Procedures to be Invoked for Significant Budget Reallocations and Reductions - Appendix

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University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Appendix

APPENDIX 1

Committee Established to Recommend Procedures
for UNL Budget Reallocation and Reductions (1993)

Lloyd Ambrosius, Professor of History
Robert A. Broomfield, UNL Student
Kent H. Hendricksen, Dean of Libraries and Committee Chair
Rita C. Kean, Associate Professor and Chair of Textiles, Clothing and Design
John G. Peters, Dean of Arts and Sciences
Steven S. Waller, Professor of Agronomy and Assistant Dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources
Thomas S. Zorn, Professor of Finance

Staff Support
John A. Benson, Director of Institutional Research and Planning

APPENDIX 2

Operating Procedures of the Academic Planning Committee

adopted by the Academic Planning Committee May 12, 1999; revised January 23, 2002

Preamble

The following bylaws shall govern the organization and proceedings of the Academic Planning Committee of the University of Nebraska Lincoln as established under the direction of the Bylaws of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Article 1 Creation

Section 1 UNL Bylaws "1.10.1 Academic Planning Committee. To facilitate performance of the duties of the Chancellor specified in Sections 2.8 and 2.9 of the Regents Bylaws and Section 1.2 of these UNL Bylaws, and to enable the faculty governing body to act upon matters specified in Section 2.12.1 of the Regents Bylaws, an Academic Planning Committee is hereby created."

Article 2 Membership and Terms

Section 1   UNL Bylaws "1.10.1 Membership. The Academic Planning Committee shall consist of sixteen members as follows: (a) six faculty members elected as provided by the Academic Senate to staggered three-year terms. These members shall represent biological sciences, social sciences, physical sciences, and humanities with no more than two from a single college; (b) one faculty member at large selected by the UNL Graduate Council to serve a three-year term; (c) two academic deans selected by the Chancellor to serve three-year terms; (d) the President of the Academic Senate (or designee); (e) one undergraduate student and one graduate/professional student as selected by the President of ASUN; (f) the Director of Institutional Research and Planning for UNL who shall serve as secretary; (g) the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs; (h) the Vice Chancellor of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and (i) the Vice Chancellor for Research as an ex officio non-voting member. The Committee shall select its chair from among its faculty members."

Section 2   Vacancies. A vacancy shall exist if any member 1) is absent from three successive called meetings without notifying an officer, 2) has extended illness of more than four months, 3) submits a letter of resignation to the Chair, or 4) is unable to attend a special meeting of the APC called during the Summer. This latter vacancy is considered temporary. Faculty positions will be filled in consultation with the Academic Senate, or the Graduate Council in the case of their representative; the Chancellor will fill any other vacancies that may occur.

Section 3   Terms of Office and Annual Meeting. The terms of the members will be taken from 1 August to 31 July. The Annual Meeting will be the last regular meeting prior to 31 July which will be attended by all members including persons elected to terms starting 1 August.

Article 3 Officers, Terms, and Duties

Section 1 Officers. The officers of the Committee shall consist of a Chair and a Vice Chair, both of whom shall be selected from the Faculty Members as directed by the UNL Bylaws (see Article 2 Section 1), and the Secretary, who is the Director of Institutional Research and Planning for UNL.

Section 2 Duties.

	A. The Chair will be responsible to call all meetings, to see that all inquiries to the Committee are properly directed, that appropriate persons are notified of recommendations of the Committee, and that members of the Committee are assigned to duties as needed. The Chair will also appoint faculty members of APC to the Curriculum Committee of the Faculty Senate, and to the UNL Aesthetics Review Committee.
	B. The Vice Chair will chair the Committee with full responsibilities of that position in the absence of Chair or when requested by the Chair in cases of possible conflict of interest.
	C. The Secretary will be responsible to see that the records of the Committee are maintained in the Office of Institutional Research and Planning for a period of five years after which they will be forwarded to the UNL Archivist.

Section 3 Subcommittees. The Chair of the Committee may appoint subcommittees on his or her own authority or by motion of the Committee carried by simple majority. The charge of such a subcommittee may be to investigate a specific topic of concern or to formulate a recommendation for action by the entire Committee.

Article 4 Responsibilities

Section 1 UNL Bylaws "1.10.1.2 Responsibilities. The Academic Planning Committee is charged with the following responsibilities:


	"A. The Committee shall formulate and recommend to the Academic Senate, to the Colleges, and to the Chancellor, goals for UNL in the areas of education (resident and extension), research, and service. These goals shall be coordinated with the responsibilities assigned to UNL as part of the structure under the control of the President of the University of Nebraska and the Board of Regents. The Committee shall, from time to time, review the stated goals and recommend modifications when appropriate.
	"B. The Committee shall recommend action to achieve the goals of UNL. In carrying out this duty the Committee shall recommend procedures whereby new and existing academic programs may be studied and evaluated on a continuing basis. This study and evaluation shall include, but not be limited to: (i) the need for, and the goals of, the identified programs in terms of their relationship to the needs and goals of the State of Nebraska, the University of Nebraska, and the people affected by the programs; (ii) the resources available to meet the needs and goals identified in (i) supra; (iii) the resources not available, but necessary, to meet the needs and goals identified under (i) supra.
	"C. The Committee shall review with the Chancellor or the appropriate Vice Chancellors the Comprehensive Facilities Plan, the campus master land-use plan, and facilities needs as they relate to academic and support program goals and needs.
	"D. In carrying out its duties, the Committee shall utilize all relevant information (including budget data) and expertise inside and outside the University of Nebraska.
	"E. The Committee shall concern itself with goals, needs, and resources for a future period as long as is prudent and reasonable in view of the information and advice available.
	"F. The Committee is empowered to recommend changes in programs, including elimination. The Committee shall promulgate and follow procedures agreeable to the Academic Senate and ASUN, guaranteeing that, before a change or elimination of a program is recommended, all persons connected to, or affected by, the program shall have access to all relevant information (including detailed budget data) and shall have an opportunity and a reasonable time to present data and opinions for the Committee to consider. In addition the Committee shall recommend an effective date for implementation of program changes or elimination which will permit a reasonable period of time for persons to prepare for changes in, or elimination of, programs which affect them. In particular, notice of termination shall be in accord with Sections 4.4.2 and 4.12 of the Regents Bylaws. As particular reductions are considered, rights under existing academic tenure should be protected.
	"G. Changes or elimination of existing programs shall include time and opportunity for existing personnel to qualify for a position in another program within the University whenever this requirement will not materially interfere with UNL achieving in full measure the goals of education, research, and service."

Section 2 UNL Bylaws "1.10.2 Collegiate Academic Planning. The Academic Planning Committee shall encourage academic planning within the colleges and other units of UNL on a continuing basis through joint faculty-administrative-student action. The Academic Planning Committee shall be represented on all Academic Program Review teams and shall comment on the review process and visiting team report to the appropriate vice chancellor.

Section 3 UNL Bylaws "1.10.3 Financial Exigency. "Financial exigency is a bona fide situation of such serious and widespread proportions, caused by financial circumstances beyond the control of UNL, that normal operations cannot be maintained and UNL programs must therefore be significantly altered.

"Financial exigency for UNL shall be declared by the Board of Regents based upon a recommendation by the Chancellor in consultation with the President. The Chancellor's recommendation shall be made only after all relevant information bearing upon the problem has been made available to the Academic Planning Committee following the procedures described in the Procedures to be Invoked for Significant Budget Reallocations and Reductions (Adopted by the Academic Senate on December 8, 1992 and ASUN on February 10, 1993), and operating as the Financial Exigency Committee described in Regents Policy 4.2.11.

"The Academic Planning Committee shall assist the Chancellor in seeking remedies for a financial exigency. Such remedies may include elimination of faculty, staff, and administrative positions. Recommendations by the Academic Planning Committee for such elimination shall be governed by the Procedures to be Invoked for Significant Budget Reallocations and Reductions. Persons affected by a declaration of financial exigency under Section 4.16 of the Regents Bylaws shall have the right to appeal to the appropriate grievance committee or to the Academic Rights and Responsibilities Committee pursuant to Section 4.14 of the Regents Bylaws."

Article 5 Academic Program Reviews

Section 1 Responsibilities. Academic Program Review (APR) at UNL is the responsibility of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and the Vice Chancellor for the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. The Academic Planning Committee has the responsibility of monitoring the process of each APR as indicated by the Academic Program Review Guidelines (Fall 1996).

Section 2 Representatives to APR Committees. It will be a duty of the APC Chair to assign a representative from the faculty and academic dean members to monitor each APR at the request of the APR Coordinator. The APC Representative will be charged to report to the entire APC on the review, in particular on procedural problems encountered in the review.

Article 6 Conduct of Meetings

Section 1 Quorum. A quorum shall consist of eight members, five of whom shall be from among the eight faculty members.

Section 2 Robert's Rules of Order shall govern unless indicated herein.

Section 3 Order of Business. The order of business shall be the approval of minutes of the last meeting, items of agenda, unfinished business, new business which includes any items of concern that members of the Committee may bring to the Committee, and adjournment.

Section 4 Challenge. Any member may call for a vote of the members present to discontinue discussion on any item of new business. A simple majority aye vote of those present will pass.

Section 5 Consent Agenda. Consent agenda items distributed by email may include draft minutes for review, comment and approval, and second submissions of program proposals.


A. Electronic votes may be taken on approval of draft minutes and second submissions of program proposals.
B. A member may remove an item from the Consent Agenda for discussion at the next meeting by notifying the chairperson or the secretary.
C. Other material not considered to be part of the consent agenda, except APR reports, may also be distributed by email.

Section 6 Special Meetings. The Chair of the Committee may call special meetings to expedite current business, to consider urgent issues, or upon request from the Chancellor.

Section 7 Procedures during the Summer. The Academic Planning Committee does not meet during the summer. Regularly scheduled meetings are generally suspended during early May and resumed after faculty are scheduled to return in August. There are occasions when it is not in the University's best interest to delay consideration of a Project Initiation Request (PIR) or Program Proposal over the summer. The following procedures provide the Academic Planning Committee an opportunity to respond to critical requests and proposals during the summer months when the Academic Planning Committee does not meet on a regularly scheduled basis.

A. PIRs and Program Proposals received from a cognizant Vice Chancellor(s) by the APC Chair and/or APC Secretary will be reviewed by the Chair, or in the Chair's absence, Vice Chair, or in the Chair's and Vice Chair's absence, the APC Secretary. The cognizant Vice Chancellor will be asked if APC review of the request or proposal can be postponed until the first regularly scheduled meeting of the Committee in the Fall without causing a negative impact. If the cognizant Vice Chancellor(s) and the APC Chair, Vice Chair, or Secretary determine there is good reason for considering the request or proposal during the summer, the following steps shall be taken.

B. The APC Secretary will attempt to identify a quorum of the APC membership that would be able to attend a special meeting of the Committee. The APC will notify all APC members of the meeting by email. The APC Secretary will also inform the President of Academic Senate or in the President's absence the President Elect of the Academic Senate that a call for a special meeting of the APC has been made. The agenda will be limited to the specific request or proposal submitted to APC. The attempt to identify a quorum will be limited to five working days.

(a) If a quorum can be identified, a special meeting will be held to act on the request(s) or proposal(s) and minutes will be taken. Draft minutes will be distributed for approval at the first regularly scheduled session of the APC.

(b) If, after five working days, a quorum of the APC cannot be identified, the APC Secretary will inform the President of the Academic Senate or in the President's absence the President Elect of the Academic Senate how many faculty members of the APC are unable to attend the special meeting. The President of the Academic Senate or in the President's absence the President Elect of the Academic Senate will then appoint faculty members to fill these absences. These appointments will be for this special meeting of the APC only. The Committee will meet to act on the request(s) or proposal(s). Minutes will be taken and distributed for approval at the first regularly scheduled meeting of the APC.

Article 7 Changes to the Operating Procedure

Section 1 Presenting Changes. Any member of the Committee may present, in writing, changes in the Operating Procedures to the Chair, such changes to be placed on the agenda for the following scheduled meeting of the Committee. The changes will be read and discussed at that meeting.

Section 2 Accepting Changes. The changes with any amendments will be sent out with the call to the following scheduled meeting, at which meeting action will be taken.