By Edina A.T. Strum
Arizona Daily Wildcat
January 15, 1997

Proposal would close AIC unless 300 students enroll before Oct. 1

Forty-six students were enrolled at AIC last fall.

"This would, in effect, close the campus," said Mary McKeown, Arizona Board of Regents associate director for financial affairs.

She said the staff of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee drafted the proposal, and the Legislature will vote on it in March.

The announcement was made during budget discussions at the regents' meeting yesterday at Arizona State University.

"This does not come as a surprise," said Greg Fahey, associate vice president of state relations for the University of Arizona. "There has been talk of wanting more students. It's no surprise that if there are no students there won't be any money."

The proposal calls for the legislature to revert all AIC funds back to the state budget if enrollment falls short of 300.

However, Fahey said, "The legislature is free to agree or not. It's not a done deal." And UA President Manuel Pacheco said he does not think AIC will fall short of this enrollment mandate.

"We anticipate an additional 250 students in the fall," he said. "We have an aggressive recruitment process."

Pacheco also added that he hopes if the legislature passes the proposal, it will be flexible enough not to stick to the 300-student requirement if enrollment at AIC is substantially increased.

AIC Executive Vice President and Provost Celestino Fern ndez was not available for comment yesterday.

In other business, the regents voted to consider a recommendation from the Committee for External Review of Capital Assets.

The committee was formed in October to review the capital development process in the wake of a new requirement for a multi-year bonding plan, which will be presented to the Joint Committee on Capital Review, according to the report.

Recommendations to the board included:

• Developing clearer priorities on capital projects. The state universities use five-year summary plans, which the committee considers "one-year plans and four-year forecasts," said committee chairman Mark DeMichele.

• Evaluate the current use of space and scheduling in existing building to expand capacity. "Utilization can and must be improved at all three institutions," the report stated.

• Increase faculty workloads rather than hire new faculty to facilitate expanded facility utilization by offering classes at non-peak hours.

  "We believe it is possible for faculty to teach increased course loads," DeMichele said. Additional incentives may be necessary to put more emphasis on teaching at all three universities, he said.

• Annually review projected enrollment figures to update the facility requirements at each campus.

• Limit the amount of funding on projects that have "conceptual approval" only.

"The University of Arizona has spent over $600,000 on the proposed Integrated Instructional Facility. ... This is a substantial amount of money to walk away from if the facility is not built, and puts additional pressure on the regents to approve the project for construction," the report stated.

The regents also adopted a seven-step plan for improving the tuition setting process.

The plan emphasizes making the universities accountable to the board for their budget requests and allocations and linking state funding to the stated objectives of each university.

At the end of each budget cycle, the universities will report their progress in meeting the board's goal.

Regent Jonathan Schmitt, UA agriculture senior, added two motions, which were approved by the board, to the proposal. They are:

• Including student, faculty and staff input in the strategic planning process.

• Setting the following year's resident hall rates at the same time as tuition is set. Tuition is set in April of each year. Resident hall rates have previously been set in February, and Schmitt said input at that time from students was minimal.

Regent Judy Gignac said doing both in April will offer students more opportunity to give input because more publicity surrounds the tuition-setting hearings.