Updates from the UNC Board of Governors

Dear UNCSA Community,

I am writing to share my report from the July 2024 special meeting of the UNC Board of Governors (BOG) at the UNC System headquarters in Raleigh and highlight important initiatives and decisions from the board and UNC System leadership. As a reminder, all materials from each meeting are published on the web, and all committee and full board meetings are livestreamed on PBS North Carolina. The full board meetings are also archived for later viewing.

I know that one of the agenda items that interests many members of our campus community is the BOG Budget and Finance Committee’s update on the state budget (see Agenda Item A-2, Page 5). Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Jennifer Haygood reviewed the progress of the legislature’s current short session. She reported the North Carolina General Assembly is working to adjust the budget passed last year for the 2023-25 biennium. The adjustments will be for the 2024-25 fiscal year. The House and Senate have each passed a version of the budget adjustments. Legislators will attempt to reconcile the differences between the two proposals in the conference process later this year. If an agreement is not reached, then the biennial budget as passed last year will remain in effect. While the House and Senate budgets included some, but not all, of the board’s priorities, the University of North Carolina System Office will continue to advocate for the inclusion of all board priorities throughout the budget process.

I will note a significant budget item for all UNC campuses is performance-weighted enrollment funding. The House and Senate proposed budget adjustments are significantly smaller than the UNC System request. The difference, if realized, will slightly reduce anticipated campus funding.

 Here are a few other items from the meetings to which I would like to draw to your attention:

Academic Degree Program Discontinuations and Curtailments: The Committee on Educational Planning, Policies, and Programs recommended academic degree program discontinuations and authorized academic degree program curtailments at UNC-Asheville (UNCA) and UNC-Greensboro (UNCG) based on requests from the campuses (see Agenda Items A3-6). There are four discontinuations and curtailments from UNCA and 14 discontinuations and curtailments from UNCG. The primary consideration for recommendations for discontinuation and curtailment was to maintain a sound and balanced academic program consistent with the mission, values and responsibilities of the university to address financial and enrollment challenges to ensure the long-term sustainability of the universities. Per Section 400.1 of the UNC Policy Manual, the constituent institutions and the UNC System Office review academic degree program offerings and bring periodic requests for program establishment, discontinuation and consolidation recommendations to the Board of Governors. The full UNC BOG approved the recommendations as part of the consent agenda.
University Teaching Awards: The Committee on Educational Planning, Policies, and Programs approved recommended revisions to Section 400.3.6. – University Teaching Awards. As part of the comprehensive Faculty Policies Initiative in 2022-23, a working group composed of representatives from UNC System institutions and the UNC System Office made recommendations for revisions to the teaching awards policy. The revisions remove reference to specific dollar amounts, streamline the text, and broaden eligibility to any full-time faculty member, regardless of tenure status. This item requires a vote by the full Board of Governors through the consent agenda at the September meeting (see Agenda Item 8).
2023 Enrollment Change Budget Adjustment by Institution: The Committee on Budget and Finance reviewed and recommended enrollment change budget adjustments to the full UNC BOG, which approved the recommendations. UNCSA will receive a $325,818 reduction based on prior years enrollment decrease (see Agenda Item A-3).
2024-25 UNC System Boards of Trustees Appointment Process: The Committee on University Governance reviewed the trustee selection process. A proposed calendar for the 2024-25 Boards of Trustees Selection Process and a current list of UNC System board of trustees members are provided. (see Agenda Item A-3). UNCSA has six trustees with appointments that end June 30, 2025. All are eligible for reappointment.
Employee Engagement Survey Overview: In the Committee on University Personnel, Senior Advisor for University Personnel Thomas Walker reviewed the overall positive response rates for all UNC campuses and the UNC System Office. The UNC System Employee Engagement Survey is a program sponsored by the UNC System Office. It is a survey of workplace satisfaction that takes place at all UNC System constituent institutions every two years as part of the UNC System Strategic Plan. The survey goes to all permanent full-time faculty and staff, began in 2018 and was conducted again in 2020 and 2022.

In 2024, the UNC System improved in all measures since 2020. Overall, across the System, job satisfaction/support is 82 percent. Eighty percent of survey participants feel that their department is a good place to work, while 89 percent understand how their respective jobs contribute to their institution’s mission. Eighty-four percent positively responded that in their respective departments, they welcome the many identities and attributes of faculty and staff. Finally, 80 percent responded that their supervisor/department chair shows genuine interest in their well-being (see Agenda Item A-2).

UNCSA improved from 62% in 2022 to 64% in 2024, slightly below the System aggregate of 66% in 2024. Only this highest-level data point was shared. More detailed information for each campus will be made available this fall at a future BOG meeting.

Lastly, I want to give you an update regarding the UNC System’s policy on “Equality Within the University of North Carolina,” which was approved by the UNC BOG in its May meeting. As I mentioned in my last update, following the approval of the new policy we have been awaiting UNC System guidance regarding implementation, which we received at the end of June. Throughout the summer we have been working across multiple divisions at UNCSA to realign resources and ensure compliance, which has a reporting deadline of Sept. 1, 2024, to the UNC System office. We are making substantial progress on these efforts, which will focus our important work through the new Division of Institutional Engagement, which will continue to be led by Dr. B. Afeni McNeely Cobham. We will share more details at the beginning of the fall semester as we finish the compliance report.

I hope that you continue to find these reports useful. Over the past year I have received positive feedback from members of our community about them and plan to continue the updates in the future. I look forward to seeing you all in a few weeks to start off an exciting year for UNCSA!

Sincerely,

Brian Cole
Chancellor

Past BOG Updates

July 26, 2024