A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between UB and SUNY is expected to be completed next month according to Sean Sullivan, associate vice president for academic planning and budget.
The MOU, which will outline campus goals and objectives for the next five years, reflects the goals of long-term plan UB 2020, and is designed to act as the foundation for meeting these goals, Sullivan said.
An objective shared by both UB and SUNY is for the university to 'become a premier national research university and grow by 10,000 students by 2020,' Sullivan said. 'Everything in the plan cascades from the understanding that we share this objective.'
SUNY's role in supporting UB's student and faculty growth is the provision of funds for current and planned enrollments and new faculty's set ups.
According to Sullivan, if UB is granted full implementation of the memorandum's plans, undergraduate enrollment will increase by about 2,100 students and faculty size will increase by 253 members by 2011. Also, when it comes to faculty, UB is lacking numbers in the context of peer institutions, such as Iowa and Pittsburgh.
'The size of our faculty doesn't compare to the institutions that we want to be like in the future,' Sullivan said. 'This would really change the landscape of the university.'
Sullivan told the Faculty Senate Executive Committee (FSEC) this past Wednesday that the plan's enrollment outcomes include higher academic standards for incoming students, an increase in student diversity, and improved retention rates of first year students.
The plan aims to raise the amount of enrolled out-of-state freshmen by 7.5 percent and minority students by three percent. Now, UB has a retention rate of 88 percent for freshmen, according to Sullivan. The MOU anticipates an increase to 92 percent.
According to Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Satish K. Tripathi, institutions that UB would like to emulate have a rate of 98 percent.
Other growth objectives include a focus on research, improved facilities on campus, and an increase in academic standards for incoming students.
According to Sullivan, funded research will increase by 60 percent to $200 million. A 'world-class' Academic Health Center will also be established to encourage a 'tight focus on research' that targets the nursing field, where there are jobs in demand.
Both Sullivan and the FSEC acknowledged that with the planned growth, there will be a need for space for programs and students living on campus.
'We need space to accommodate this growth,' Sullivan said. A new engineering building, a major recreation center, and apartment-style housing expansion are included in the capital projects to maximize space to make room for UB 2020, according to Sullivan. The plan calls for SUNY to supply two-thirds of the funding for these capital improvements.
Patricia Logan, director of the UB Child Care Center, questioned the need for more space. The nationally accredited center currently has one location on each campus that provides UB's students and faculty with affordable day care for their children. The UBCCC has a waiting list for each facility because of space constraints, according to Logan.
'Obviously the center needs to be a part of the Memorandum of Understanding,' said FSEC Chair Peter A. Nickerson. Nickerson recognized the importance of the center in bolstering the growth proposed by the MOU since it provides options for future students and faculty with families.
According to Logan, SUNY subsidizes a large part of low-income student families' rates through grants, so day care only costs $20-50 per week at the facility.
Logan said that if the center was provided with more space, more infant classes would be added and after school and summer school programs would be established.
