Web page.