The Banner, Vol. 36 No. 2 - September 24, 1991

              The
nner
Volume XXXVI, Number 2
A Publication of the Students of Cal Baptist
September 24, 1991
Audit reveals budget surplus
By Tom Pace
Editor
Jaime Coston is this year's ASCBC president.
(Photo by Jason Carter)
A recent audit of the college's
financial accounts shows a budget
surplus for the first time in years.
The audit, which is routinely
performed each year, showed that
the college had a positive unrestricted fund balance of $27,493.
President Russell Tuck said that
he is pleased with the results of
the audit, which revealed that the
efforts of a three year plan to balance the budget have paid off.
Tuck stated that the plan had
three goals which mandated a balanced budget, salary increases for
staff and faculty, and a contingency fund for emergencies. Each of
these goals has been implemented.
Seldom in the history of the
college has the fiscal year ended
in the black, much less with a
surplus.
It was "the first positive fund
balance in many years," stated
Tuck.
Tuck cited a number of reasons
for the financial problems that
until recently have plagued the
college with excessive debt. The
major cause was an eight-year
dropoff in enrollment from 1976
to 1984. Due to economic problems, programs has to be cut
which escalated even higher declines in enrollment.
In 1984, this negative tide began to change, and since enrollments have increased slightly
each year. During this time,
however, income did not keep
pace with the expenses necessary
for expansion of the college's
programs.
As a result, by 1990, the accu
mulated deficit of the college had
grown to over $5,000,000, with
annual deficits running approximately $600,000.
The sale of 15 excess acres
completed last year made it possible for the college to pay off its
indebtedness and begin this year
with a surplus.
Also included in the report was
an account surplus of $150,000,
funds which remain after last
year's land sale.
According to Tuck, the disposition of these funds has not yet
been determined by the college's
Board of Trustees, though he
speculates that they will probably
be used for endowment or for a
contingency fund for emergencies.
"I don't expect them (the Board
of Trustees) to take any action
See Audit, page 4.
"Note Program" solves financial woes
By Paul Edwards
Assistant Editor
Last Fall, when Cal Baptist began its extension program at Fort
Irwin, the Administration did not
realize that due to recent changes
in regulations, they were operating a campus that was not Federally approved.
Fortunately, the college recently recieved Federal approval for
the campus, which was designed
to expand the college and cater to
the "Non-traditional" student
However, the approval came
too late to affect the financial aid
dilemma that faced students who
had been enrolled in the program
while it still was not approved.
In order to keep the students'
accounts current and allow their
continuing enrollment, Cal Bap
tist created the Note Program.
The Business Office, in conjunction with the Financial Aid
Office created this particular form
of financial assistance. It consists of promissary notes set up
by Cal Baptist to cover the promised Federal assistance.
The option was proposed by
the Business Office as an alternative to the students' dropping out
or the college denying them admission, due to the college's rule
that all student's must have a current account with a zero balance
to enroll in the following semester.
The Note Program affects
students who were enrolled from
terms beginning in Fall, 1990
through the Summer of this year.
The current Federal approval
that the campus maintains allows
current students to be eligible for
Federal Aid. The college is not
See Financial, page 4.
Staff has mixed feelings over computer
By John Poston
Staff Writer
The ten-year-old Motorola computer system at Cal Baptist has
breathed its last, making way for
the new Hewlitt Packard 700 series computers.
Academic dean Dr. Stephen
Carleton explained that the old
hardware was "dying," and spoke
in no uncertain terms of its obso
lescence. The new system allows
networking and information processing from a single data base, a
feature the Motorola system did
not employ.
Citing the cost-effectiveness of
the purchase, Carleton stressed
that the college got the best buy
for the best equipment.
"CBC was the only college in
America that still used the Motorola system. This is not a case of
impulse shopping on the part of
the administration," Carleton
stated.
Not all staff members share
Dean Carleton's enthusiam for
the computers, which have been
in use for about three months.
At a cost of four hundred thousand dollars, some have questioned the wisdom of such an investment.
See Computer, page 4.
Inside
pulling teeth...
...page 3.
Senate and class
elections...
...page 4.
BSU News...
...page 6.
Latest Sports
coverage...
...page 7.