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Sep 25, 2012

With Consolidation Savings, Board Approves 47 New Faculty/Student Support Positions Across Campuses

The Board of Regents approved the second round of tenure track faculty and direct student support positions funded solely through central office consolidation savings.

The Board of Regents for Higher Education, which governs the 17 Connecticut State Colleges & Universities, today approved the second round of tenure track faculty and direct student support positions funded solely through central office consolidation savings, which totaled more than $5.5 million. At today’s meeting, the Board approved 24 positions, following 23 that were approved in June, for a total of 47 new positions across 16 of the campuses at no additional cost to students. Thirty-seven of the 47 positions are in areas focused on science, engineering, technology and math (STEM), and six more are for direct student support positions that include retention specialists, transfer counselors and student advisers. Out of the 47 positions, 28 were funded at the community colleges and 19 were funded at the state universities. When deciding where to allocate the positions, full-time faculty-to-student ratio statistics were used, and preference was given to cross-campus partnerships and those positions which supported STEM areas and important state workforce needs.

“These 47 new positions are great news for our campuses, and, most importantly, for our students,” said Robert A. Kennedy, president of the Board of Regents for Higher Education. “Because these positions are funded through central office consolidation savings, they come at no additional cost to our students, and mirror the workforce development efforts of our state, with nearly 80 percent of the positions in critical STEM areas. In addition, I was pleased that the Board approved six positions on our campuses that will help in the areas of student advising, retention and counseling — all of which are vital services provided to students at our institutions.”

“From the very beginning, the higher education consolidation was predicated on the fact that we were spending too much money on the operation of our separate governance structures and not enough money in our classrooms,” said Lewis J. Robinson, chairman of the Board of Regents. “I don’t think we’re done yet in terms of realizing costs savings from centralized operations and reviewing past expenditures in a new light, but I do think this is a very aggressive, much needed start. I commend President Kennedy and his staff for moving this forward, and I’m pleased the Board approved these positions for our campuses, especially because they are in critical STEM areas and direct student support functions.”

“As an educator and someone who has worked in Connecticut higher education, I am pleased that we are able to fund these positions across our campuses,” said Merle Harris, chairwoman of the Academic and Student Affairs Sub-Committee. “Importantly, six of these positions are for the critical area of student support services. We need to ensure that we’re supporting our students not only in the classroom, but also in making important choices in terms of selecting coursework, major pathways, and other decisions that will help students complete their education in a timely and meaningful way.”

Searches for many of the 23 positions approved in June are already underway, and searches for the additional 24 positions can begin immediately. Once the 47 new hires are made, President Kennedy will review the fund balance of consolidation savings, and determine whether another round of positions may be funded.

Positions approved at the Board meeting in June include:



Central

Eastern

Southern

Western



Positions approved at today’s Board meeting include:



Asnuntuck

Capital

Gateway

Housatonic

Manchester

Middlesex

Naugatuck Valley

Northwestern Connecticut

Norwalk

Quinebaug Valley

Three Rivers

Tunxis

Central

Eastern

Southern