Calendar

• August 6
  Preseason Volleyball Practice Begins

• August 13
  Preseason Football Practice Begins
  Preseason Soccer Practice Begins

• August 15
  27^th Annual Conference on Aging

• August 16-19
  Crookston Ox-Cart Days

• August 17
  UMC/Ox Cart Days Ice Cream Social at Gazebo

• August 18
  Resident Advisors (RAs) Arrive on Campus

• August 20
  Faculty and Staff with 9-Month Appointments Return

• August 24
  Residence Halls Open for New Students

• August 24-27
  New Student Orientation

• August 28 (Tuesday)
  Fall Semester Classes Begin

• September 13-14
  U of M Board of Regents at UMC

News Items

Budget Update

On July 12 the Board of Regents approved President Mark Yudof's recommendations for the University's operating budget for FY02. It is a budget that reflects the changing reality of higher education and its financing.

How has the financial reality changed?
As President Yudof noted in his presentation, public financial support for higher education has declined in Minnesota and nationwide over the past 20 years. State funding for the University of Minnesota as a percentage of all state spending has fallen from a high point of 8.3% in 1971 to 5% in 2001.  Throughout most of the 1990s, the University's state appropriation has not kept pace with inflation. The public increasingly believes higher education is a private benefit and those who benefit should bear the cost. This is a fundamental change in values and public policy in Minnesota and nationally.

Declining state support has meant that tuition must cover a higher percentage of University costs. In 1982 tuition covered one third of instructional costs; in 2003 it is projected to cover two thirds. The University of Minnesota and public universities nationwide are being forced to rethink and reconsider their finances.

What are the core values and premises on which the budget is based?

• Maintain quality by increasing revenues from non-state sources and maintaining our status as a comprehensive research university

• Maintain access by increasing institutional support for need-based financial aid and scholarships

• Focus further attention on accountability, efficiencies, productivity, and cost-cutting

• Enhance service to students

What is the solution to the University's financial needs for the next two years?
Over the next two years the University will need an additional $324.9 million. One-third ($110.7 million) will come from the new state appropriations, one third ($110.9 million) from increased tuition and fees, and one third ($103.3 million) from cost savings and other resources. The savings will come by reducing administrative and central unit costs, reducing health care costs through self insurance, reducing planned investments, and reducing some academic programs.

What are the budget priorities?
During the next biennium, the University will reduce or defer new investments in facilities and programs by $54.3 million and will focus on these spending priorities:

• Compensation: $156 million for an inflationary salary adjustment of 3% for faculty and staff, extraordinary health care cost increases; minimum compensation of $12 per hour for staff; and a merit pool for faculty of 2% in FY 2002 and 3% in FY 2003

• Students: $22.6 million for undergraduate programs, libraries, student support services, and academic technology

• Academic investments: $40.9 million for the Medical School, health care workforce, computer science, nanotechnology, agricultural outreach and research, and the compact pool

• Facilities: $39.5 million to open new and renovated buildings, pay debt service, cover utility inflation, and pay increased lease costs

• Other Financial Needs: $11.6 million for increased security, enhanced grants management activities, and enrollment formula adjustments.

What does this mean for UMC?
UMC's FY02 budget is approximately $13.4 million.  Last year’s budget was approximately $12 million.  Nearly $850,000 of the revenue increase in the budget this year is from student tuition.  In addition to providing the compensation increases noted above, the new budget will aid UMC in sustaining our present operation.

It replaces some of the non-recurring funds received last year with recurring monies.  In particular, it provides for 3 faculty and staff positions presently funded with non-recurring funds to be in this year’s base budget.  It adds two new faculty positions and provides additional dollars for student financial aid, the first year experience program, utility inflation, and technology.

It is expected that UMC's enrollment this academic year will be similar to last year’s.  However, we have additional funds to maintain and improve our teaching and service programs.

How much will tuition and student fees increase?

To help cover the cost of central student services, all students will be charged a new University-wide fee of $75 per semester in FY 2002 and $150 in FY 2003. On average, tuition and student fees will increase 13.3% in FY 2002 and 13.6% in FY 2003 across the University.

At UMC, the tuition, technology, and student fees will be as follows: tuition increases from $126.60 per credit to $139.58 per credit; technology access fee remains $500 per semester; student service fee increases from $133.98 to $147.48 per semester.  When campus room and board are added to the above expenses the estimated cost per semester for a UMC student increases 9% to $5000 per semester.

Refer to the Business Affairs Student Fees Page

While these are significant increases, the increases will be offset in part by changes in financial aid and tax laws. For students who borrow, the interest rate on federally funded subsidized loans dropped on July 1 and is retroactive to loans received after 1998. New federal law also eliminated the 60-month limit on the deduction of student loan interest. Federal law also provides education tax credits for qualifying students or their parents.

How much will the cost of common goods and services increase?
Most revenues are distributed directly to academic units. To help pay the cost of common goods and services necessary to support academic programs, the University two years ago instituted two assessments: enterprise and institutional revenue sharing (IRS). The assessments are used to help pay debt service on new buildings such as the Controlled Environmental Science, Early Childhood Development and Kiehle Hall; the increasing cost of electricity, air conditioning, heat and building maintenance; faculty and staff compensation; University-wide information systems; student services; libraries; and the development of new academic programs.

The enterprise assessment will remain at 1.25% in FY 2002; the IRS assessment will increase from 2.25% to 3.75%. Rather than increasing these assessments any further, President Yudof opted instead for a new student fee (which is the same for all students) and has asked colleges to cover 1% of the faculty merit pool.

Where can I get more information about the University budget?
You can find additional information about the University budget at the following website: http://www.umn.edu/budgetinfo. In the next several weeks, we will also provide additional information about the UMC budget.

--Donald Sargeant, Chancellor

2001-2003 Catalog Online
The UMC Course Catalog for 2001-2003 is now available online.  Refer to the UMC Course Info Page.  The printed version should be available from the UMC Registrar's Office relatively soon.  Please refer to this online version until you are able to secure a copy of the printed version.

Attention WebCT Users
The U of M upgraded to WebCT version 3.5 on Monday, July 23, 2001.  The user interface for WebCT 3.5 (how the program looks and works for you and for your students) is not significantly different from what you have seen in version 3.0. WebCT 3.5 includes many fixes and improved functionality over previous versions.  The most important enhancement is improved performance of the WebCT site, since with WebCT 3.5 we can spread the system load over more than one machine.  Being able to load-balance the system over multiple processors will result in a faster, more robust system, and gives us the scalability we need to keep up with the loads placed on WebCT.

These new features will also enhance the management of your courses:

1.  Assignments.  Students can upload their assignments for grading.  This will definite eliminate the hassle of emailing assignment attachments back and forth.  Moreover, the grading of the assignments will appear automatically in the WebCT grade book.

2.  Student homepages.  Students can upload their webpages to WebCT for presentation purposes.  This will definitely give students another option, especially for those who are not familiar with uploading their class-related webpages to the Bass server.

3.  Item analysis.  Instructor can easily retrieve reports of item analysis on quiz, test, or exam questions.  This will help instructor evaluate the effectiveness of their questions as well as identifying areas students are experiencing problems.

If you don't already have a WebCT account yet, please let me know the title(s) of your course(s) for which you would like to have a WebCT account created.

The ITC will be offering some WebCT modular refresher workshops during the two weeks (August 6 - 17) before the Opening Week.  The modular refresher workshops are as follows:

1.  Communication Tools - Discussion, Chat, and WebCT Email (90 min. session)

2.  Management Tools - Online grade book, student tracking, student lists, calendar, and uploading files (2-hr. session)

3.  Assessment Tools - Online quizzing, assignments, and surveys (2-hr. session)

4.  Publishing Tools - Content modules, posting documents, posting PowerPoints, Flash, and Toolbook (2-hr. session)

5.  WebCT Startup - Account setup, student login, interface customization, and course management (90 min. session)

If you are interested in the above sessions, please let me know when (date and time) is a good time for you during those two weeks (Aug 6-17).  If you do not have WebCT course accounts for Fall, I will be glad to request on your behalf.
--Dan Lim, Director, Instructional Technology Center

UMC Inventory Set for August
To meet federal guidelines for approved property systems, Inventory Services will be inventorying capital equipment in all the departments of the UM Crookston campus, beginning 8/6 and likely continuing through 8/9 for the initial phase.  On this first phase, we will be conducting a room-to-room physical inventory of all capital equipment with barcode scanners.  That process will be followed by a second phase, several weeks later after school has begun, where we will be asking staff and faculty specific questions pertaining to unlocated equipment items.

“Tradition Begins With U”
Mark your calendars!  Orientation 2001 is scheduled for August 24–27.

New students will arrive on campus between 9 a.m. and Noon on Friday, August 24, 2001.   A social will be held for all new students, family members, and faculty and staff at 5 p.m. in Brown Dining Room.  Enjoy the music and entertainment of the Valley Fiddlers.  Orientation Convocation will follow dinner at 6 p.m. and will include information about academic tradition at UMC, an introduction of faculty and staff, and the Fourth Annual Reader’s Theatre performance, “A Day in the Life of a College Student”. 

Orientation 2001 will continue for new students throughout the evening of August 27.  Other events to highlight include a chance for students to meet their faculty adviser on Friday, August 24, from 3–4 p.m.; “Real World 101”, a theatrical look at difficult issues that college students face; and a faculty barbecue on the Mall on Sunday, August 26, at 11 a.m.  Please join in and help to welcome our new students!

For more information about Orientation 2001 or other First Year Experience programs, please visit the FYE website at www.umcrookston.edu/FYE.
--Kami Mattson, Director, First Year Experience

Living and Learning Program
The First Year Experience program is excited to pilot a Living and Learning Program for Fall 2001.  The Living and Learning Program is a group of first-year students who will live together on the same floor of a residence hall (Skyberg A-2) and who will take two required courses together (ITM 1010 and Comp 1011).  Forty-two students have been randomly selected to participate based on their preference to live in Skyberg Hall.

A group of faculty, staff, and students have been assigned to work with this pilot program.  Members of the team include: Jennifer Johnson, Composition; Jeff Sperling, Information Technology Management; Kami Mattson, First Year Experience; Kelley Nelson, Residential Life; and Dan Oberg, Resident Adviser.  This team attended The Collaboration’s Twelfth Annual Summer Institute on Civic Engagement and Interdisciplinary Learning in June at St. Olaf College and developed a plan for UMC’s pilot program, including linking the curriculum, programming ideas, and assessment strategies.  For more information regarding the Living and Learning Program, please visit the FYE website at www.umcrookston.edu/FYE.
--Kami Mattson, Director, First Year Experience

Important Change in Airfare Payment Process
The U of M Controllers Office has released information regarding changes in the way airfares are to be handled.  At UMC we now have 3 options for handling the payment of airfare:

1.  Purchasing Card - Effective July 15, 2001, UMC employees can begin using their University Purchasing Card to charge authorized business airfares.  These charges are automatically booked to the appropriate CUFS budget and are the most efficient way to make purchases.  (If you don't have a purchasing card, please contact Sue Kreager)

2.  Travel Card - UMC employees can charge authorized business airfares to their corporate travel card.  These charges are paid personally and submitted for reimbursement on a travel reimbursement form.  (If you don't have a corporate travel card, please contact Gail Hasbrouck)

3.  Direct Bill - UMC employees can continue to use local travel agencies on a direct-billing arrangement.  Local agencies should be provided a CUFS budget when flights are booked. 

UMC policy is that the internal Travel Authorization Form must be completed in advance for any out of state travel.  Any questions, please let me know.
--Dean McCleary, Vice Chancellor for Finance

Withholding Notice to Employees
The following notice is from the Internal Revenue Service to all employees affected by the new federal tax rate change legislation. If you have any questions concerning the income tax withholding changes, you can call the HRMS Call Center at (612) 625-2016.  

Changes in Income Tax Withholding Effective with August 8, 2001 Paycheck

New withholding tables may reduce the amount of income tax withheld from your wages paid after June 30, 2001.  The reductions in tax withholding are due to reduction in the current 28% and higher tax brackets effective July 1, 2001.

The new tables will not affect all employees' withholding.  Only those employees who have income taxed at the 28% rate, or higher, will see a reduction in withholding.  The new tables, prescribed by the Department of the Treasury, reflect a change resulting from the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001.

You are not required to complete a new Form W-4.  However, if you do not want to have your withholding reduced, you may want to file a new Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate, with your employer.  You may claim fewer withholding allowances on line 5 or request additional amount to be withheld on line 6.

Note: IRS has not revised Form W-4 to reflect the new changes.  The current 2001 form is available on the Payroll Services web site at <www.umn.edu/ohr/payroll/PAYROLLFORMS.html>.  Note that there was an error in the Web address listed in your pay statement insert.  The above Web address is correct.

Summary of New Standard Contract Program
The Office of the General Counsel would like to announce the completion of the new Standard Contracts Program. Board of Regents' policy mandates that the Office of the General Counsel ("OGC") review and approve contracts to which the University of Minnesota is a party. Since OGC cannot review every contract individually, OGC has pre-approved Standard Contract Forms to be used for routine contractual transactions. Contractual transactions entered into using these forms do not require additional OGC review and approval.  You can learn more about this policy and process from our web site http://www.ogc.umn.edu/contracts.  Approved Standard Contracts are available at the University Standard Contracts Library,  http://process.umn.edu/groups/ppd/documents/main/contracthome.cfm.

Some contracts, such as volunteer agreements and releases, can be used without contacting the below Subject Matter Experts. However, if changes are required for those contracts, then OGC must approve the changes. Contractual transactions for which Standard Contract Forms are not appropriate must have OGC approval before the University official authorized to sign the contract may sign it. OGC will prepare Unique Contracts for these situations. Unique Contracts may be prepared using substantially modified Standard Contracts, OGC-approved contract language proposed by another party, or contract language developed through negotiation. This standard contracts process is designed to protect the University of Minnesota from potential contract liability and to reduce the expense of unperformed or disadvantageous contracts and resulting litigation.

For further questions on obtaining Standard Contracts, you can contact these

Subject Matter experts:

• External Sales (612.625.2415 / ogbon001@tc.umn.edu  ) in the Office of Budget and Finance http://www.evpp.umn.edu/budget/  as the administrative office responsible for coordinating external sales activity for the University;
• Graduate Medical Education (612.626-3479 / schmi083@tc.umn.edu) as the administrative office responsible for handling Affiliation Agreements for medical residents, Residency/Fellowship Agreements, and access to the Affiliation Agreements for medical residents for the University;
• Patents and Technology Marketing (PTM) (612.624.0550 / erick210@umn.edu) as the administrative office responsible for determining marketability of an invention, determining whether to apply for patent protection, and completing and executing all contracts in this area;
• Purchasing Services (612.624.2828 / u-purch@cafe.tc.umn.edu) as the administrative office responsible for facilitating purchasing processes, and providing sourcing, bidding, and troubleshooting assistance to University of Minnesota colleges and departments;
• Real Estate Office (612.625.5345 / reo@umn.edu) as the administrative office responsible for handling all real estate leasing (including office, laboratory and storage/warehouse space, and land), all real estate purchases and sales, and management of certain University properties, and signing all real estate contracts; and
• Sponsored Projects Administration (612.624.5599 / spa@umn.edu) as the administrative office responsible for helping University of Minnesota faculty seek, acquire, and manage externally sponsored funding for research, training, public service projects, and coordinating the use of OGC pre-approved standard government contracts developed by agencies such as NIH and NSF.

For additional questions, please contact the Office of the General Counsel at contracts@mail.ogc.umn.edu.
--Mishawn J. Cook, Paralegal, Office of the General Counsel

Bulk Paper Shredder Scheduled for August 9
A truck mounted shredder will be available at UMC at 9 a.m. on Thursday, August 9, 2001.  It will be located behind Selvig Hall.  The truck is specially designed to accommodate bulk feeding;  staples, paper clips, three ring binders, bond paper and cardboard are not a problem and need not be removed.  The shedder is capable of shredding 1000 pounds per hour.  This will be a good time to get rid of any outdated sensitive material containing privileged information.  Each department will need to make their own arrangements to have their materials delivered to the area behind Selvig Hall before 9 a.m. the morning of August 9.

Please call Bonnie Anderson at 281-8326 if you have any materials you would like to include so we can estimate the number of hours the truck will need to be on campus.  You may observe the shredding if you wish.

Board of Regents to Meet at UMC Sept. 13-14
The next board of regents monthly meeting will be held September 13-14 at the University of Minnesota, Crookston campus.  Many of the Regents and their entourage will be arriving in Crookston on the evening of Wednesday, September 12.  Board of Regents meeting agendas can be found on the Web at www.umn.edu/regents.

Centennial Park Concept Sketches 
Concept sketches for the proposed centennial park project are available for viewing in the Alumni Room in Robertson Hall.  Target date for completion of the park is the summer of 2005, the centennial anniversary of educational service on the site that is now UMC.  The centennial park will be developed around the Peterson Gazebo on the UMC Mall and will most likely involve a renovation of the sunken gardens just south of the Sahlstrom Conference Center.  It will involve alumni from UMC and the NWSA.  

UMC to Host Ice Cream Social Aug. 17
University Relations will host its Second Annual Ice Cream Social  on Friday, August 17, from 4-6 p.m. at the Peterson Gazebo on the Mall (rain site Bede Ballroom).  The event is part of Crookston Ox Cart Days.  The Valley Fiddlers are scheduled to perform throughout the event, and round 2 of “Crookston Survivor” will take place at 4:30 p.m.  All faculty, staff, students and their families as well as Crookston residents are welcome.  Come enjoy a free ice cream cone.

Lundell Hired in ITM
Martin Lundell has been hired as an assistant professor in the Information Technology Management Department.  His appointment began July 30.  Martin has a diverse background in the IT industry, having started out in PC and network support at a health insurance company and then at a consulting firm.  He later moved into a database management and administration role as well as application development and project management role for database-driven web sites.  He received his M.S. in Information Systems from Dakota State University in Madison, SD.  Martin is originally from Two Harbors, Minnesota.  His wife has been hired as an ICU nurse at Altru in Grand Forks.  They have two young sons.

Accolades
David DeMuth, assistant professor of physics and math, is featured in the July/August 2001 issue of Kiosk, a newspaper for U of M faculty and staff.  David is recognized as one of five University employees “making a difference” for his work on in making his courses accessible to students who are blind or sight impaired.  The feature is available online at www1.umn.edu/urelate/kiosk/08.01text/changing.html.

Off to NDSU
To all the faculty and staff at UMC,
After seven years at UMC I am leaving to take a new position as program coordinator of the hospitality management program at NDSU in Fargo.  I will miss all of you and the culture of UMC.  Please keep in touch.  My new office information is:

Vern Markey
178H E. Morrow Lebedeff Hall
NDSU
Fargo, ND  58105-5057
701-231-8220
vern.markey@ndsu.nodak.edu  

--Vern Markey, Assistant Professor, Hotel, Restaurant & Institutional Management

Off to New Hampshire
I realize this will reach many people who have no idea who I am, but I wanted to make sure that I didn’t overlook any friends or colleagues from the past 10 years.  I am soon on my way to take a new position at the University of New Hampshire.  It is an excellent opportunity for me and my family, but we will miss all our friends in the Red River Valley.  Thanks for all your support and sharing over the years.  Being associated with UMC, its students, faculty and staff has been a highlight of my career in Higher Education. Keep in touch.

NEW ADDRESS:
MaryAnne Lustgraaf, Director
Memorial Union Building (MUB)
83 Main Street
Durham, NH 03824-3594
603-862-3487 office

--MaryAnne Lustgraaf, Adjunct Faculty, Geography 

This Month’s Special Dates
Don't forget to submit any special dates--birthdays,  weddings, anniversaries.  We want to share these special dates with our campus family.

Weddings

• June 13 - Kami Trowbridge and Jason Mattson

Birthdays

• August 5 - Sue Dwyer
• August 11 - Val Uttermark
• August 17 - Dennis Magsam
• August 25 - Lynn Gevens

Bulletin Weekly Schedule Resumes

The UMC Weekly Bulletin will resume its regular weekly publication on August 22, 2001.  Deadline for submission for that edition is noon on Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2001.

UMC Bulletin

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