As colleges’ and universities’ budgets continue to shrink, nearby Hocking College will create an advisory committee to plan for a $2 million cut in funding.
The Budget Advisory Council, similar to Ohio University’s Budget Planning Council, will consist of 17 members and four alternates from various departments and will be responsible for “dissecting” each line of the budget, said Gina Fetty, vice president of financial services, in an email.
“Essentially, this expansion of knowledge will serve to assist us in making better budget decisions with greater buy-in from the campus and allow us to tap a broader base of knowledge…” Fetty said.
Similarly to BPC, Hocking’s council meetings will be closed to the media and public.
The committee is not considered a decision-making body, so it is not considered public, Fetty said.
The council will include three faculty members, a professional unit non-faculty member, a support staff member, a police officer, a dean, a representative from Hocking’s Perry campus, a representative from its Logan campus, five at-large representatives and three student representatives.
“Initially, the plan was to include a student representative,” Fetty said. “We have since expanded that (to) 3 student representatives.”
The Budget Advisory Council will meet about twice a month, but the exact dates could not be provided.
Previously, the president’s cabinet prepared the college’s budget. The cabinet is made up of 10 administrators including Fetty, the chief information officer, the provost and dean of student services.
Members of the Budget Advisory Council will serve two-year terms, are appointed by the president and “are expected to act as representatives of the campus community,” according to a news release.
The president’s cabinet will still be part of the planning process but will take a lesser role, Fetty said. The budget will still need to be approved by the Board of Trustees, she said.
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