Butler University’s core curriculum no longer faces a budget gap as the 2012-13 school year gets underway.

The core curriculum faced a budget shortfall of $400,000 last April.

“Funding for the core was never in jeopardy,” said Ben Hunter, chief of staff and executive director of public safety. “The core will always be funded.”

Hunter said numbers in the spring were preliminary before the resources for the budget were allocated.

The necessary funding for the core was found before beginning the new school year, said Bruce Arick, vice president of finance and administration.

The gap was closed with $350,000 to $375,000 from the university’s contingency fund, Arick said.

The contingency fund is a sum of money in the university’s budget that has not been committed to any specific program or area.

“(The contingency fund) is money that we have if something happens that was unforeseen that we can dip into,” he said.

Arick said he likes to start the year with at least $1 million in the contingency fund.

The university was able to fund the core during the planning stages of the budget before the 2012-13 school year, Arick said. It was able to start the year with the million dollars still in the fund.

Arick said these budget gaps are not unusual.

“As we go through the year planning process, the information becomes more specific about enrollment and what colleges it will affect,” Arick said.

Arick said when budget gaps arise, the deans and faculty are the first to become aware of it. If further attention is needed, those budget issues are taken to the provost and then to her advisory committee, which is made up of the deans.

Finally, it is taken to the president’s cabinet for review and approval, if it is determined university-level funding is needed.

Getting approval for the core curriculum funding is what Interim Provost Kathryn Morris did.

“It’s my responsibility to advocate for resources to make sure we have what we need to deliver the core curriculum to our students,” Morris said.

Figuring out what resources the core needs starts with looking at which faculty members are teaching which classes already. Then they look to see how many students will be coming in. Finally, best estimates are made about what additions the core needs, Morris said.

Morris said most first-year students have at least one other core course in addition to their first-year seminars.

“Things are going well,” Morris said. “We’ve got the resources to support the need.”

As far as next year’s core resources, Arick said budget gaps appear annually but not always in the same spot.

“It is certainly a possibility it could be in the core,” he said.

The planning process for the 2013-14 budget will start in the spring.

Published April 10, 2012

OUR POINT THIS WEEK: Hiring unnecessary staff while vital positions are being cut is not the way to help Butler students succeed | VOTE: 27-0-4

A core curriculum program  $400,000 in the red. Four percent increases in tuition.

Recent controversies whirling around campus seem to be following the tone of money, money, money.

Despite all of these fiscal mishaps and concerns, Butler University’s administration stands unfazed with its hands on its wallet. Butler President Jim Danko will be hiring three “advising staff” for the sole purpose of “mitigating student concerns.”

While these three overqualified individuals fill up space in the administrative offices, several committed, necessary faculty and staff are being undervalued.

From faculty put on constant one-year contracts—deservedly or not—to the elimination of the College of Communication’s internship coordinator, people on campus directly involved in “student concerns” are being removed while Danko stuffs his office with unnecessary positions.

Even worse, when approached about the elimination of CCOM’s internship coordinator, Interim Provost Kathryn Morris said it was simply a CCOM problem.

The problem is that some CCOM majors require an internship in order to earn their degree, not to mention that internships guarantee an increased likelihood of scoring a job after graduation.

The provost’s job is to oversee the university and ensure that students recieve the best education possible, and that includes involving herself in the grimy issues of the individual colleges.

By writing off the administration-mandated termination of a position that greatly benefits students as a college problem, the administration makes itself appear callous to the concerns students have about their education.

This administrative tendency to appear and act out-of-touch affects more than just CCOM. It stretches campus wide.

This becomes especially clear when looking 15 years back, during a financial crisis. Despite the severity of the situation, the administration found ways to retain and fund crucial positions, including the internship coordinator.

Students, staff and other community members have voiced their worries about widespread issues including parking, hiked tuition, financial aid and underfunded classes and programs.

But the administration has not proposed a long-lasting solution or, rather, not prioritized its spending in a way that reflects student concerns.

Instead of finding ways to work with the current budget to fund the core or save some vital positions, Danko’s administration has taken money from the same “underfunded” system to pay for three positions.

Instead of making pay equitable or expanding swamped departments, money is spent on installing fireplaces in Atherton and purchasing a Charger for the Butler University Police Department.

Instead of concrete, honest solutions and outlooks on Butler’s multitude of issues, we have more evasive answers and mixed messages about Butler being a “community of care.”

Enough politicking.  Enough unclear goals and innovation funds.

Butler administrators, if they really believe we live in a community of care, should prioritize spending to improve the very reason for their existence: the students and their educations.