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>So we meet again my budget nemesis, Vice President Becky Elam. >Brandon Moore, Math Instructor Extraordinaire,
it’s so nice to see you again. I always enjoy running into faculty from Mt. San Jacinto College. How are you?
>I am well. Since we last met I have gone through puberty and therefore my voice is deeper. You also sound different from what I remember.
>I have a new voice because there have been some changes in the budget process. Anytime we make a change I adjust my voice accordingly.
How are your students doing this semester? >Honestly, they are failing miserably. Nearly half are about to drop the class because they do not
have the appropriate tools to perform the lab assignments. I’ve resorted to letting them cheat to keep success rates up.
>Umm, I’m not sure what to say to that considering that you are also the Institutional Assessment Coordinator…is there anything I can
do to help your situation? >Well things would be so much better if I had those scientific calculators I asked you about a
few months ago. Remember, they only cost one cent a piece…if we act in the next 20 minutes they are buy one get one free…so it will only cost
25 cents for 50 calculators. Is it possible to get 25 cents from Business Services to buy them? >No.
>Here we go again. I’m about to donate blood or better yet, a kidney, to get the money. Is there anything you can do?
>No. >I guess I’ll contact my “doctor” to schedule the procedure.
>No. >You’re right; maybe our nursing and allied health department can swing me a deal.
>No, don’t do it! Brandon, I can not do anything because this is not my decision to make. I do not provide recommendations for funding to College
Council or the Executive Cabinet. Have you been working on your student learning outcomes and assessment for this particular class?
>Yes, as the Assessment Coordinator the best part of my job is doing SLOs and assessment for my statistics course. The data indicates that
calculators are critical to increase success and completion rates. I took your advice and placed that in my program review as a recommendation
for improvement. I thought that was it. >Well you are definitely on the road to keeping your kidney.
>Really? >Yes, you are only one step away from securing the 25 cents you need to acquire your
calculators. >Awesome. So what’s the last step? >Now that the supporting data is embedded in
your program review you will need to submit a RAP. >That’s it? No problem, check this, yo. Eminem
ain’t got nothin’ on me: My name is Brandon and I’m here to say, that I hate stupid games that I have to play,
all I want is BLEEPING money for calculators, why are Business Services being such haters. >Wow, you are angry. I should have called the
police during our last conversation. No, Brandon, you need a RAP to request funding. >Becky, you are speaking business services to
me so I have no idea what you are saying. Do I need bubble wrap, a lettuce wrap, a body wrap, wrapping paper, waxed paper, construction paper,
paper goods. >Um, seriously, how do your students learn anything from you? No, a RAP is a Resource
Allocation Proposal which has replaced the Budget ChangePproposal or BCP. The RAP allows you to outline your request, show how it
relates to your program review and student learning outcomes and assessment. >Oh, so I use the new Resource Allocation
Proposal or RAP to make my request for funding but I don’t need to change any of the BCPs that I’ve already submitted right?
>Actually you will need to transfer the information over to the RAP because it provides an opportunity to highlight how your goals and
measureable outcomes line up with the Institutional Priorities. You can also discuss your implementation plan should you receive funding.
The RAP is one of the tools we use to integrate planning into resource allocation. >So I fill out this RAP and give it to my dean and
he makes sure I get everything I want? >No. Once you fill out your RAP, your dean will prioritize all RAPs from their area and include the
worthy ones in the Unit Plan which goes to the Vice President. The VP will prioritize them in consideration with all of the other Units and send
that list off to the Institutional Planning and Budget Committees for final ranking and recommendations which are sent to College
Council and Executive Cabinet. >So I threaten my dean, I suck up to the Vice President, and finally bribe all members of IPC
and Budget so my RAP will stay at the top of everyone’s list. >You may threaten, suck up, and bribe all you
want but it won’t help your RAP. You see, the RAPs that are passed from the VPs to IPC and Budget are then scored and ranked according to
the PAR. >You are making this up as you go along aren’t you? Just taking RAP and spelling it backwards to
get PAR doesn’t make a new process. Will you be changing your voice for this as well? I’m thinking I will just go over to the vending machine
and shake it until a quarter falls out so I can buy my calculators. >How does anybody work with him? The PAR is
the Prioritization Allocation Rubric. This is the rubric that is used by the IPC and Budget committees to rank all of the requests that the VP
send. The RAPs that score in the top 15% are placed in the top tier; the next 15% of scores are in the second tier and so forth.
>I think I’m with you now. >Finally. >So these rankings get sent from IPC and
Budget up to College Council and Executive Cabinet who ultimately make the decision on what gets funded?
>Exactly. Any of the RAPs that don’t get funded through the General Fund will be reviewed to see if there are other sources of funding that can be
secured. >This has been an enlightening experience Becky Elam. I will fill out a RAP for my calculators and
hopefully when I see you again your voice will be the same so I know nothing has changed.