Financial Policy & Planning Committee (FPPC)
Operating Code
To engage in financial planning and recommend financial
policies for the College as a whole; to work closely with and serve as
a resource for the Institutional Planning Committee, on which the FPPC
Chair sits, and for other committees; to receive and review reports from
the College Benefits Committee; to ensure that there is a timely flow
of information on financial matters available to all College constituencies.
Membership
Four faculty members, at least two of whom are tenured,
elected to serve four-year terms; one member of the administrative/professional
staff; one member of the support staff; two students selected by SGA;
the Dean of the Faculty; and the Vice-President for Business Affairs.
The support staff and the administrative/professional staff will determine
their own methods for selecting their representatives, who will serve
four-year terms. Additionally, the Director of Financial Planning and
Budgeting is an ex-officio member of the committee and the Executive Secretary,
Business Affairs serves as Secretary to the Committee.
In addition to the voting and ex-officio committee members,
guests may be invited to attend specific meetings of FPPC in order to
enhance communication among key constituencies and to provide important
information on key issues. Such visitors do not vote on matters coming
before the committee.
Operating Procedures
As a designated Committee of the Faculty, the chair of
the committee will be elected annually from the elected faculty members
on the committee by the current-voting members of the committee. The election
of the chair, who will serve for the following academic year, will take
place in May at the last committee meeting of the current academic year.
At the end of each academic year, the chair will complete an annual report
of major activities and recommendations of the committee which is distributed
to the President, the Dean of the Faculty, CFG, and the members of the
committee. This report is public knowledge and will be made available
to the Skidmore community through the most effective media.
In addition to serving as Chair, Financial Policy &
Planning Committee (FPPC), the Chair is also a member of the Institutional
Planning Committee (IPC) and the Committee of Committees (CoC). By invitation,
the Chair will attend the campus meetings of the Board of Trustees, Budget
& Finance Committee.
Committee meetings will be held at least every month
during the academic year and more frequently as necessary. Minutes of
each meeting are kept by the secretary and circulated to all members of
the committee. At the end of each year, a completed set of minutes, the
annual report, and any updates to the operating code, are delivered to
the Dean of the Faculty’s office for retention. These reports are public
knowledge and are available to the Skidmore community upon request.
New members of FPPC, who join the committee in September,
will receive copies of the FPPC Member’s Manual which will contain but
not be limited to: the Skidmore Mission Statement, the FPPC Operating
Code, current FPPC membership, the current approved Skidmore Operating
and Capital Budgets and Five-year Financial Plan, FPPC Meeting Minutes
for the previous academic year, and FPPC Annual Reports for the previous
three (3) years. Continuing committee members will be provided with updates
to this information as appropriate.
In fulfilling its function, the committee will focus
on overall issues of policy and financial planning which may have significant
implications for the financial equilibrium of the college, (e.g. student
enrollment, the comprehensive fee, employee compensation, financial aid,
new staffing levels, etc.). The committee will analyze, evaluate, recommend,
and communicate to the President and to the Skidmore community, overall
financial policy recommendations which maintain the college’s financial
equilibrium, support the highest quality educational program to our students,
and support the highest level of faculty and staff morale and productivity.
In accomplishing this role FPPC focuses on recommendations for overall
allocations and priorities and not on the specific programs, projects,
or spending decisions within the line items in the operating and capital
financial plans. In order to develop timely operating budget recommendations,
the committee must be aware that the Budget & Finance Committee of
the Board of Trustees will vote to "lock-in" four key FY Operating
Budget parameters for the forthcoming fiscal year at the Preliminary Budget
approval meeting held in February. These four (4) key parameters are:
1) Opening Student Enrollment, 2) Comprehensive Fee (Student Charges),
3) Student Financial Aid, and 4) Total Compensation. Therefore, FPPC should
complete its review on these four (4) key parameters (and any other appropriate
issues) and make recommendations to the President in time to be included
for consideration at the February Board of Trustees meeting.
The committee will also review reports and proposals
from the College Benefits Committee (CBC) and develop appropriate recommendations
concerning any financial policy issues involved.
The Chair will report to the faculty on the committee’s
activities and recommendations at least once each semester at a faculty
meeting, and the committee will ensure that there is a timely flow of
relevant information on financial matters available to all college constituencies
as appropriate.
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