H.A. Data on Development Accounts - USM Forum -- Message Board

Date: Dec 26, 2004

H.A. Data on Development Accounts

Date: Dec 26, 2004

Another Try.

Data from Hattiesburg American (amounts rounded off)

USM Development Funds

Development Fund Amounts, expenditures and remaining in college through 10/31/04

Budget deposited debt spent remaining

CoAL $370,568 76,691 16,837 132,947 297,474

B&ED 723,921 72,884 2,590 302,960 491,255

Health 590,454 423,859 77,284 306,286 630,743

Ed&Phy 981,995 71,974 46,645 101,895 905,428

CoST 859,167 294,905 119,878 558,608 475,586

Totals 4,626,608 976,314 868,740 1,422,530 3,311,652

Date: Dec 26, 2004

My last try. Sorry

Data from Hattiesburg American (amounts rounded off)

USM Development Funds

Development Fund Amounts, expenditures and remaining in college through 10/31/04

Budget deposited debt spent remaining

CoAL $370,568 76,691 16,837 132,947 297,474

B&ED 723,921 72,884 2,590 302,960 491,255

Health 590,454 423,859 77,284 306,286 630,743

Ed&Phy 981,995 71,974 46,645 101,895 905,428

CoST 859,167 294,905 119,878 558,608 475,586

Totals 4,626,608 976,314 868,740 1,422,530 3,311,652

Date: Dec 26, 2004

Are these the college development accounts or the department development accounts or both? The article seems to use the terms "college" and "department" interchangably". Also, there is no distinction between development-carryover and development-grant overhead. Both funds go into the "development" accounts.

Date: Dec 26, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: confused
""

I wonder if Kevin Walters is aware of all of this terminology concerning these accounts. I bet most of the faculty don't, except for the Chairs.

Date: Dec 26, 2004

i know people on this board like kevin walters, but when he doesn't understand the distinction betweeen departments and colleges, he's lost some credibility for me.

Date: Dec 26, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: stinky cheese man
"i know people on this board like kevin walters, but when he doesn't understand the distinction betweeen departments and colleges, he's lost some credibility for me."

SCM, for me it isn't a question of "like". Kevin Walters is digging and coming up with information that allows the public into areas of operation at USM never before reported. I agree he should have referred to "college" rather than "department" when discussing what the deans said, unless the deans were referring to the "departmentS" in their college. That part was confusing, but I consider it rather minor compared to the issues reported in the article that the H.A. had to pay to obtain for the public.

Date: Dec 26, 2004

don't focus on my use of the word "like." if an education reporter doesn't understand the basics of a university's organization--the difference between departments and colleges-- he loses credibility in my book. what other distinctions does he not understand or appreciate. sorry, that's just me.

Date: Dec 26, 2004

SCM, do you prefer Janet? A small town paper isn't going to have an experienced "education writer" who understands the intricacies of university organization. Hell, the Clarion Ledger doesn't have one. Kevin has dug deeper than anyone in the state. He is to be lauded for his efforts.

Date: Dec 26, 2004

intricacies of university organization? he doesn't understand the difference between departments and colleges! this is a basic distinction i would assume that a reporter dealing with USM or any other college/university would understand. if not familar with it, reporters should educate themselves about how the particular university they are reporting on is organized. it is a question of his expertise. if he doesn't understand this, what else doesn't he understand?

Date: Dec 26, 2004

Okay, I have to chime in - perhaps all Kevin could get was the college figure because certain people certainly didn't want the taxpayers to know what the departmental figures are. It's been a fight to get these numbers, and for some reason the central players obviously don't want the public to know where their tax dollars are going and how the tuition etc. expenses that parents are paying is being played out.

Date: Dec 26, 2004

Perhaps to bring us back to the point...

The university uses the term "development account" in an unusual way, as anyone at USM can attest.

It does NOT mean money that comes from outside donors, funds that many universities would refer to as part of their "development" efforts. At USM what is called a "development account" is roughly equivalent to a savings account, where colleges and departments deposit funds that are being put aside for any number of reasons. Up till now, at the end of each fiscal year, the development accounts have been rolled over into the new year. The system encourages savings and allows departments to plan ahead for bigger expenses such as new equipment and software, classroom renovations the university isn't interested in making, conference expenses for faculty and students, and routine bills such as telephone and postage. In tough years -- virtually any year in the last five -- the accounts also provide a safety net, as colleges and departments spend all their regular annual allocations by March and then turn to the "development" funds to get them through to the end of June.

Lassen's claim that academic units are hoarding is false. Units are saving, that's true, but will spend much of those savings before the end of June. Lassen's assumption that the funds are spent in a linear fashion through the year is also false. Very little spending takes place in July and August, when few people are on campus, and a lot of spending takes place March through June, for reasons already outlined. In fact, even if spending were linear, to use the information in Walters' article, USM units have spent $1.3 million in 4 months (July - October), which works out to $3.9 million over 12 months. Even if funds were expended linearly, there's only $700,000 of the $4.6 million that units are "hoarding" -- or, as chairs and maybe even deans like to say, "saving." However, the funds are NOT spent linearly, and if Lassen would do a full analysis of several years of the budget before speaking, he would know it.

Date: Dec 26, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: stinky cheese man
"intricacies of university organization? he doesn't understand the difference between departments and colleges! this is a basic distinction i would assume that a reporter dealing with USM or any other college/university would understand. if not familar with it, reporters should educate themselves about how the particular university they are reporting on is organized. it is a question of his expertise. if he doesn't understand this, what else doesn't he understand? "

I was confused about what this discussion was all about. Then I realized the reference is in the other article, "Universities could face more cuts" and not the one on development funds. The relevent quotes are :

“Cutbacks in funding to state-funded institutions are a fact of life for universities everywhere, said Elliott Pood, dean of the University of Southern Mississippi's College of Arts and Letters. After initially seeking to fill 30 positions, he is authorized to advertise for 27 faculty positions in his department.

…Among Southern Miss's departments, the College of Arts and Letters has the second-largest departmental budget, according to the most recent available figures.

The College of Science and Technology has the largest overall departmental budget at $18,072,473 followed by the College of Arts and Letters with $16,561,333. Departmental budgets are comprised of state funds and tuition.

While Science and Technology has roughly $1.5 million more, both departments have each spent about the same through the same period through with Arts and Letters slightly outspending Science and Technology at $4,758,992 compared to $4,757,003, respectively.

The two departments also have the largest amount of money left over for the remainder of the year with Science and Technology having $13,315,470 remaining while Arts and Letters kept $11,802,341. …”

I think Kevin Walters knows the organization of the university. I consider these typos. But if you have the mind set, just ignore all articles written by Kevin Walters and the information they contain. I'm sure TheMan, Seeker and Mr. Ramsey will agree with this suggestion.

(Don't pay attention to the man behind the curtain.)

Date: Dec 26, 2004

consider the distinction between colleges and departments typos. i don't. in my book it's sloppy writing and sloppy reporting. admittedly, as a member of the academic community, i know the distinction. members of the general public may not, so it's not an issue to them.

Date: Dec 26, 2004

Even academic types don't always know what the structure of their own university is. When Fleming wanted to separate the hospitality management major from FCS, the directed me, the college dean, and the coordinator for that area to write a rationale to the IHL for creating departmental status. Dr. Yarbrough conveyed the message, and when we asked for clarification on how this department was to be situated (i.e., in which of the college's schools it would be placed), given that there were no departments in the college, only schools, she was totally surprised, as was Dr. Fleming when she related the information to him. The College of Health and Human Sciences had then been in existence about ten years, and the acting Vice President for Academic Affairs did not know it didn't contain any departments, just the schools of FCS, Social Work, Nursing, HPR, and the Center for Community Health. And we were asked to write the rationale for something we didn't propose, hence did not know what the rationale was for the suggestion. I do not have particularly fond memories of Fleming, although he pales in comparison to the current incompetence.

Date: Dec 26, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: AnitaStamper
"Even academic types don't always know what the structure of their own university is."

You are right about that. Kevin Walters's knowledge of university structure meets or exceeds numerous USM faculty members I have known. He should be commended, not discouraged, for digging around. Even the postings made on this message board by USM faculty members are not always totally accurate, but we don't discourage them from posting. Dig on, Kevin, dig on. Your journalistic work has been commendable.

Date: Dec 26, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: Newgirl
" I was confused about what this discussion was all about. Then I realized the reference is in the other article, "Universities could face more cuts" and not the one on development funds. The relevent quotes are : “Cutbacks in funding to state-funded institutions are a fact of life for universities everywhere, said Elliott Pood, dean of the University of Southern Mississippi's College of Arts and Letters. After initially seeking to fill 30 positions, he is authorized to advertise for 27 faculty positions in his department. …Among Southern Miss's departments, the College of Arts and Letters has the second-largest departmental budget, according to the most recent available figures. The College of Science and Technology has the largest overall departmental budget at $18,072,473 followed by the College of Arts and Letters with $16,561,333. Departmental budgets are comprised of state funds and tuition. While Science and Technology has roughly $1.5 million more, both departments have each spent about the same through the same period through with Arts and Letters slightly outspending Science and Technology at $4,758,992 compared to $4,757,003, respectively. The two departments also have the largest amount of money left over for the remainder of the year with Science and Technology having $13,315,470 remaining while Arts and Letters kept $11,802,341. …” I think Kevin Walters knows the organization of the university. I consider these typos. But if you have the mind set, just ignore all articles written by Kevin Walters and the information they contain. I'm sure TheMan, Seeker and Mr. Ramsey will agree with this suggestion. (Don't pay attention to the man behind the curtain.) "

The link to this article is:

http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041226/NEWS01/412260304/1002

Date: Dec 26, 2004

Reporter,

Thanks for the pointer to the second Hat Am article, on buget cuts.

scm,

It's exasperating seeing newspaper reporters get stuff wrong about the operations of a university--for instance, mixing up colleges and departments. But I am convinced that if KW stays on the story, he'll get itsorted out.

I'll repeat what I've said before, on this board and on Fire Shelby's--you don't know how lucky you are, getting the kind of reporting you've been getting from the Hattiesburg American. The Greenville News has never done a lick of investigative reporting on Clemson during the past decade plus. It's never made one solitary FOIA request for any university records during that period. Until recently, the Tuscaloosa News was content to assign Gilbert "Bobble Head" Cruz to cover the University of Alabama.

Anita,

Thank you for the clarifications about "development funds." USM does have an idiosyncratic way of labeling these accounts.

Does anyone know, by the way, where the $3.5 mil needed to start builing the Trent Lott Center actually came from? Or was it going to come from raiding the departmental accounts?

Robert Campbell

Date: Dec 26, 2004

i really don't care how good or bad Walters (no personal possessive punctuation included) reporting is compared to other writers at the HA or in other cities. it doesn't take a dime's wit of sense to go to the USM website (no matter how bad it may be) to check out the academic structure. if he can't get this right, what can he get correct? are his numbers in the article correct? it's a matter of basic of journalism. because he seems to cover stories better (meaning, fits with particular points of view) doesn't make his reporting more accurate or precise.

Date: Dec 26, 2004

Robert, my concern is the development money has been/will be used for raises, rather than the Trent Lot center. I seem to remember Lassen defending his plan at the PUC meeting by saying something like "the money could be used better if centralized, for example for the raises." Some speculated (Trellis Green?) that is a big risk since the money won't be there again next year.

After some research I found on page 14 of this board the thread "Lassen's Plan". Quoting from Newgirl's post in that thread:

"That wouldn't be so bad C.S. Lady. What is frightening is they have used this "one time" money for raises. The money is "one time" because next year the departments will not save, but rather spend their whole budget. Saving no longer benefits the departments. So where will the salary money come from next year? Increase enrollment and more grants funding says SFT. Lassen said they realized the risks; so next year will be veeeeerrrrrrry interesting."

I also fondly remember Lassen saying he knew the risk and " I’m not an idiot".

Date: Dec 26, 2004

Even inside the university, the term "development accounts" means different things to different people (don't know if its recent use is intentional or not). However, at this point, it does not appear that Lassen is referring to any development accounts that come from philanthropic giving. Does that help?

Date: Dec 26, 2004

Reporter,

Thank you for the clarification. And yes, using one-time money for raises is really, really stupid.

At least the Trent Lott center expenditure would be a one-time thing. Does anyone know where those $3.5 mil are going to be coming from?

Robert Campbell

Date: Dec 26, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: stinky cheese man
"i really don't care how good or bad Walters (no personal possessive punctuation included) reporting is compared to other writers at the HA or in other cities. it doesn't take a dime's wit of sense to go to the USM website (no matter how bad it may be) to check out the academic structure. if he can't get this right, what can he get correct? are his numbers in the article correct? it's a matter of basic of journalism. because he seems to cover stories better (meaning, fits with particular points of view) doesn't make his reporting more accurate or precise. "

What, in USM's website, is correct?

Date: Dec 26, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: stinky cheese man
"... because he seems to cover stories better (meaning, fits with particular points of view) doesn't make his reporting more accurate or precise. "

This is an interesting post from you SCM. But me thinks you protest too much. I was wondering why until your statement above "...cover stories better (meaning, fits with particular points of view)”. This is NOT why I consider his coverage of stories better than what was done in the past. It is better because he is digging up important facts and reporting information at a level never done before. You ignored this and say posters consider it better just for subjective bias reasons. All of this because the "department" a dean presides over is called a "college" and the names of the units in a college are "schools" and "departments". To me you are the one with an agenda that is now showing.

Finally, if the numbers reported by H.A. are in error, I'm sure USM will correct them. If K.W. reporting is bothering you, please keep pointing out his errors for us.

Date: Dec 26, 2004

otherside--i have no agenda other than critically assessing stories. i happen to agree with a number of people in the article. i think it is unwise to change the current policy that allows carryover of money. but i base my conclusion not on the story but on what i know. the fact he filed an FOIA inquiry and got information doesn't impress me. it may be a case of information overload. as i said, are the figures correct? if you can't get the department/college distinction correct, what else got blurred? what will get blurred in other stories? both of his stories on sunday made the department/college error. i've read others where i felt he got about 50% of his facts correct.

Date: Dec 26, 2004

as a minor point of clarification--when i say are the number correct, i mean is Kevin Walters presentatiion of the numbers correct?

Date: Dec 26, 2004

emma--if you go to the correct pages you can find that colleges have departments within them. walters apparently didn't make that attempt. sloppy reporting.

Date: Dec 26, 2004

I think a couple of critical points are missing from this discussion. As I am the just-retired secretary of the President's Council, I believe I am somewhat qualified to speak to the issue at hand.

1) I was the one who requested that this discussion be put on the November agenda (I have the emails to back this up), and it did indeed become sometimes 'tense' as Kevin Walters correctly reported in his article. This is evidenced by my being asked by Dr. Thames to lower my voice when I became rather agitated with the semantic games that Mr. Lassen seemed to be playing with the council.

2) The article is pretty consistent in describing these accounts as "departmental" accounts. The figures are given by college...and I am not certain whether this represents the consolidated figures from all of the schools and departments within the respective colleges or whethere this money is "in addition to" those being saved at the departmental level.

3) Perhaps the most stunning part of the story comes in the form of a quote attributed to Mr. Lassen in which he is reported to have said, "I believe in shared governance. This administration believes in shared governance. That's why this council exists." This represents a distortion on several levels, but not the least of them is the reference to the council existing for the purpose of shared governance. The President's Council is not now, and has never been, purposed for any form of university governance. In forming the council, and at a subsequent meeting where the purpose was questioned for clarification, SFT referred to the Council as an "ad-hoc advisory" group and was explicit in saying that it had no role in governance. Therefore, for Mr. Lassen to use the Council as a reflection of the administration's "belief in shared governance" is uninformed on his part, at best, and disingenuous at worst.

I agree that sloppy reporting can lead to a loss of credibility. An example would be Mr. Walters' calling the council by its former name "President's University Council" or PUC, an unfortunate moniker that was changed early in the process, but which continues to be used not only by the HA but by many, if not most, posters on this board.

Nevertheless, I believe Mr. Walters' story is accurate at its base. While it may need some clarification from the point of view that the text refers to departmental accounts while the figures are given at the college level, the overall sense of the story is not damaged, in my view, by this relatively minor discrepancy. Let's keep our eye on the ball.

Date: Dec 26, 2004

david--i don't (and can't) object to anything you say about whatever the puc is now called or what Lassen said there. and i'm not trying to defend lassen. i believe the current system is best and should not be changed. i don't know if kevin walters covered the puc meetings. however, and i will end my carping now, if he can't get certain details correct what others can't he get correct. as a reader, how much inside information do i need to know what is correct? department vs. college is not a big issue for us in the academy, but for me as a critical consumer of his reporting it hits as his slopiness as a reporter. much like a student who can't get their references correct.

but i've said too much (no applause necessary) and will drop my comments.

Date: Dec 26, 2004

Thank you, Mr. Johnson. That was extremely helpful. It seems to me that Stinky Cheese Man is operating at a higher than usual level of grouchiness today -- and his usual level is pretty high.