How Other Big Ten Schools Are Approaching The Budget Problem

Penn State's leadership and its minions have trotted out excuses for the University's dismal economic position adding that, "other universities are facing problems" and "other universities are laying off workers" and on and on.

It's probably true: poor fiscal management and over-ambitious spending are not exclusive to Penn State; there are other Universities that made bad moves at bad times and now they--or usually their faithful employees--are paying the price.

However, it's equally true that there are Universities that are in much better shape fiscally because their leadership made good decisions. Some of these are the Universities in Penn State's own conference, the Big Ten.

While the economy has hit all the Big Ten schools, including Michigan and Michigan State, which are located in the hard-hit home of the declining auto industry, none of the schools' reactions appear to be approaching the severity we are facing at Penn State.

The University of Michigan, in fact, appears to be going on with its construction schedule. No word from Michigan State about problems like the ones facing Penn State, in fact it was recently named one of the best places to work in academia, so hats off.

University of Wisconsin is hard hit, but the leadership is actually asking its staff, faculty and students to find ways to save money, instead of unilaterally declaring war on their livelihood.

Imagine!

Sacrificing Staff

President Spanier recently added to remarks he gave to the Faculty Senate. In this latest round of remarks, he continued the theme of the sacrifices that would be needed by students, faculty, and staff members.

He also mentioned that while the University was in good shape, fiscally speaking, these were tough times economically. (He did seem to stop short of saying that the University was in excellent financial shape... which I attribute to the massive debt taken on by new building projects.) Lower state funds and higher medical insurance were just some of the fiscal challenges that Spanier mentioned.

Those sacrifices include higher workloads, higher tuition, and lower wages.

These steps may be unavoidable and the staff, as usual, is prepared. What I felt was missing was any mention of the continual sacrifices of the staff over the past years, years when record tuition and record enrollment would lead one to believe that revenue would outstrip the small sum of state monies. However, salary increases have been lower than the pace of inflation and employee's pay for a higher share of health insurance costs as their choices of health insurance plans decrease. Higher fees, longer hours, and congested commutes have taken their toll on staff, as well.

It doesn't end there. The staff of Penn State has been instrumental in taking Penn State from a paper-shuffling bureaucracy to a more tech-savvy operation and, despite the glitches, there's no doubt that the University is a much more efficient, more productive place than it was 10 or 15 years ago.

This innovation has gone unrewarded and, one could say, that it's only been punished.

Why has this happened?

Penn State staff has no independent voice. Their needs are secondary (if they are considered at all).

Penn State staff members will meet the fiscal and technological challenges that we are facing, but will the University meet its obligations to the staff after this economic strife has passed?

Happy Holidays From Penn State

I'm glad the administration has some spare money to produce a video Holiday greeting card.



Next year, maybe they can raise our parking fees and produce a full-length video greetings.
I wish I could get paid for every time I hear bumbling inanities in the office. "Make an Impact." "Throw a Fish." "Do more."

Penn State: What's Happening?

At one time Penn State had a reputation of being the a great employer, whether you worked at the main campus or one of the branch campuses.
If you talk to workers now, you'll find a full spectrum of opinions. Some of the long-timers that have been here for over ten years say that Penn State, as an employer, has slipped. Some say fallen.
There's a couple reasons for this. Other employers in the area have made efforts to retain their staff members with better pay.
Penn State leadership would counter that the University offers more quality-of-life benefits. This is debatable. A lot of companies and startups are offer improved quality-of-life... flex scheduling, gym use, vacation and sick leave, etc.
For the first time, quality people are leaving the university, looking for jobs outside Penn State. And this has continued even in the current treacherous economic conditions.