NC House Proposed Budget eliminates over 200 faculty positions at UNC Charlotte!

University News and Notes
1

Bad news guys, we need to act fast.

Get more details from my blog at http://your49erpresident.wordpress.com/

2

seriously, why does everyone hate us so much?

3

BULL**** BULL**** BULL****

4

Will someone please post a link to an article, study, report, or something concerning this? The link above is blocked by Wachovia. Many Wachovia employees are UNC Charlotte alumni.

I checked the General Assembly’s site and I saw that Charlotte looked to be getting an overall increase in funding, so I need to see the specific details. I’m still looking…

5

I hope Chapel Hill’s $115 million Science Building is safe.

/sarcasm

6

this is ridiculous

7

[URL=http://www.ncleg.net/sessions/2007/budget/H1473-PCS-5-7-07.pdf]http://www.ncleg.net/sessions/2007/budget/H1473-PCS-5-7-07.pdf[/URL]

I havent finished reading it, but within the first 3 pages I was already disgusted at the money UNCCH gets over us.

8

The UNIVERSITY’s section starts at page 50.

9

I don’t see anything there about positions being elminated. Am I just overlooking it?

10

I dont either. It looks more like their adding more money to the system no?

11

[QUOTE=NinerATL2CHA;238445]I don’t see anything there about positions being elminated. Am I just overlooking it?[/QUOTE]

Could it be that they are eliminating growing by 200 positions? Or scaling back the amount of faculty increase they are backing? This is an old political trick… when a party says you cut funding, but in reality all they did was cut funding from a 6% increase to a 4% increase, still an increase.

12

OK…correct me if I am wrong…but it seems to me that the proposed positions being eliminated are currently “open” positions…meaning they are not filled. They arent going to be laying off 200 teachers.

Now granted…it still sucks…but it should be no suprise. What is shocking to me is why the hell the university has over 200 open positions sitting. Anyone who has ever worked in government should know one thing…

YOU ALWAYS FILL AS MANY OF YOUR OPEN POSISTIONS BEFORE THE NEW BUDGET COMES OUT!!! Its just a fact of life that they will be the first positions to get killed.

13
OK....correct me if I am wrong....but it seems to me that the proposed positions being eliminated are currently "open" positions....meaning they are not filled. They arent going to be laying off 200 teachers.

Now granted…it still sucks…but it should be no suprise. What is shocking to me is why the hell the university has over 200 open positions sitting. Anyone who has ever worked in government should know one thing…

YOU ALWAYS FILL AS MANY OF YOUR OPEN POSISTIONS BEFORE THE NEW BUDGET COMES OUT!!! Its just a fact of life that they will be the first positions to get killed.

if i remember correctly, when the higher education bond initiative passed back in 2000 for new buildings and such, the legislature also created a funding mechanism for funding faculty positions to meet the expansion.

even though it may not be an actual loss for charlotte this year. when we finish building all of these building, we’ll have to compete with every other university to get those faculty positions funded. which also means that instead of fighting for funding to expand research, build new buildings, add programs like law, medicine, etc…, we’re fighting to get an extra english professor to teach freshman.

14

I hope the NC Gen. Ass. & their majority body alma-mater UNC-CH choke on it.

15

[QUOTE=casstommy;238449]OK…correct me if I am wrong…but it seems to me that the proposed positions being eliminated are currently “open” positions…meaning they are not filled. They arent going to be laying off 200 teachers.

Now granted…it still sucks…but it should be no suprise. What is shocking to me is why the hell the university has over 200 open positions sitting. Anyone who has ever worked in government should know one thing…

YOU ALWAYS FILL AS MANY OF YOUR OPEN POSISTIONS BEFORE THE NEW BUDGET COMES OUT!!! Its just a fact of life that they will be the first positions to get killed.[/QUOTE]

Bingo, but I don’t think the positions could be filled prior to the proposal. The State has been trying to maintain a certain vacancy rate since 2004 because of budgetary and funding shortfalls. While the positions were still in existance, they were held vacant by design. This just eliminates them so that they will not be filled and reduces the posted vacancy rate. Different departments within the State government have different vacancy rates that they are having to maintain, so I do not know the exact percentage that the university system is shooting for.

16

202 is still an awfully steep numbers.
Are we really in the midst of a hiring-freeze and no one wants to call it that?
How many total open faculty positions are there?

17

[QUOTE=NinerLoudNProud;238468]
Are we really in the midst of a hiring-freeze and no one wants to call it that?
[/QUOTE]

I can’t speak for the university system, but in the sector of State government I am familiar with this is what is going on.

Maintain X% vacancy rate = Hiring freeze

18

The chancellor has been holding back on these 200+ open positions because of an internal study on how best to utilize them. (That’s what i’ve been told) Even though we are getting an increase in funding, these positions are very important if we are to grow to the level we need to be at. The greatest injustice is that 20% of the 1100 eliminated positions will be from UNC Charlotte, one of the fastest, if not the fastest, growing UNC school. If 1100 open positions are going to be taken away, take them from schools like NCSU and UNCCH that won’t be growing that much anyways.

19
The chancellor has been holding back on these 200+ open positions because of an internal study on how best to utilize them. (That's what i've been told) Even though we are getting an increase in funding, these positions are very important if we are to grow to the level we need to be at. The greatest injustice is that 20% of the 1100 eliminated positions will be from UNC Charlotte, one of the fastest, if not the fastest, growing UNC school. If 1100 open positions are going to be taken away, take them from schools like NCSU and UNCCH that won't be growing that much anyways.

Listen to him, hes the president.

20

[QUOTE=X-49er;238465]Bingo, but I don’t think the positions could be filled prior to the proposal. The State has been trying to maintain a certain vacancy rate since 2004 because of budgetary and funding shortfalls. While the positions were still in existance, they were held vacant by design. This just eliminates them so that they will not be filled and reduces the posted vacancy rate. Different departments within the State government have different vacancy rates that they are having to maintain, so I do not know the exact percentage that the university system is shooting for.[/QUOTE]

Well that makes sense…This all boils down to a couple of things…

  1. At what rate are other schools in the system having the open vacancies cut? I would imagine…due to our growth rate…that we probably have the highest vacancy rate allowed by the system.

  2. What is the reason for the large vacancy rate? Why arent these positions filled? Is it due to the hiring freeze? Why are 200 positions being held for an internal study when we are so underfunded to begin with?

  3. At some point…this is all moot anyway. The system understands and is excited about our growth. When positions are needed to meet our growing demand…I have little doubt we will get them. Allowing over 1100 positions to sit just to have them if you need them when the system as a whole is so underfunded is not responsible.