The Academic Senate Budget and Long Range Planning Committee is struggling for greater transparency in Cal Poly’s budget.
While some steps were taken toward achieving this goal, the committee remains dissatisfied with the lack of disclosure in the current budgeting procedures.
Commenting on the existing nature of the Cal Poly budget, committee chair Eric Fisher said, “You can learn a lot about transparency issues by just trying to report on Cal Poly’s budget. Good luck.”
Under Fisher’s leadership, the Budget Committee, a historically unproductive committee which was inactive all last school year, has taken on a new, active role.
The committee is currently crafting a letter to the incoming Cal Poly president, voicing its frustrations and suggestions on budget issues. Recommendations in the letter include: “a public version of Cal Poly’s budget (similar to that of) CSU Fresno” and active “administration (representation) at committee meetings.”
The latter issue of faltering communication between the committee and the administration is a factor inhibiting progress toward greater transparency. While the committee website lists three administrators as members, the letter said, “We have sometimes had (an administration) representative and sometimes not.”
The letter, available on the committee’s Google Group, also highlights the legislative grounds on which the committee calls for increased transparency. As stated in the memo, “Article III of the Constitution of the Faculty and Bylaws of the Academic Senate gives legislative and advisory powers to the Senate … (including) consultation on budget policy.”
Mutual understanding, however, on the committee’s role, as defined by this passage, remains problematic. “The committee is struggling over what it means to have an advisory role,” Senate Chair Rachel Fernflores said.
Over the course of the year, Fernflores has played the role of mediator between the budget committee and the administration. In an attempt to establish better communication, she arranged a meeting between herself, Fisher and Provost Robert Koob.
Fernflores also brought Sandra Ogren, vice president for University Advancement and board staff member of the Cal Poly Foundation, to a Senate Executive Committee meeting. Ogren offered to reveal the Cal Poly Foundation’s books, but Fisher did not have time to take up the offer.
The Cal Poly Foundation is one of the university’s three sources of revenue, the other two being the Cal Poly Corporation and the operational income from student and state funds. According to Fisher, the foundation composes a smaller portion of the budget than the other two sources.
Another achievement for Fernflores is the expansion of access to the Poly Data Dashboard, a link on the Cal Poly Portal charting allocation of funds throughout the university. Previously available only to select faculty, the Poly Data Dashboard is now available to all senate members and by school year’s end will be available to all faculty.
Larry Kelley, Vice President of Administration and Finance, said he was satisfied with such disclosure.
“Information being provided on this campus is more than you would see on other CSU campuses,” he said. “(We have) a decentralized budgeting system at Cal Poly.”
Nonetheless, Fernflores is not content with the existing amount of transparency.
“What we really need help with is interpreting the budget, understanding the budget and understanding all sources of money,” she said.