Four VP's of ASU-pocalyse

On April 8 Angelo State University delivered its "definitive budget plan" to Texas Tech for FY 2012.  It was derived from ASU's four Vice Presidents sequestering themselves for the past week, then delivering a plan to Dr. Joe Rallo for his review and approval. The Four Horsemen include:

Dr. Tony Blose, Provost-Vice President for Academic Affairs (4-12-10)
Dr. Vance Valerio, Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management (7-13-10)
Mr. Michael Reid, Vice President for Finance and Administration (12-16-10)
Dr. Jim Limbaugh, Vice President for Strategy, Planning, and Policy (3-14-08)

This group phased out ASU's Honors Program, formerly described as:

The Honors Program goes beyond the traditional education to engage academically gifted students with challenging courses and campus involvement.

Sorry kids, there's no money for challenging courses and campus involvement, thanks to the Texas Legislature.

ASU plans to focus on less academically gifted students, offering more of a traditional education to average students.

. . . First-time, Degree-Seeking High School Rank Fall '06 Fall '07 Fall '08 Fall '09 Fall '10 . Valedictorians (#) 35 26 24 29 25 . Top 10% 11.5 12.7 13.6 16 12 . Top 25% 34.7 35.9 38.3 32.5 35.6 . Top 50% 69.9 72.4 73.3 74.7 72.2 . Lower 50% 30.1 27.6 26.7 25.3 27.8 . Bottom 25% 7.3 5.2 5.5 5.7 7

ASU plans to target support for students with a 21 ACT score, the mean for students entering Fall 2010.  It seems an odd way to teach honor students "reversion to the mean."  I expect it's a directly visceral experience. 

Freshmen honor students and most Honors program staff are effectively cut loose.  Rising juniors and seniors will keep their honors scholarships but lose the support they've come to know.

"The only way we can control our own destiny is with enrollment growth, with quality students."-Dr. Rallo

Are those quality students now of the "average" or "mean" kind?

Dr. Rallo stopped communicating with excellent students.  The Standard Times reported Rallo "is no longer accepting phone calls from honors students."  So which Vice President do they call?

While Dr. Rallo may not take calls, will he take checks from honors students?  Much remains to be seen.  The widespread staff bloodbath looms.  April 15th is tax and pink slip day.

Update 4-12-11:  President Rallo will break the news to the Faculty Senate on Wednesday.  The pattern up to now is for Dr. Rallo to make introductory remarks and the Vice President's to offer detailed plans.  Will that hold?

Update 6-24-11:  Vice President Blose is stepping down after a year of service, according to an ASU announcement'

Update 8-22-11:  President Rallo said the following in fall 2008.   "We also took a hard look at a segment of our admitted students who lacked the academic preparation to succeed at a university....   We are also tightening our admissions standards for 2009 to no longer accept students who have a very low likelihood of success." It's hard to see in ASU's numbers.

Texas 85 mph Project "Shall Not Be Named"

The Trans-Texas Corribor officially disappeared from Texas legislative lingo in HB 1201.  Yet the project "that shall not be named" lives on:

The commission may establish a speed limit not to exceed 85 miles per hour on a part of the state highway system if:

(1) that part of the highway system is designed to accommodate travel at that established speed or a higher speed;

(2) the commission determines, after an engineering and traffic investigation conducted after traffic conditions on that part of the highway system have stabilized but not earlier than the first anniversary of the date that part of the highway system opens to traffic, that the established speed limit is reasonable and safe for that part of the highway system; and

(3) construction of that part of the highway system is completed on or after June 1, 2011.

Texans won't go 85 mph on existing interstate or state highways.  Toll roads need a marketing advantage and the Texas legislature provided a powerful selling point.  The bill should bolster investor interest.

This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.

Watch the vote and how Texas PPP's into the transportation future.  (PPP stands for public-private partnership).

Invest in Texas.  The Legislature is setting up a smorgasbord .

Texas 85 mph Speed Limit: Toll Road Setup?

The Houston Chronicle reported:

The Texas House approved a bill that would allow the speed limit on some highways to be raised to 85 mph, which would be the highest in the nation.

Rep. Lois Kolkhorst of Brenham introduced the bill.  Kolkhorst said "Given the right engineering, we should consider it."

The Transportation Department hasn't done the speed and safety analyses of roadways the legislation would require, said department spokeswoman Kelli Petras.

This feels like a setup for privately built and.or managed toll roads.  Investors want compelling reasons for people to pay tolls. Faster speed would help their marketing.

Watch for the engineering specs and who ultimately qualifies.

April 15: Tax & Pink Slip Day for ASU Employees

On the same day federal taxes are due, Angelo State University employees will find out if their job will be around in the fall.  ASU's Fall schedule has a number of clues, including courses are no longer on the schedule and classes burgeoning in size. 

How many will lose their job and benefits, including health care coverage?  How many dependents are covered under the terminated's health insurance?  The numbers remain to be seen, but it should exceed the City of San Angelo's and SAISD's by a wide margin. 

San Angelo:  City of the Formerly Insured.

Update 4-10-11:  April 15 is also the day ASU submits two reports on accreditation deficiencies.  How might large scale employee reductions impact plans for improvement?  Will professors with increased course loads devote the time to get ASU back in compliance?

Update 6-19-11:  April 15th slid to June 14 for a number of ASU staffers who found out their job would be gone in the fall

Transocean Awards Executives Safety Bonus

The National Commission on the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling ceased operations on March 11, 2011.

Transocean executives received bonuses for the "best year in safety performance."  I take it the Deepwater Horizon explosion and its eleven deaths counted as one safety blip in their database.  Never mind that Transocean was a critical party to the worst oil spew in U.S. history, spilling over 200 million toxic gallons.

How much was Lord John Browne's bonus for cutting maintenance expenses at BP's Texas City refinery in 2001? Did they take any of it back after the plant exploded in 2005, killing 15 people?

Awarding Transocean executives a safety bonus is prima facie evidence that pay for performance is anything but.  BP, Transocean and Cameron interacted to supply the U.S. with its worst environmental disaster.

In some countries executives would commit suicide to save face.  In others they'd be caned.  In the west they write themselves a check.

Texas House Nears Vote

The Houston Chronicle reported:

The Texas House got back to work Sunday, rushing through the remainder of the next bare-bones state budget before an expected vote.

In all, the budget proposal spends $164.5 billion over the next two years in state and federal dollars. That's about $23 billion less than what is in the current budget. Republican leaders, in firm control of the Legislature, are vowing to balance the budget without raising new taxes.

It's not a bare bones budget.  It's bone crushing.

Update:  The House budget passed 98-49.  This means the Job Decimator Gang will ride herd on the Concho Valley   Only Lone Senator Robert Duncan can stop the plague.

Medicaid Cuts for Concho Valley: $121 Million

The State Legislature took applied salve to a nearly severed limb by restoring $1.8 billion for Medicaid caseload growth.  It reduced the projected hit on Concho Valley providers from $152 million to $121 million.  The biggest portion of this cut comes from loss of federal matching funds.

These are real dollar reductions from 2010-2011. Shannon sees 80% of the areas uninsureds,so they likely get the lion's share of Medicaid patients. Medicaid is a notoriously poor payor to providers. THA reported:

For 2011, the Medicaid inpatient rates for most hospitals are set at an amount that is less than 60 percent of audited allowed costs, and outpatient rates are at less than 85 percent of allowed costs.

Add the 10% provider rate cut and Medicaid reimbursement gets worse.  Fitch Ratings cites Shannon's poor payor mix in its assessment of Shannon Health System bonds.  Shannon budgeted a system-wide loss of $7 million for FY 2010.  If things haven't changed, their ability to absorb a $20 million hit and remain a safety net provider will be severely tested.

Here's the irony.  The State Legislature plans to implement pay for performance (P4P) under Medicaid.  Money is traditionally the fifth or sixth highest motivator, behind contributing to society, working with people one respects.  Medicaid may be the worst payor providers have.  Texas P4P system will use up to 2 year old data to reward providers   It remains to be seen how a moderate motivator, based on old data and dangled by a notorious cheapskate, will impact healthcare in the Concho Valley.  That might be the only April Fool's part of the piece, but it's true.

(Note:  The projections are based on CPPP's original work.  I narrowed it to the Concho Valley, then adjusted for the $1.8 billion caseload restoration.)