COE BUDGET COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES
October 21, 2016
8:00 – 9:30 a.m.
Hill 314
Attendees: Linda Garrison-Kane, Becky Swearingen, Kim Dubree, James Meyer, Steve Jones, Brittany Wittenberg, David Hough, Teresa Steele, James Satterfield, Denise Cunningham, Janice Duncan, Abby Burch, Jill Martin
The meeting was called to order at 8:00 a.m. by Dean Hough. He started the meeting by pointing out that Reesha Adamson was highlighted in the Springfield News Leader in an article titled “How to Engage Students”. He also indicated that the sorority that is sponsored by Kayla Lewis, Kappa Delta Pi, is continuing to grow. He stated that we need more of these things out there for the public to see.
There are currently six new requests for new positions. The dean shared these with the COE Budget Committee to give them a heads up. The requests go to the Faculty Advisory Committee for prioritization before the Budget Committee decides on funding. When making a decision on new positions, graphs that show trends in course enrollments, head counts, and credit hour production will be examined to help prioritize. Dean Hough pointed out that COE has a carryforward from FY16 of approximately $950,000, but that $500,000 has already been encumbered for positions already posted or recently filled. It was suggested that the policy be re-visited to ensure clarity on issue of whether a position request from the previous year is still on the list or if it needs to be requested again.
An issue where an employee entered more hours than were actually worked at the direction of the supervisor has resulted in a total overpayment of salary being $8,662.88. These funds need to be paid back to the university. Since the employee was acting on the instructions of the supervisor, COE is not requiring the employee to repay the funds. The supervisor stated they would pay back the funds, but then left the University prior to doing so. COE is now charged with paying the funds back. Dr. Rebecca Swearingen made a motion to use the COE Program Support Fund to pay back the money and Abby Burch seconded. The committee unanimously approved.
A discussion was held regarding budget priorities and several items were brought up. The dean mentioned having a tent at each home football game next year for high school students from around the state. Dr. Satterfield stated that Clemson did this and has data that it was successful. Another item was a summer program being developed by Drs. Brown and Satterfield that would bring under-represented groups to MSU during the summer for a week. Dean Hough shared the COE budget summary with the group and indicated which budgets could be used for these and other ideas. This will be an ongoing discussion with requests being brought to the committee with more specific information.
Meeting was adjourned at 9:30 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Teresa Steele, Budget Officer
Next meeting: December 9, 2016 at 8:00 a.m. in Hill 314. There is no meeting set for November.