Tenured faculty members at the financially struggling Henderson State University are voting online on a no-confidence measure aimed at the Arkadelphia-based school's president and three vice presidents.
Voting on the ballot continues through noon today, faculty members said.
The measure consists of a request to the board of trustees to give the president a one-year, provisional contract; to relieve three current vice presidents of their duties immediately; and to reinstate the seven staff members who were told last week that they were being laid off.
The ballot also seeks to prevent the board from implementing a proposal to reduce the school's contribution to a faculty retirement plan from 10 percent to 5 percent when it meets Friday.
The vice presidents referred to are Provost Steve Adkison in Academic Affairs, Brett Powell in Finance and Administration, and Jennifer Boyett in University Advancement.
Faculty can vote yes, vote no or abstain.
The faculty senate president, Malcolm Rigsby, has not previously returned phone messages or emails seeking comment, and his office voice mail on Monday indicated he was out of the office. The faculty senate president-elect, Fred Worth, declined comment.
Neither Henderson President Glen Jones nor Henderson spokesman Tina Hall immediately replied to an email late Monday asking if he or anyone else in the administration had any comment on the matter.
Henderson has until June 30 to file an interim report on its monetary situation with the Higher Learning Commission, an accrediting agency for colleges and universities, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette has learned.
The commission requested the report in late March after noting in an earlier letter that the university had incurred budgetary woes in fiscal 2015 and 2016. Data provided to the commission tends to run two years behind, so the university's $3.2 million deficit entering fiscal 2018 and the budget cuts that have followed were not a part of the agency's findings.
According to the commission letter sent to Jones, Henderson's financial rating fell from 2.5 to 0.8 in fiscal 2015 and fiscal 2016. The highest a public university can score is 10.
In a Feb. 19 letter responding to the commission, Jones said the university's Planning and Budget Commission is working on strategic priorities and resource allocations.
[DOCUMENTS: Read letters from Henderson State, Higher Learning Commission]
When that panel completes its work, Jones said, two documents will go to the board of trustees for review. Jones said one is a balanced budget for the 2018-19 fiscal year. He said a revised five-year budget forecast also will be prepared. He noted, however, that such long-term forecasts will change each year and said enrollment is a key element.
The first year that a public university's ranking falls "in the zone," or between 0 and 1.0, the commission issues a "letter of concern," according to its website. An "above the zone" rating for a public university goes to those schools with scores of 1 to 10. A "below the zone" rating for public universities runs from negative 1 to 0.1.
Henderson released the letters between it and the commission under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.
The commission's procedures for a second consecutive year at an "in the zone" level call for a review and provide for the agency to request additional financial documents, according to its website.
In a report accompanying a separate Feb. 12 letter to Henderson, the commission wrote, "The University serves a large portion of students who are low-income, first generation and/or underprepared academically."
According to the agency, Henderson had cited two specific factors for its financial problems. One was increased admission standards "resulting in a softening of enrollments." The second was increased spending in student services such as advising, tutoring and mentoring.
"As early as February 2015, the administration reported to the board that the 'university no longer has a large surplus in funds and does not have resources to best support strategic priorities,'" the commission related.
State Desk on 05/15/2018