Budget practices questioned
Officials f M NU jtadk
By Gordon Johnson ;
(c) Copyright 1SSO, th Daily Nebraskan
This year's NU budget request includes $157,000 to
cover an expected loss of federal, funds although the
Legislature has already appropriated money to cover those
losses, according to correspondence between the univer
sity and the state budget office.
The situation is analogous to asking a friend for a $5
loan to buy a book one week and then asking for another
$5 to buy the same book a week later, according to David
Wagaman, budget analyst with the state budget division of
the Dept. of Administrative Services.
When the 1974-75 budget was under consideration,
Wagaman said NU administrators thought the federal
government would cut $471,000 in capitation funds from
the College of Dentistry budget. The university thereupon
requested and received a state appropriation to cover
those losses.
However, the funds never were eliminated, and have
only been cut in increments since 1974-75, Wagaman said.
The $157,000 is the difference between a $366,981
capitation fund appropriation in 1979-80 and $209,179
the dentistry college expects to get from the federal
government in 1980-81. v
Shift
According to correspondence from Richard Bradley,
dean of the College of Dentistry, the capitation funds
were shifted in 1974-75 from the state-aided portion of
the budget to the portion not receiving state aid.
However, the capitation funds were returned this year to
the state-aided portion, which is paid out of the state
general fund.
Wagaman said the NU administration's justification for
the budget change was that the dentistry college moved
from UNL to the NU Medical Center, and the center
classifies capitation funds in the state -aided portion.
Capitation funds are funds administered by the U.S.
Dept. of Health, Education and Welfare and used for
medical and medical-related programs. The funds are
allocated to universities on a per-student basis.
In this year's budget request, the NU Board of Regents
asked the Legislature to appropriate $157,000 to cover
the expected loss of capitation funds. The money would
go to the College of Dentistry which is under the
administration of UNMC. -
Pull something over
Neal Vanselow, chancellor of the NU Medical Center
said he did not like the implication that the university was
trying to pull something over on the Legislature. He said
the administration has been completely open with Gov.
Charles Thone in explaining that the capitation funds
were previously appropriated in 1974-75.
According to Wagaman, nothing was said to the
governor until Wagaman found the funds had been
previously appropriated last November.
1
(o(o
friday, february 22, 1980
lincoln, nebraskavol. 104, no. 30
n
Some architecture majors unaware
that 4-year degree not
accredited
By Michelle Carr
Six of eight architecture students interviewed by the
Daily Nebraskan said they did not know that the College
of Architecture four-year degree is not accredited,
However, Cecil Steward, dean of the College of Archi
tecture, said students have an adequate opportunity to
find out.
The four-year bachelor of science degree in Architec
tural Studies is not accredited, Steward said, but the six
year master of architecture degree is.
The four-year degree is not accredited because National
Architecture Accrediting Board members believe four
years is not enough time for a student to learn all the
skills needed to become an architect.
Steward said that very few four-year architecture
degrees are accredited in the United States.
Students who graduate with an unaccredited degree
may run into trouble when attempting to register as an
architect in another state, Steward said. Because the four
year degree is not accredited, students who apply for
registration in other states may have to study an addition
al two years at an accredited college or intern with a regis
tered architect for an extended period of time, he said.
Required internship ,
Currently architecture graduates with a four or six
year degree are required to work with a registered archi
tect for a specified number of years.
In Nebraska, a graduate with a four-year degree must
work five years, according to Arthur Duerschner, execu
tive rector of the Nebraska Board of Examiners for
Engineers and Architects, A graduate with a six-year
degree is required to work three years before becoming a
registered architect, he said,
Only three years of the four-year degree are accepted
in Nebraska, Duerschner said, but this requirement varies
in other states,
Gordon Hardle, a- junior architecture major from
Fullerton, said he was unaware that the four-year degree is
not accredited. Hardle, who is planning to receive a four
,year degree, said he "took it for granted" that the degree
is accredited,
Continued on Page 7
GF A increases paper's allocation
By Kathy Stokebrand
The Committee for Fees Allocation voted Thursday to
increase the Daily Nebra,skan's tentative allocation from
$28,960 to $32,900. This will leave $800 in student fees
for a contingency fund. . .
Originally the committee cut staff benefits and
editorial salaries. Staff benefits include insurance for two
full-time permanent staff members and two s.taff dinners
per year. The committee said student fees could not be
used for the dinners. The insurance costs were funded,
however.
Editorial salaries pay editors, reporters and photo
graphers. Part of the increase was based upon two clerical
employee salary increases.
The increase was also based upon the paper's allocation
last year, when the Daily Nebraskan received $320O,
Gordon Johnson, legislative bureau chief and Randy
Essex, associate news editor for the paper, said the
reporters need the financial support they receive for their
work at the paper, although it doesn't come near the
minimum wage level.
A cut in the paper's budget request would mean some
thing else would have to be cut, Essex said, adding that
reporters could be lost "to hamburger joints and gas sta
tions" for employment where they would at least receive
minimum wage. It would be discriminatory if students
couldn't work for the paper because they couldn't afford
to, Essex said.
CFA member Steve Speer ouestloned where journalism
students would get their portfolio material if they didn't
work for the paper, Rocky Strunk, Daily Nebraskan
editor in chief said reporters might get their material
printed in other papers or in classes.
CFA member John Parsons said the committee was
justified in cutting the staff parties. If news is the last
thing to go if the budget cut is approved, then the Publi
cations Board should make necessary changes in the bud
get somewhere to keep the five-day publication, he said.
Mark Bowen, chairman of the board, said the paper
could go elsewhere and become independent of the uni
versity. Then, he said, it would not be primarily university
news thouh. The paper would concentrate on the
audience of its downtown advertisers, Bowen also said the
board might decide to go back to a four-day publication.
Anne Shank, Daily Nebraskan business manager, said
the paper is currently losing money on the five-day publi
cation which was started at the beginning of the current
school year;
CFA member Rocky Yapp III said he would feel bad if
the board evaluated the situation and decided to go back
to a four-day publication, because he said he felt students
want the extra published paper each week.
Donald Leuenberger, state budget officer, said Gov.
Thone had a lot of questions when he heard about the
discrepancies.
'Thone had some pretty hard questions, 111 put it that
way," Leuenberger said. He refused to comment further
on Gov. Thone's reaction.
Gov. Thone was unavailable for comment.
"After I raised the question, they (NU administration)
were out front,' Wagaman said. He said that if he had not
asked the university about the discrepancy, it possibly
could have gotten to the appropriations committee with,
out anyone noticing it.
Continued on Page 2
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Photo by Mark Billlnsslty
Despite snow cover and less than spring-like
temperatures, this robin has managed to stay fairly
fat foraging for, berries in such places as this
protected corner of the Nebraska Union. This bird
even took advantage of Thursday's warmer weather
by grabbing a few worms In freshly thawed ground
nearby.
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ore
Full Speed Ahead: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' new
album, Damn the Torpedos fires up record
reviewer.,. Pe 8
They II never take me alive; The Progressive Student
Union has organized a demonstration against draft reg
istration PtS 9
Who Are You?; Weekend basketball matches will deter
mine Nebraska's opponent in the opening round of the
conference playoffs , Pt 10