University moves to improve transparency

In the fall, the administration was besieged by faculty and student complaints about a lack of transparency in how it was handling the university's shrinking budget. But since the end of classes in December, officials have moved to make budgetary decisions more open to the public.

Earlier this week, the administration unveiled a redesigned website aimed at addressing concerns from the university community about the budget.

Complete with flowcharts about how budget decisions in every department are made and a "fireside chat" video series where university President Dan Mote answers real questions from students, the site attempts to explain the budget process from fund reallocations to resource distributions as outlined in the university's Strategic Plan.

Last semester, transparency was an explosive issue at the university. After administrators refused to release the budget to the public in the fall, Kenton Stalder, a Student Government Administration legislator and student activist, leaked the document and posted it on the Internet. Later, administrators made the budget available for viewing in the basement of Hornbake Library but offered little guidance on how to interpret the 900-page document. After 600 students marched on the administration building demanding an explanation for Associate Provost for Equity and Diversity Cordell Black's dismissal, Provost Nariman Farvardin vowed to give students more opportunities to get involved in budgetary decisions. But little had been done — until now.

This website redesign is the most recent of the university administration's attempts to be more open and address the concerns of students and faculty. Administrators said they hope the site will help clear up any concerns or questions the public has about the university's budget.

"We are very happy to provide information in which there is interest and which is meaningful in whatever context the request is made," Vice President of Administrative Affairs Ann Wylie wrote in an e-mail. "As a public university, we have a commitment to provide information that helps people make good decisions. We take that commitment very seriously."

President Mote's chief of staff, Sally Koblinsky, sent out an e-mail to the university community Monday announcing the new website's premiere. She said at the end of last semester both Mote and the University Senate suggested that the site, which had existed in a much more limited capacity, be expanded.

"In the past two years, faculty and staff have had to deal with furloughs, increasing workloads, and some layoffs," Koblisky wrote in an e-mail. "Most students have seen increasing class sizes, and we've had a dramatic increase in the number of students seeking emergency aid."

Koblisky said it was a priority for Mote to share more information with the university public about the budget process and issues.

"He wanted to improve the community's understanding of our budget circumstances and decisions, and to share ways in which our individual units are reducing costs and raising revenues in these challenging times," she wrote.

While many students, faculty and staff members were extremely critical about the lack of transparency at the university last semester, some said the website is a step in the right direction.

English professor Maynard Mack said although he still opposes a reallocation stipulated in the Strategic Plan, he has become more trusting of the university recently, due to its increased transparency.

"I'm surprised to hear myself saying that I really do, in this area, trust the campus administration and believe that they are making the best choices possible in a terrible, terrible budget climate," Mack wrote in an e-mail.

However, some students still believe that more can be done.

"Even though they're being more transparent, it doesn't mean anything is getting any better," said student activist Malcom Harris, who was widely critical of the administration last semester. "Until there are structures in place that let us have a say in the budget process, they can be as transparent as they want, and it won't do us any good."

Koblinsky said the university will continue to facilitate an open discussion about the budget process.

"We continue to read and respond to suggestions we receive on the budget website," she wrote, adding Mote may hold another town hall meeting if there is sufficient interest from the university community. "I believe the President and Vice Presidents have worked very hard to be open and transparent about the budget, and hope the website has shed some light on the complexities of our budget decisions and processes."

redding@umdbk.com