Regents voice support for new CU Accountability Data Center

Note: CU Connections will be updated throughout the day with reports from the Board of Regents meeting's second day.

The Board of Regents on Wednesday recognized a new system website that promotes accountability and quick and easy information access.

During the board’s meeting at the Tivoli Turnhalle at CU Denver, Regent Sue Sharkey presented the Support for Transparency and Accountability resolution to the board. The resolution endorses the University of Colorado’s new Accountability Data Center as a convenient, central access point for details on the university’s finances, academic practices and personnel.

The center, at www.cu.edu/accountability, provides the university’s constituents:

• Financial, including details on CU’s annual budget, tuition and fees, salaries and debt obligations.
• Academic, covering accreditation, tenure policy, teaching loads, academic rigor and more.
• General information, with employment totals and annual performance metrics such as number of degrees awarded and amount of research funding received.

Sharkey’s initial resolution for transparency and accountability, which she tabled at the regents’ March meeting, included language in support of House Bill 1252. HB 1252 was tabled April 16 and is scheduled for discussion in the legislature on Friday; the bill would require more detailed financial reporting in the form of searchable databases of all revenues and expenditures at many higher education institutions across the state.

Sharkey explained the current resolution was not connected to the bill.

“I’m taking out the language of 1252 because I don’t know where that will go,” she said.

The resolution, which passed 8-0, also requested that the president and chancellors continue exploring and implementing data reports that will provide information to stakeholders, and promote the regents’ guiding principles of ethics, integrity, transparency and accountability.

In other business at Wednesday’s meeting:

The board approved the creation of two new degree programs and three name changes to existing degree programs:

CU-Boulder:

-          New master’s and doctorate in architectural engineering

-          New doctorate in German studies

CU Denver:

-          Degree name change to bachelor of science in computer science (formerly bachelor of science in computer science and engineering)

-          Degree name change to master of science in finance risk management (formerly master of science in finance)

-          Degree name change to master of science (formerly master of science in international business)

The board also heard presentations on new degrees, which the board may vote to approve in the future:

CU Denver, CU Anschutz Medical Campus:

-  New doctorate in integrative and system biology

- New master’s degree in mathematics education

CU Denver Provost Rod Nairn said the latter is a response to the national movement calling for Americans to regain ground lost to other countries in math education, namely by preparing better-qualified math educators.