• Manzanita Village Blooms
  • Convocation Today Unites Newcomers
  • Gifts Rise to $51 Million Despite Economic Woes
  • Guide Lauds Campus as 'Hot'
  • UCSB Remembers Courageous Lives
  • Lucas, Rose, Herrera-Sobek Form EVC Team
  • State Audit Shows Only Part of Picture
  • Mighty Savings from Microturbines
  • Rare Plant Achieves Sexual Maturity
  • Social Justice Concern Runs in Her Family
  • New Campus Policy Alerts Parents to Offsprings' Alcohol Infractions
  • We Do Windows, etc.
  • Rockin' the Academics
  • Campus Notes
  • Credits
    •

    State Audit Shows Only Part of Picture

    By VIC COX

    After a nine-month analysis, auditors found general compliance with most elements of the University of California's Partnership Agreement with the state, but voiced concerns over hiring priorities and how the course-to-faculty ratio was counted, the Office of the President has reported.
    In looking at UC's salary expenditures for selected jobs during the period 1997 to 2001--this includes three of the partnership's four years--the Bureau of State Audits said that UC hired administrative staff members at a faster pace than it hired tenure-track faculty members. Full-time (FTEs) academic positions grew by 504, or 10 percent, while full-time staff FTEs in fiscal, management, and service sectors increased by 2,075, or 43 percent.
    UCOP explained that despite what appears to be sizeable increases in some job sectors, overall "the difference in academic and support staff FTE growth is small (15 versus 17 percent) and is attributable in part to the large, targeted state appropriations for research and public service."
    At UCSB, personnel officials cautioned against reading too much into any number and noted that systemwide figures could gloss over differences between campuses. Over the same period as the audit, campus administrative staff increased by only 7 percent, said Carol Houchens, manager of information systems for Human Resources. "We have a data system in HR that gives us snapshots, but does not really show us patterns," she said. However, she feels UCSB's net increase is reliable because another personnel tracking system produced a similar number.
    A check with the Office of Academic Personnel also revealed a lower net increase in academic FTEs than that reported for UC--8 percent versus the 10 percent cited by the auditors. Over the review period, FTEs grew by 63.5 to the 2001 total of 772.
    The auditors were also concerned that UC's reported course-to-faculty ratio of 4.9, which slightly exceeded the agreement's required ratio, was achieved by counting courses with only one or two students. The 13 percent of primary courses counted this way should have really been considered independent study, the audit said.
    UCOP responded that it would "re-examine its small student classes" and adjust the categories. It also said that it would reallocate $10 million from institutional support to instruction over the next two years.