TRUSTEES APPROVE NEW DEGREE PROGRAM, ADOPT MEDICAL CENTER PLAN, AUTHORIZE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS AND ARMS SPENDING
COLUMBUS -- The Ohio State University Board of Trustees on Friday (12/3) approved establishment of a new Master of Accounting degree program and adopted a medical center reorganization plan. The board also heard a first-quarter budget report, authorized construction projects, approved spending for the ARMS project and conducted other business.
Trustees approve new accounting degree program
The board approved establishment of a Master of Accounting degree program in the Fisher College of Business, pending approval by the Ohio Board of Regents.
The degree program is proposed in anticipation that a master's will become the standard for entrance into the accounting profession, and in response to recent Ohio legislation requiring 150 semester (225 quarter) credit hours of post- secondary education for professional certification of accountants.
The degree program is expected to meet the needs of current undergraduate accounting majors who seek a fifth year of study to qualify for Certified Public Accountant licensure, enhance the quality of the existing undergraduate program, and be attractive to high-performing students who want to combine undergraduate and graduate studies into a master's degree. The Council on Academic Affairs and University Senate have approved the proposal.
Board adopts Medical Center Reorganization plan
Trustees adopted a Reorganization Plan for the Academic Medical Center that describes an organizational framework for its governance and management. A key element of the restructuring is the creation of the position of senior vice president for health sciences and dean of the College of Medicine and Public Health, which would unify the now-separate positions. The senior vice president and dean will have authority over all units of the academic medical center. The new position of vice president for health services will have responsibility for the operation of all hospitals and facilities used in the delivery of health services.
Oversight of the academic medical center will be assigned to a board of directors under a limited delegation of authority from the university's Board of Trustees. The medical center board will not have jurisdiction over academic matters within the College of Medicine and Public Health.
The new structure is intended to allow for more systematic planning, clearer articulation of priorities, better integration of activities, more efficient delivery of services and more timely decision-making. Appropriate university officers are expected to develop the new structure, including the preparation of new bylaws and other governing documents, which also must be approved by the university Board of Trustees.
Trustees hear budget report
Trustees heard a first-quarter budget report by William J. Shkurti, senior vice president for business and finance, who told the board he is not recommending any budget adjustments. He said enrollments are within .55 percent of projections for the first two quarters of fiscal year 2000, with the difference primarily reflecting a decrease in the number of graduate students vs. projections for summer quarter. He said he will update the board in February with the mid-year report.
Trustees authorize hiring of architects
Trustees authorized the university to hire architects and engineering firms and seek construction bids for two projects, both funded by University Hospitals.
Designers will be hired and construction bids sought for the $950,000 replacement of the material handling systems with an automated system in Doan and Rhodes Halls. Designers and construction bids also will be sought for a one-story addition to the existing MRI facility to house a magnet room, control room, changing rooms and a patient holding area. The total estimated project cost is $420,000.
Trustees hear contract reports
Trustees accepted a report of the awarding of contracts and establishment of contingency funds for several projects. The projects and their costs are: ATI land improvements, $45,599; Baker Systems/Hitchcock Hall renovations, $202,193; campus buildings emergency lighting, $238,768; Carmack Road widening, $433,291; Converse Hall plumbing, $96,290; Derby Hall Plaza, $268,431; Evans Lab chiller replacement, $336,291; Fontana Lab chiller replacement, $191,620; Goss Lab roof replacement, $189,629; Hopkins Hall roof replacement, $166,203; James Cancer Hospital radiation/oncology renovation, $735,163; Larkins Hall roof replacement, $1 million.
Other projects are Orton Hall MAPS labs ventilation, $229,684; OSHA required safety devices, $493,605; Parks Hall elevator upgrades, $188,300; Starling-Loving A Wing HVAC improvements, $570,000; Starling-Loving Hall gynecology oncology renovation, $300,127; University Hospitals Clinic dialysis relocation, $763,103; Veterinary Hospital chiller replacement, $651,317; Wilce Student Health Center roof replacement, $150,000; Mount Hall lecture hall renovation, $500,017; Wiseman Hall animal lab renovation $273,188; Wiseman Hall roof replacement, $422,654; and on the regional campuses, Eisenhower Student Activities Center (Mansfield), $115,000; Adena Hall (Newark) roof replacement, $222,831; Hopewell Hall (Newark) classrooms renovation, $82,619; Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (Wooster) pesticide storage and disposal facility, $469,201.
Trustees approve substation purchase
Trustees authorized the purchase of the American Electric Power (AEP) Buckeye Electrical Substation located at 1735 Cannon Drive. The purchase and expansion of the facility will cost approximately $4.5 million.
Janet Ashe, vice president for business and finance, told trustees that Ohio State spends more than $13 million per year on the purchase of electricity for the Columbus campus and needs to position itself to take maximum advantage of the new deregulated electric marketplace. Owning the Buckeye Substation will enable the university to more effectively control electric power distribution on campus and allow for the purchase of power at transmission line rates.
A new power agreement with AEP and a 25-year easement approved by trustees will give the university ownership of the transformers and related equipment at the substation, but will allow AEP to continue to serve its existing customers from the substation. The cost of the substation and the five-year contract will have a payback of less than four years, Ashe said.
Trustees authorize ARMS spending
Trustees authorized the expenditure of up to $17 million for the Administrative Resource Management System (ARMS) to be used during the second half of fiscal year 2000, which runs from January through June.
The ARMS project is a major computer upgrade of Ohio State's human resources, procurement and general ledger financial systems. It is designed to replace out-of-date systems and improve the quality and speed of administrative systems and management information. The project also addresses Y2K concerns.
The $17 million allocation will be used to begin Phase VII-B of the project, which will include training and preparation for implementing the new general ledger and accounting systems on July 1; restructuring the payroll process; completing a plan for ongoing operations; and preparing a plan to phase out the project next fall.
Planning for the ARMS project began in 1994. The first installation occurred in the summer of 1997 with the human resources package that replaced the university's Legacy Payroll System with PeopleSoft software version 5.12. ARMS for procurement went on line this year and replaces campus systems for purchasing, accounts payable, equipment inventory, and stores and receiving with one system.
Ohio State recently successfully upgraded both the human resources and procurement systems to PeopleSoft version 7.0.
On the subject of the university being Y2K compliant with its administrative and management systems, Senior Vice President for Business and Finance William J. Shkurti said Ohio State has "done everything we could reasonably do to be prepared."
Miscellaneous business
In other business, trustees:
-- Presented a student recognition award to Erin Galloway, an honors student majoring in child and family studies in the College of Human Ecology. As an honors student, Galloway, of COPLEY, has chosen to work with an adviser on a research project in the area of human development and family science. Her honors thesis involves the study of communication and programming with campus community neighborhoods, specifically: creating a needs assessment of neighborhoods near the University District; establishing a teaching, research and service facility in the neighborhood; and recognizing the need for a liaison between the community and the university. Galloway has worked as an intern at the Volunteer Center of Summit County Inc. to establish a youth volunteer club, and also volunteers with Neighborhood Services and the AIDS Quilt Project.
-- Approved 244 contracts totaling more than $23.7 million for research projects funded in October.
-- Authorized an easement across university property in Wooster requested by Wayne County. The 25-year easement consists of .082 acres of land to reconstruct the intersection of Messner Road and Oil City Road in Wooster.
-- Approved revisions to procedures for submitting and processing commemorative naming requests.
-- Adopted amendments to the medical staff bylaws of the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute to comply with the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations facilities standards.
Contact:
Anna Rzewnicki, Fisher College of Business, (614) 292-8937
Jill Morelli, University Architect, (614) 292-4458
William J. Shkurti, Business and Finance, (614) 292-9232