Budget / Recalibration

Since President Hanson introduced the Recalibration Plan to campus on January 20, several common questions have arisen about the plan. Click to view responses to these questions on the Questions and Answers page. Additional items will be added as the need arises.

January 31, 2011

Re-Shaping and Sculpting the Academic Programs

A Message from President Richard Hanson

Since presenting the recalibration plan on January 20, I have received much feedback from the BSU-NTC campus communities, alumni, and friends.  The feedback has been varied with some indicating support for the plan, which addresses a projected $5 million shortfall for the next two years, and others indicating their displeasure with that plan.

The decisions within the plan were not easy ones nor were they arrived at casually.  We carefully considered a full range of data while paying close attention to the elements of sustainability, distinctiveness, and innovativeness. We also considered the economic pressures facing our state and the demographic shifts affecting our region.  We remained keenly mindful of the impact decisions would have on our students, faculty, and staff. 

Simply lopping 10 percent from each and every area at Bemidji State and Northwest Tech would have made the decision-making process easy.  However, we took a more measured approach, ultimately providing Bemidji State and Northwest Tech with a pathway into the future that will be strong, attractive to students, and transformative in its capabilities.

The faculty and their deans must go through a substantial planning process now as they assess the situation, make decisions about reshaping the programs, and create class schedules for Fall 2011 and later.  The reductions in positions are final, but those adjustments need not predict the demise of the programs themselves. That's up to the colleges and faculty involved.

I urge the faculty and the colleges to assess the situation, re-think the assigned-time resources, make decisions about the form and function of the academic programs, and begin to create teaching schedules. Our students need to know soon how they can fulfill their educational goals at Bemidji State and Northwest Tech.

Please accept my thanks for your care, commitment, and capacity in making these decisions and moving our institutions forward.

January 20, 2010

Recalibration Plan Unveiled

A Message from the President, Richard Hanson

This week I began a series of campus meetings at Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College to introduce a plan for recalibrating both institutions in light of a projected $5 million budget shortfall for the next two years. This shortfall is directly attributable to the economic challenges Minnesota is facing with its $6.2 billion budget deficit.

The current economic reality represents both a tremendous resource challenge and an extraordinary opportunity for us to sharpen our focus, continue to meet the learning needs of our students, and to more clearly articulate a future educational environment marked by sustainability, innovation, and distinction. The recalibration plan presented to the campus communities on Thursday responds to both the challenges and the opportunities that lie ahead.

I realize in times of uncertainty there is a natural inclination to focus on the fear of change.Yet, I see this also as a time of hope for our institutions. We will sharpen our focus, becoming distinctive and highly innovative purveyors of a responsible, affordable, career and professionally relevant higher education experience. Please join the campus community and me as we prepare for the students of 2020.

• Presentation Slides (PDF, 676 KB)
  

All Faculty and Staff Forum

Student Forum

 

Recalibration: A Campus-Wide Initiative

The process of sculpting a new academic vision and institutional profile requires the involvement of the campus community and its constituents.

As Leo I. Higdon, Jr. writes:

At this point, institutions need to evaluate everything both in the short and long term and reunite efforts to focus more directly on our core educational missions. We need to take a good, hard look at where our colleges and universities are headed, what central values we hold most dear, and then very purposefully connect all of the programs, practices, and initiatives back to the educational mission. This examination is critical before moving forward. We need to be bold, be honest and, most importantly, involve the entire institution all stakeholders in this analysis. (Leo I. Higdon, Jr., "Building a Strong Future for Higher Education." Liberal Education, Spring 2010, p. 32)

Our planning process will be as encompassing and our strategic intent as compelling as those described by Higdon. We will work to preserve our capacity to create transformational learning environments, recalibrate to sharpen our educational focus, and be richly innovative in increasing our capacity to keep improving.

Becoming Distinctive, Sustainable, and Innovative

Anticipating a $5 million decrease in state funding over the next biennium, we must begin now to plan for the possible impact that such a reduction would have.  To be successful, we must sharpen our focus and begin resetting our academic vision and institutional profile. Ultimately, our effectiveness will depend on our ability to recalibrate our programs and services, ensuring they are distinctive, sustainable and innovative.

To guide the sharing of ideas and information, a model for communication will be used throughout the recalibration process.  The model identifies the communication levels, constituent groups involved, and the communication channels to be used.  A commitment to transparency and accountability encompasses the entire recalibration process.

If you have comments, please use our contact form to send a message to the president. While I will not be responding to individual email messages sent, I will consider them as plans are laid, decisions are made, and information is shared.