THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL

Office of Vice Provost For Graduate Studies and Research

 
 

TO:	Deans, Directors, and Department Heads
FROM:	Thomas J. Meyer
	Vice Provost for Graduate Studies and Research
	Kenan Professor of Chemistry
RE:	Flexibility and Governance within the UNC System
DATE:	June 23, 1999

 

    I have enclosed copies of two documents that were compiled this spring. They raise important questions about flexibility and governance within the UNC System. One, "UNC-CH Flexibility and Opportunity" summarizes some of the administrative inefficiencies that we face in budgeting, construction, purchasing, human resources and information technology. The second, "University Restructuring and Deregulation: Quick Reference Guide" summarizes briefly the trends in higher education administration nationally which are toward less regulation and more flexibility.

    This information shows that we have a problem in North Carolina, certainly for the research universities. In an increasingly competitive environment, inefficiencies and bad management practices hamstring us. They include:

Line item budgeting over accountability, and limitations on carryover that prevent the adoption of best business practices

Loss of control of our information technology and expansion budgets to UNC General Administration

Inefficient bureaucratic structures for personnel, purchasing, and construction which increase cost and cause delay

The lack of a forum within the UNC System to discuss or establish as priorities such items as competitive faculty salaries, graduate student support, startup costs, and research support, all of which are vital to our ability to compete with peers