After weeks of outrage from campus stakeholders over a shocking fiscal crisis, the Arizona Board of Regents announced a Wednesday meeting to discuss President Robert Robbins’ action plan, “financial oversight” and policy changes to “guard against the mistakes made at the University of Arizona.”
Strikingly, the public agenda posted Monday lacks Robbins’ actual plan, which regents had set a Dec. 15 deadline for presentation. However, the regents posted a link to a scathing report outlining potential revisions to board policies and new directives, including requiring Robbins “to engage outside expertise to assist the university.”
The regents’ report calls for sweeping changes for all Arizona’s public universities. Details about the meeting come with only two days notice for a public waiting for information and seeking accountability.
The regents’ virtual meeting is scheduled for Dec. 13 at 5 p.m. It will be livestreamed at this link. The public meeting portion is from 5:35 p.m. to 6:05 p.m. Before the meeting, members of the public may submit questions or comments at this link.
Community members have increasingly expressed a lack of confidence in the regents and UA leadership running a campus that is among Southern Arizona’s largest employers. UA’s financial spiral has made national headlines amidst concerns that public universities reeling from deep state legislative cuts are urged to seek models that mirror private businesses.
Get a quick breakdown of the issues
7 things to know about UA’s financial crisis
On Nov. 2, Lisa Rulney, the University of Arizona’s Chief Financial Officer, presented a shocking financial update to the Arizona Board of Regents, revealing that the school had a significant deficit in their cash reserves. The shortage exposed that the school’s… Keep reading
In addition to Robbins’ report, the regents will reflect on their own responsibilities. Executive Director John Arnold will give a presentation on the board’s financial oversight after which officials “will review, discuss and may take possible action.”
The report sheds light on lacking public oversight:
- Eliminating the UA’s current budget models so they are not used at any of the public universities in the state.
- Instituting a peer review process in which representatives of the board of regents, as well as representatives from the other two universities evaluate the third university’s “financial planning and analysis processes.”
- Requiring regents’ approval to spend reserve funds that would put the public university below required thresholds.
- Implementing fiscal controls and greater budget transparency to keep the university or individual colleges from overspending.
The regents requested Robbins provide a fiscal plan following a presentation during a Nov. 2 board meeting, where Lisa Rulney, the university’s chief financial officer, revealed that she had miscalculated the university’s monthly cash-on-hand reserves and that the school was in a significant financial deficit.
The shortage exposed that the school’s administration, which includes Robbins and Rulney, has been overspending heavily with minimal oversight, resulting in a $45 million annual deficit and a shortage in the university’s reserves amounting to $240 million
The regents tasked Robbins and Rulney with creating a plan to both replenish the school’s reserves to meet required amounts set by the board of regents and figure out how to cut the annual budget.
For weeks, faculty, staff and students, along with members of the community, have criticized Robbins and school administrators for their poor financial management and dubious expenditures — calling for accountability and reform.
Faculty and administrators have independently studied the school’s finances and identified multiple contributors to its current financial straits — including overspending on strategic initiatives and loaning $87 million to the UA’s athletics department in the past five years.
Reports also note excessive merit-based tuition discounts and the university’s controversial purchase of Ashford University — a for-profit college that was actively losing money and under fire from federal officials for deceptive recruiting tactics.
Robbins has been developing a plan to replenish the school’s reserves and slash the annual budget by $45 million.
Cuts to the school’s finances are expected to come at the expense of faculty, students and school units, including colleges and departments.
So far, Robbins has hinted at hiring freezes, halting pay increases, decreasing students’ merit-based aid and departmental cuts. Rulney and Robbins in a Nov. 15 Strategic Planning and Budget Advisory Committee meeting also suggested selling land, restructuring debt and ending tuition guarantees.
However, Robbins said he did not expect cuts to need-based financial aid and potential changes to future merit-based aid would not affect current or accepted students. He said there will not be furloughs and the university will protect its teaching and research mission, according to a Nov. 22 email to university stakeholders.
Robbins’ assurances came after Gov. Katie Hobbs issued a warning about the regents’ oversight of spending, the lack of notice of financial straits and advised against cutting financial aid for students to fix the UA’s fiscal woes. As Arizona’s governor, Hobbs is an ex-officio regents member, serving while she holds elected office.
While there are no plans for university-wide layoffs, Robbins stressed at the Dec. 4 faculty senate meeting that each department will decide on specific cuts to manage their own budget.
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