The Collegian Weekly: The opinion of The Collegian editorial staff
Issue date: 2/26/09 Section: Opinion
Last week, the Board of Trustees unanimously passed the preliminary budget for the next financial year-- a budget that, despite significant cuts, has been handled gracefully by all involved.
The bad economy decreased Hillsdale College's endowment by about 20 percent last fall, which meant much less money to work with. Thanks to thorough planning and good communication, administration handled the budget cuts without creating controversy or hurting students.
In fact, Hillsdale has made shielding students a priority in its budget process. The administrators took into consideration that many parents would have less money to work with. They decided not to raise tuition or room and board at all next year. In addition, they will be giving out even more scholarships this year than they did last year, despite having to cut almost everywhere else. (See accompanying graphic.)
Administration has also ensured the quality of students' education will not suffer. They did this by consulting everyone involved with the budget. Instead of arbitrarily cutting departmental budgets, administration talked to the "real people" who would be affected. They gave department heads the chance to make the cuts themselves. They asked professors to cut back costs. Administrators trusted faculty enough to include them.
Practically, consulting everyone in the budget process guaranteed that no department had to do without a necessity.
But also, by including everyone in the budget process, administrators kept hard feelings or resentment from arising. Largely because of this, professors accepted not getting raises next year, forgoing professional development and working with less money. Even those who will find it hard must acknowledge its necessity. The college managed to cut back significantly without factionalizing staff.
This challenges the stereotype set by most colleges. Often, college administrators are pitted against professors, and budgets generate hostility, conflict and mistrust. It is impressive that Hillsdale College, which preaches high standards, can apply it in practice, especially in a potentially volatile situation.
Finally, administrators have been transparent about the budget. Not only have they kept college employees up-to-date about the budget, they have also been willing to talk with The Collegian about it, which in turn insures students are informed.
Ken Cole, the college's chief administrative officer, treasurer and chief financial officer, has been especially active in keeping students informed. Not only was he willing to talk during business hours, he also was willing to work evenings with The Collegian. He supplied students with numbers and was happy to explain difficult details.
In a scary economic climate, transparency is important. Students and their parents have been shaken by the recession. Knowing what to expect eliminates a lot of the financial dread. Handling the budget efficiently and giving more scholarship money also goes a long way to help. Hopefully, the budget process represents the overall efficiency and attitude of administrators.
The bad economy decreased Hillsdale College's endowment by about 20 percent last fall, which meant much less money to work with. Thanks to thorough planning and good communication, administration handled the budget cuts without creating controversy or hurting students.
In fact, Hillsdale has made shielding students a priority in its budget process. The administrators took into consideration that many parents would have less money to work with. They decided not to raise tuition or room and board at all next year. In addition, they will be giving out even more scholarships this year than they did last year, despite having to cut almost everywhere else. (See accompanying graphic.)
Administration has also ensured the quality of students' education will not suffer. They did this by consulting everyone involved with the budget. Instead of arbitrarily cutting departmental budgets, administration talked to the "real people" who would be affected. They gave department heads the chance to make the cuts themselves. They asked professors to cut back costs. Administrators trusted faculty enough to include them.
Practically, consulting everyone in the budget process guaranteed that no department had to do without a necessity.
But also, by including everyone in the budget process, administrators kept hard feelings or resentment from arising. Largely because of this, professors accepted not getting raises next year, forgoing professional development and working with less money. Even those who will find it hard must acknowledge its necessity. The college managed to cut back significantly without factionalizing staff.
This challenges the stereotype set by most colleges. Often, college administrators are pitted against professors, and budgets generate hostility, conflict and mistrust. It is impressive that Hillsdale College, which preaches high standards, can apply it in practice, especially in a potentially volatile situation.
Finally, administrators have been transparent about the budget. Not only have they kept college employees up-to-date about the budget, they have also been willing to talk with The Collegian about it, which in turn insures students are informed.
Ken Cole, the college's chief administrative officer, treasurer and chief financial officer, has been especially active in keeping students informed. Not only was he willing to talk during business hours, he also was willing to work evenings with The Collegian. He supplied students with numbers and was happy to explain difficult details.
In a scary economic climate, transparency is important. Students and their parents have been shaken by the recession. Knowing what to expect eliminates a lot of the financial dread. Handling the budget efficiently and giving more scholarship money also goes a long way to help. Hopefully, the budget process represents the overall efficiency and attitude of administrators.
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