Legislative Testimony

OUR VISION:
Academic Excellence, Economic Development,
and Social Vitality

I am delighted to report to you on UMBC’s progress and to respond to questions you may have regarding our FY 2006 and FY 2007 budgets.

UMBC is a major public research university, emphasizing graduate programs in the sciences, engineering, public policy, and human services, and building on a strong undergraduate liberal arts and sciences core. We are distinctive among the nation’s research universities because of our emphasis on undergraduate education, reflecting our tradition of linking research and teaching. It was especially gratifying when Newsweek named us one of America’s twelve “Hot Schools” in recent years. We are an exciting campus with a bold vision and entrepreneurial spirit. It is an amazing story that we have come so far so fast, in just 40 years. Your investment in us has generated a high return for the State, and we are determined to continue attracting and educating growing numbers of students who will enter Maryland’s workforce and reflect the diversity of our State.

We also are recognized increasingly as a major resource for both building the State’s economy and addressing its social concerns. We foster economic development primarily through (1) research and training-related contracts and grants; (2) technology development, including the activities of our technology center, techcenter@umbc, and our research-and-technology park, bwtech@umbc; (3) partnerships involving continuing education and business outreach; and (4) workforce development.

We now enroll 11,650 students (including 9,400 undergraduates); employ approximately 1,760 full-time and 390 part-time faculty and staff; have an operating budget of roughly $310 million, including an annual payroll of almost $170 million and almost $80 million annually in research-and-training contracts and grants; and we have more than 45,000 alumni, nearly three-quarters of whom live and work in Maryland and contribute to its economic and social vitality. We offer bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. programs in the physical and life sciences, social and behavioral sciences, engineering, mathematics, information technology, and the humanities and visual and performing arts. The new Erickson School of Aging Studies was created this past year with a $5-million private pledge and $1.5 million in State support.

Brainpower and knowledge are fueling discoveries and innovation on campus, and increasingly we are building on these strengths by collaborating with others. We are creating multi-level partnerships to connect faculty and students with companies, agencies, and school systems. Recent examples of how these partnerships have enabled us to leverage State funds include (1) renovating biology and chemistry facilities with support from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health; (2) building first-rate biochemistry laboratories through partnerships with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Guilford Pharmaceuticals; (3) developing major new research centers with support from NASA (we continue to rank among the leading universities nationally in terms of NASA funding) and such companies as Northrop Grumman; (4) contributing in the policy arena in gerontology, the environment, health care, and teacher education with support from a variety of Federal and State agencies; and (5) strengthening campus life by constructing impressive new residence halls with private support.

A particularly exciting new partnership (which we expect to be finalized shortly) involves UMBC’s collaboration with Princeton, Rice, Johns Hopkins, and Texas A&M Universities on a new Engineering Research Center (ERC) funded by NSF. The Center will develop engineering technologies using light for ultra-sensitive chemical sensing that will have important public-health and environmental applications. The ERC’s work, involving our Center for Advanced Studies in Photonics Research (CASPR) (whose Director will serve as the consortium’s Deputy Director), will create opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students and will also likely result in new product lines and markets.

THE STATE OF THE UNIVERSITY:
Facing Challenges From a Position of Strength

Our rapid development as a major research university has been reflected by its classification in recent years as a Carnegie Research Extensive University, placing us in the top tier of American research universities. Only 151 (4%) of the nation’s 3,500 colleges and universities have been included in this category. In a separate ranking by the National Science Foundation reflecting federally funded research in science and engineering, UMBC ranks 146th nationally (a rapid rise from 200th in 1996). (See Figure 4.) This leap is especially significant because most of the other nationally ranked institutions are substantially larger and older (and often include medical centers).

Figure 4

We are among a relatively small number of colleges and universities with a Phi Beta Kappa chapter (we were one of the youngest campuses ever to earn this designation), reflecting our strength in the liberal arts, and we remain the only public campus in Maryland with a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator. The campus also is a two-time recipient of the U.S. Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring. We also consistently rank among the leading producers nationally of bachelor's degrees in information technology and have been designated a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance by the National Security Agency. We also are among a small number of universities to have received both a multi-million-dollar ADVANCE grant from the National Science Foundation, in recognition of our strengths in preparing women in science and engineering (we also were named one of the “Best 50 Colleges for Women” by CosmoGIRL! magazine), and a major grant through NSF’s Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) program to prepare more minority Ph.D.s in science. It is significant that we have become a national model for preparing minorities and women in science and engineering at a time when the nation is focusing intensely on how to secure and strengthen its position in the global economy, particularly in science and engineering, and America’s demographic profile is shifting dramatically.

While our State-supported budget has grown, overall, in recent years, so has the campus. Since 2000, the number of full-time-equivalent students increased from nearly 8,100 to approximately 9,170 (13%) (See Figure 1); sponsored contracts and grants grew from $64 million to $78 million (22%); total degrees conferred per year increased from approximately 1,800 to almost 2,300 (27%); and the number of students living on campus increased 64% – from 2,350 to 3,850 – and from one-third to nearly half of our full-time undergraduate population, including more than three-quarters of our freshmen.

Figure 1

While these kinds of changes have contributed to UMBC’s continuing transformation, they also have generated new demands on our operations that seriously tax our ability to respond. One way the campus has responded is by emphasizing efficiency and effectiveness measures. For the current year, our efforts have led to several millions of dollars in savings or cost avoidance as the result of business improvements, outsourcing, energy management, external partnerships, and new revenue generation.

Our current strengths and solid foundation reflect the efforts and commitment of State leaders, our faculty, staff, and students, and years of careful thinking, ambitious planning, and hard decisions, with support from the University System and the Board of Regents and our Board of Visitors. We have managed for results, and the State’s investment and confidence in us have produced solid returns.

THE UMBC COMMUNITY:
Quality, Achievements, Contributions

STUDENTS
The freshman class of approximately 1,435 students is among the most diverse nationally (39% minority, including 25% Asian, 10% African American, and 3% Hispanic and Native American). It includes hundreds of valedictorians, 4.0 students, and students with SAT scores at the highest end (above 1450), demonstrating our increasing attractiveness to high-achieving students and the success of our special scholars programs—the Humanities Scholars, Linehan Artist Scholars, Sondheim Public Affairs Scholars, Meyerhoff Scholars, and Center for Women & Information Technology Scholars programs. (See Figure 2.)

Figure 2

The graduate population of approximately 2,250 students includes an increased number of domestic students (81%), women (52%), and minorities (20%). Our doctoral enrollments remain strong, and we continue to attract large numbers of master’s students in applied programs in response to the growing needs of businesses, school systems, and other employers.

Our total headcount enrollment of nearly 11,650 has produced an annual FTE enrollment of approximately 9,170, reflecting a dip (1.7%) this year attributable primarily to lower information-technology and transfer enrollments. The campus is aggressively responding by implementing a variety of recruitment and retention strategies. Despite this year’s decline (the first such decline in nearly a decade), students’ interest in having a residential experience remains very strong.

Producing well-prepared graduates who can respond to Maryland's workforce needs is one of UMBC's most important and lasting contributions to economic development. Graduates move easily into the workforce in areas related to their majors – from engineering and IT firms to public and social service agencies and public school systems throughout the State.

Student Research & Scholarship
Providing undergraduates with wide-ranging opportunities for research, creative achievement, and intellectual competition both on and off campus is a vital part of our culture. As a result, the student body includes Goldwater and Jack Kent Cooke Scholars, Truman, Merck, NSF GEM, and Bell Labs/Lucent Technologies Fellows, several Fulbright finalists, and a National Geographic intern. Other students received prestigious awards from the American Mathematics Society, the Center for Medieval Studies at the University of York (England), and the American College Theatre Festival. And this past December, our Chess Team captured a record-breaking seventh championship at the Pan American Intercollegiate Team Chess Tournament in Miami, defeating teams from Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and arch-rival University of Texas-Dallas.

Well Prepared Graduates
Thousands of area physicians, attorneys, teachers, scientists, engineers, IT workers, artists, policy-makers, and other professionals are among UMBC alumni. The National Security Agency, for example, employs hundreds of UMBC math, computer science, and language graduates. The campus will continue producing large numbers of graduates in these and other areas responsive to Maryland’s workforce needs, including many graduates who are active in business start-ups and work in local entrepreneurial ventures. Our graduates contribute directly to the quality and supply of the State’s workforce, which are two of the most critical factors in relocation decisions by companies.

Particularly noteworthy are data released this past year by the American Chemical Society ranking UMBC 22nd in the nation in the number of undergraduate chemistry degrees granted (55). Equally noteworthy are data from the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology that ranked UMBC first nationally in the total number of undergraduate chemistry and biochemistry degrees awarded to African Americans, second in the total number of undergraduate degrees in chemistry and biochemistry awarded to minorities, and third in chemistry and biochemistry master’s degrees awarded to minority students.

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FACULTY
UMBC has approximately 460 State-supported full-time faculty who teach and conduct research, 200 full-time research faculty funded from contracts and grants, and 315 part-time faculty. They are dedicated to their students and their work and are accountable through a rigorous process of review for promotion and tenure. Because of our emphasis on hands-on experiences for students, faculty work to connect – through their research and teaching – to students, leading to substantive faculty-student interaction in labs, studios, and other settings, and to student internships.

Awards & Recognition
Another measure of the quality of our faculty is their impressive per capita ranking for such major awards as Fulbright, Guggenheim, and National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowships, comparing favorably with William & Mary and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. (See Figure 5.) In fact, UMBC has recently had several Fulbright Scholars, a U.S. Department of State Jefferson Science Fellow, a Mellon Research Fellow, a Woodrow Wilson Career Enhancement Fellow, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellow, an American Association for the Advancement of Science Mentoring awardee, several NSF Career Award winners, an Optical Society of America Fellow, an IBM Faculty Award winner, and the Maryland Chemist of the Year.

Figure 5

As State support for higher education has fluctuated over the years, due chiefly to changes in the economy, faculty hiring has fluctuated and has not always been responsive to enrollment increases, new programs, and institutional plans and aspirations. The size and quality of UMBC’s faculty will largely determine for many years our level of success as a research university. UMBC must continue to hire outstanding faculty to meet our enrollment shifts, replace retiring faculty, and replace faculty we lose to other universities and corporations with whom we compete intensely.

It is important not only to build our faculty complement, but also to retain faculty by providing the necessary support structure for research and teaching as well as competitive salaries. Our faculty drive the campus’s research enterprise, attracting grants and contracts, producing technology transfer, and generating research opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students. Retaining faculty is important also because of the costs associated with replacing them.

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Research
UMBC helps to shape and anticipate the future by producing new knowledge through faculty research – either individually or through partnerships with corporations or public agencies. The authors of The Top American Research Universities, An Annual Report from The Lombardi Program on Measuring University Performance (2004) state that research institutions change very slowly over time, and yet their data on Federal research expenditures show that among major research universities in the nation, UMBC’s rise in the rankings exceeded that of all other institutions between 1993 and 2002. Our research is important not only because it addresses scientific, technological, and public-policy issues facing society, but also because it gives our undergraduate and graduate students opportunities to work with us on these issues – from AIDS and computer security to Medicaid policies and the K-12 academic achievement gap.

One reason for the faculty’s rising productivity has been the establishment of several research centers, e.g., CASPR, our Center for Urban Environmental Research & Education (CUERE), Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Laboratory, Goddard Earth Sciences & Technology (GEST) Center, Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology (JCET), Center for History Education, Center for Art & Visual Culture, and the Maryland Institute for Policy Analysis & Research.

Figure 3

PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION, TRAINING, and SERVICE
In keeping with its mission, UMBC serves as a center of professional development, working with agencies and business and industry in the Baltimore-Washington region. Some of our major partners include school systems in Baltimore, Anne Arundel, and Montgomery Counties, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Maryland’s Department of Business & Economic Development, and the National Security Agency. Through UMBC Training Centers, LLC, and our Division of Continuing & Professional Studies, we offer individuals and organizations customized credit and non-credit certificate, training, and graduate programs on-campus, on-site, online, and at the Universities at Shady Grove in Rockville.

We are especially committed to the development of effective K-16 initiatives. One such initiative is the recent $10-million, multi-year Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education Project involving UMBC, the Baltimore County Public Schools, and the National Science Foundation to strengthen student achievement and teacher proficiency in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in selected high-needs elementary, middle, and high schools. Another example is the work of our Center for History Education, which recently received a major grant from the U.S. Department of Education to invigorate the teaching of history in Baltimore County elementary, middle, and high schools. Other examples include our partnership with the Anne Arundel County Public Schools to provide professional development programs for scores of teachers in mathematics, science, and English, and the work of our Center for Art and Visual Culture, which works with area schools to strengthen arts education for K-16 students.

Our Center for Health Program Development & Management (CHPDM) is a multi-faceted health services research organization. Under contract with Maryland’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH), the Center has become nationally recognized for its work in helping Maryland control the costs and improve the quality of healthcare in the State. The Center works with DHMH and other public and private organizations in developing and evaluating healthcare programs and policies. Similarly, our Shriver Center continues to provide applied experiences each year for more than 1,000 students through internships, co-ops, and community service positions at hundreds of organizations in the U.S. and abroad. The Center has attracted millions of dollars in grants and contracts in recent years from national and State agencies and foundations, and is serving hundreds of at-risk youth through its nationally acclaimed Choice Program.

TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT
We have been a model for developing partnerships focusing on technology development and commercialization. We operate two major complexes to support these growing activities, techcenter@UMBC and bwtech@umbc, and our faculty, staff, and students work actively with business, industry, and government in combining our public responsibility with our technical expertise.

The techcenter@UMBC includes five buildings located on 30 acres and houses approximately 170,000 square feet of research, office, and conference facilities. Located on I-95, just minutes from BWI Airport and within view of thousands of north- and southbound travelers daily, the facility (UMBC’s South Campus) leases space to more than two dozen early-stage biotech and IT/engineering-related firms employing more than 200 workers. For its incubator companies, the center provides a variety of university resources, including low-cost office/lab space, shared administrative services, access to UMBC’s library and computing resources, access to faculty expertise, and availability of business, legal, marketing, and technical advice. The General Assembly, State Department of Business & Economic Development, and Baltimore County all strongly supported UMBC’s efforts to acquire these facilities, which are an excellent example of UMBC’s collaboration with business and government in the interest of economic development and enhancing the region’s quality of life.

The 41-acre bwtech@umbc, located immediately adjacent to our central campus, now includes two major facilities. The first, a three-story, 62,500-square-foot building, houses RWD Technologies’ Applied Technology Lab with its staff of 250. The second, a 60,000-square-foot building completed in fall 2004, now houses technology firms and university research centers. We also are completing negotiations with a major division of a federal agency to build a 25,000-square-foot facility and enter into a substantive scientific collaborative agreement (and we expect to be able to announce the agreement shortly). The research-and-technology park is encouraging technology development and transfer, collaborative R&D, training, and new employment opportunities for students and graduates.

Both the techcenter@umbc and bwtech@umbc emphasize tenant interaction with faculty, staff, and students, and those interactions are on the rise. Currently, our on-campus tenant companies employ 87 students as interns and part-time staff and 39 UMBC alumni. In addition, 36 faculty members have research collaborations with tenant companies.

Our Office of Technology Development is housed in bwtech@umbc and works closely with tenant companies. It also is playing a vital role in supporting our new ACTiVATE initiative, an applied training program for women seeking to become technology entrepreneurs. The program was launched this past year with a three-year, $600,000 NSF grant and support from TEDCO and corporate sponsors. The program’s goals include training approximately 90 women to become technology entrepreneurs, evaluating 45 technologies developed by Maryland universities and federal labs, and launching six-to-nine new companies.

Finally, we continue pursuing strategies for commercializing faculty inventions and technology transfer designed to contribute to economic development and garner new resources for the campus, in addition to supporting local companies. Increased emphasis on identifying applied uses of faculty research and on faculty collaboration with industry has resulted in increased invention disclosures. In fact, The Business Gazette has reported that UMBC “fared better than the industry standard, receiving one invention disclosure for $1.45 million of research.” Success also with our licensing efforts has substantially increased our licensing revenue over the past few years

PRIVATE GIVING
I am delighted to report that our fundraising efforts continue to be highly successful. We completed our first-ever capital campaign in June, 2002, raising $66 million (and surpassing our five-year, $50-million goal by nearly a third). While we are in the quiet phase of the next campaign (the campaign goal will be publicly announced next September), we have already raised more than $50 million. And this year, even with several months still to go, we are approaching our annual goal of $13 million. Our current endowment (as of December 30, 2005) exceeds $40 million. Major gifts by corporations, foundations, alumni, faculty, and staff both during our first campaign and since its completion have built endowment support (see Figure 6) for student scholarships, faculty research, endowed professorships, faculty and staff development, and other programmatic initiatives ranging from the sciences and engineering to teacher preparation, the arts, and community service.

Figure 6

Because Maryland, unlike other states (e.g., Virginia, North Carolina), has not enjoyed a long tradition of private giving to public institutions, we have worked especially hard to surpass our goals. (In fact, before 1990, the campus had never raised a million dollars in any year.) The public now readily sees the difference that private giving and endowment make, and it takes pride in our privately supported achievements. Top-flight programmatic initiatives led by faculty and staff attract donors.

Operating Budget
UMBC’s FY 2007 budget request of $323.3 million reflects an increase of $13.7 million (4.4%). The change is due primarily to an increase in State appropriations (general funds) of $6.4 million (9.2%) and tuition and fee revenue of $3.8 million (4.4%). The tuition revenue is generated by a budgeted enrollment of 9,330 FTE students and reflects a 4.5% undergraduate and graduate rate increase over FY 2006. Auxiliary and self-supporting operating-unit revenue increases $3.5 million (5.7%), in part through direct sales by various units, and by fee increases identified in the tuition and fee schedule. Resources will be allocated to expand summer and winter course offerings, and to continue enhancing student life outside the classroom.

The FY 2007 funding increases are required to meet such mandatory expenses as wages and fringe benefit increases; higher utility, insurance, library periodical, and debt-service costs; financial aid responsive to increased tuition and access initiatives; instructional support costs related to higher enrollments; and increased technology support costs. Also, the campus will address high-priority initiatives related to the undergraduate experience, which are part of UMBC’s strategic plan.

Capital Budget
UMBC is grateful that the Governor’s proposed capital budget for FY 2007 includes $4.95 million for design development of a Performing Arts and Humanities Facility. The proposed facility will provide space to meet the current and future curricular, research, and student-life needs of the UMBC community and will house the Departments of Theater, Music, Dance, Ancient Studies, English, and Philosophy, as well as our Center for the Humanities and the Shakespeare Association of America, which resides at UMBC. The facility also will be one of UMBC’s most public buildings, unique in southwest Baltimore County and the surrounding area, serving the needs of the Greater Baltimore community through performances and outreach activities. Indeed, the facility will be instrumental in creating a regional and national appreciation of UMBC as a cultural destination.

Intended primarily as a facility for teaching and research in the arts and humanities, the Performing Arts and Humanities Facility will play a large and essential role in our general curriculum. It is so central to our academic mission that virtually every undergraduate will use the facility’s classroom and spaces before graduating. Maryland employers often remind us how important it is that our graduates, whether in science and engineering or the liberal and fine arts, be able to communicate clearly – writing, speaking, problem-solving, and thinking critically and creatively. Our arts and humanities departments and programs provide that foundation for all of our students, in the process educating well rounded citizens and strengthening Maryland’s workforce. In fact, we recently increased the writing requirements in our General Education Program (mandatory for all undergraduates), responding in part to industry’s needs for highly literate employees. These revisions to our General Education Program will make arts and humanities course even more available and appealing to students in all fields, thereby increasing the demands on those departments that will be housed in the new facility.

RESPONSES
to Legislative Analyst's Comments on UMBC

OPERATING BUDGET ANALYSIS

Performance Analysis
Teacher Education Program Enrollment Continues to Decline to Its Lowest Level Since Fiscal 2001: The President should comment on reasons for the decline in teacher enrollment and efforts to increase enrollment.

Campus Response:
Although the conclusion of a major NSF grant that focused on urban teacher education contributed substantially to lower enrollments, we are hopeful that other recent NSF-funded initiatives will bolster teacher enrollments. One of these grants supports our $10-million, multi-year partnership with NSF and the Baltimore County Public Schools to address STEM teaching in challenging schools; another involves the University System and UMBC, among others, working with some of the most challenging schools in Montgomery County. What is especially significant about these grants is their focus on STEM fields, in which the demand for teachers is greatest and the disciplines, themselves, tend to be the most difficult for students. Much of our attention in this area also has been focused on helping school systems achieve the teacher-proficiency mandates of No Child Left Behind, working with the schools to retain teachers and bolster their professional development. We also are encouraging students to apply for low-interest loans through the Teach for Maryland Student Loan Program, which should increase our teacher enrollments. Finally, we are implementing aggressive recruitment and outreach strategies, including, for example, meeting with school superintendents and community college presidents and their staffs to increase both our in-service and pre-service teacher enrollments.

Governor's Proposed Budget
The President should comment on how UMBC intends to spend the additional general funds including the $1.5 million based on enrollment growth. Additionally, the President should discuss the increases in unrestricted funds by program. (FY 2006-07)

Campus Response:

Additional General Funds
Additional general funds totaling $6.4 million in FY 2007 bring the campus total to $76.7 million. These additional funds will be used to fund both mandatory and other expenses. A significant portion ($4.2 million or approximately two-thirds) of the increase will cover such mandatory expenses as a 2.5% merit salary increase, inflationary increases for fringe benefits (especially health insurance), fuel and utilities, debt-service payments, and financial aid. The remaining general funds ($2.2 million) will support Board of Regents initiatives for enrollment growth (196 FTE), our capital campaign, auditing, and facilities renewal. The increased enrollment support ($1.5 million) addresses the commitment made by the Governor and the Regents to fund enrollment growth, specifically the additional 196 FTE students targeted for UMBC. This funding will be used primarily for faculty, library acquisitions, academic advising support, student services, and facilities support to meet the needs of a larger student population. The capital campaign funding ($375,000) is consistent with UMBC’s campaign proposal and will be used to hire 2.0 FTE positions for college gift officers and 2.0 FTE positions to provide direct support for fundraising efforts with foundations and parents. The funding for facilities renewal ($268,000) partially supports the Regents’ priority of raising the level of facilities renewal expenditures to 2% of the physical plant replacement value. The remaining new general funds will partially support the Regents’ audit initiative to ensure financial accountability.

Unrestricted Funds
The total increase in unrestricted funds in the FY 2007 request is $13.7 million, or 6.0% above the FY-06 allowance. A summary of the changes by program follows:

Instruction: The increase totals $5.8 million (7.5%) and consists chiefly of faculty and staff salary merit increases and inflationary adjustments on fringe benefits ($3.9 million); increases in graduate assistant tuition remissions ($400,000); and the $1.5 million for enrollment growth (previously noted).

Research: The increase totals $200,000 (2.8%) and will be used primarily for adjusting unrestricted support for graduate research assistants.

Public Service: The change represents a decrease of $1.3 million (35%) and is to adjust the unrestricted budget to actual experience in FY-05 and expected actual in FY-06. The unrestricted fund support in this program has been declining as State grants for our Center for Health Program Development & Management and the Shriver Center have declined.

Academic Support: The increase totals $100,000 (0.5%) and consists of staff salary merit increase and inflationary adjustments on fringe benefits ($450,000) and reductions ($350,000) to respond to Board of Regents cost-savings initiatives.

Student Services: The increase of $100,000 (1.1%) reflects staff salary merit increases and inflationary adjustments on fringe benefits ($300,000) and reductions ($200,000) to respond to Board of Regents cost-savings initiatives.

Institutional Support: The increase totals $900,000 (3.5%) and consists of staff salary merit increases and inflationary adjustments on fringe benefits ($800,000), the capital campaign staff initiative ($400,000), and reductions ($300,000) in response to Board of Regents cost-savings initiatives.

Operation & Maintenance of Plant: The increase totals approximately $2.5 million (11.2%) and consists of staff salary merit increases and inflationary adjustments on fringe benefits ($300,000), significant inflationary increases in fuel and utilities ($1.5 million), and an increase in facilities renewal ($700,000) in support of a Board of Regents initiative.

Auxiliary Enterprises: The increase of $4.0 million (21.8%) consists of staff salary merit increases and inflationary adjustments on fringe benefits ($700,000) and increased operating costs to self-supporting units primarily for fuel and utilities, contractual services, and items for resale ($3.3 million).

Scholarships & Fellowships: The increase of $1.4 million (7.8%) is to index financial aid funds equivalent to tuition increases ($800,000), provide additional funding for need-based aid ($400,000), and additional funding for graduate student access ($200,000).

Allowance Includes $3.5 Million for UMBC School of Aging Studies: DLS recommends reducing the funds allocated to the UMBC School of Aging Studies by $1.75 million for fiscal 2007. With this reduction the school would still receive $1.75 million in fiscal 2007. An additional $1.75 million in earmarked State funding would be required in subsequent years to achieve the $5 million in State funding requested for the school.

Campus Response:
We are concerned about the proposal to reduce the requested allocation to the Erickson School of Aging Studies by $1.75 million. A substantial portion of the Governor’s allowance will be used to cover the salaries and benefits associated with recruiting outstanding faculty to establish the Erickson School as one of the best of its kind in the nation. In order to do that, we need to be able to make a multi-year commitment to support these individuals as the academic programs are established, achieve their enrollment potential, and grow to become self-supporting. It would be very difficult for UMBC to hire such first-rate faculty without having the funds in place for the first couple of years.

Enrollment Growth Planned for UMBC: The President should comment on how UMBC will accommodate the enrollment growth from the perspective of classroom and research lab space and other necessary building space including dormitories, dining services, and parking facilities.

Campus Response:
Regarding academic space, through an E&E initiative, we are working to maximize the existing classroom inventory by spreading class sessions more evenly across the day and week. We expect that this measure will result in greater availability of classroom space sufficient to accommodate the additional anticipated enrollment. Regarding space for residential halls and dining services, there is currently capacity in our residence halls and dining services space for moderate growth. Most of our enrollment growth attributable to community college transfer students and graduate students would not influence campus residential space. Finally, parking space for added enrollment will be accommodated partially by plans to spread class sessions more evenly across the day and week. We have begun a planning process for the next parking deck to accommodate anticipated additional demand.

ISSUES

Personnel Studies Continue: UMBC is carrying fewer vacancies than called for in the fiscal 2006 budget. The fiscal 2006 budget calls for a vacancy rate of 3.95%, or 69 positions, but UMBC has 34 vacancies as of December 2005. The fiscal 2007 budget calls for a vacancy rate, excluding new positions, or 4.86%, or 85 positions.

Campus Response:
The 34 vacant positions are all in the State supported portion of our budget and, when compared only to the support-related activities, reflect a rate more in keeping with the Analyst’s comment. In the self-supporting portion of our budget (Auxiliary Enterprises and restricted, externally funded activities), there were no vacant positions as of December, 2005 both because of growth in these areas over the past few fiscal years and also because UMBC was unable to add positions during periods of fiscal restraint by the State.

Audit Findings – Items Repeated (Period 7/99-1/02): Finding 5: Corporate Purchasing Cards -- the university did not always adhere to State and university policies for corporate credit card purchases. Finding 7: Student Accounts Receivable -- the university did not adequately reconcile its students accounts receivable records.

Campus Response:
These items were identified during the legislative audit for the period 7/26/99-1/31/02. Since then, the campus has worked to address and correct these items, including conducting extensive training and implementing measures to ensure compliance. In fact, in their required follow-up review of the legislative audit, USM auditors found that the campus had satisfactorily corrected the items noted. Finally, legislative auditors have just completed their audit of the campus for the period 2002-2006, and we are awaiting their final report.

LEGISLATIVE TESTIMONY

OUR VISION: Academic Excellence, Economic Development, and Social Vitality

THE STATE OF THE UNIVERSITY: Facing Challenges From a Position of Strength

THE UMBC COMMUNITY: Quality, Achievements, Contributions

RESPONSES to Legislative Analyst's Comments on UMBC

ISSUES

OUR VISION:
Academic Excellence, Economic Development,
and Social Vitality

THE STATE OF THE UNIVERSITY:
Facing Challenges From a Position of Strength

THE UMBC COMMUNITY:
Quality, Achievements, Contributions

RESPONSES
to Legislative Analyst's Comments on UMBC