Volume XCIV, Number 6
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University of Southern California
Monday, December 12, 1983
TA compensation may face changes
By Jeffrey Tylicki
Assistant City Editor
Unless the university can lobby for a change in government policy concerning graduate assistant compensation, it may have to readjust its operating budget next year to recover nearly S3 million lost to new regulations imposed by federal auditors.
"The long-term interest of the nation will be ill-served," said Dennis Dougherty, university vice president and comptroller, of the recent interpretation by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources.
Because the university must account differently next year for tuition remissions for teaching and research assistants, it could lose an estimated S2.7 million and will have to find a way to adjust the budget to make up the loss.
John Curry, university budget director, said auditors from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will no longer allow the university to charge tuition remission and benefits to graduate assistants working under government contract or grants.
The budget office estimates these costs at around S2.7 million, w'hich Curry said will have to be absorbed by other accounts when next year's budget is made up.
"The university views tuition remission as an employee benefit," Curry said. "We add up (remission) and other benefit costs — health, retirement and social security. When you add these up, you find out they equal a certain percentage of the total salaries paid."
Curry said the university takes an average of what these costs are and charges them to the government grant or fund supporting the particular student's work. But Health and Human Services auditors told the budget office they no longer
will pay for these services.
The change in the regulations will not affect the university until the 1984-85 budget year begins next July though.
Dougherty said Health and Human Services has given approval for the university to continue charging the benefits to grants and contracts through the end of this budget year, ending June 30, 1984.
Curry dted a contradiction in the government policy. Unlike most universities, Stanford University, Cal Tech, the Massachu-<Continued on page 7)
Trojan store shows profit; officials wary about future
By Doreen Guarino
Staff Writer
Although the Trojan Bookstore has so far shown a $176,000 profit during fiscal year 1983-84, university officials are cautious about whether the store is making a full recovery from last year's losses.
"It would be misleading to come to any positive conclusion about this because we must remember there's a surplus of sales that occurs at the beginning of the semester," said Anthony Lazzaro, vice president of business affairs.
"We'll have another bit of surge here at Christmastime, then you have another one in the spring, so all of this needs to be evaluated to see where we will likely end on June 30 (the end of the fiscal year)/' he said.
The bookstore, once ranked among the highest-selling college bookstores in the nation, suffered a loss of nearly (Continued on page 3)
Live from Bovard, Gilda Radner filled the auditorium during a noon time appearance Friday. With the help of her “Saturday Night Live” newscaster character, Roseanne Roseannadanna, Radner answered- questions about her career, promoted and autographed Roseanne’s new book "Hey Get Back to Work!” Tomorrow’s holiday issue of the Daily Trojan "Performance” will give a full account of the event. It just goes to show you, if it’s not one thing, it’s another!
mmm
BOBBY HELLER
University looking at cuts to avoid possible deficit
By David Jefferson
Staff Writer
The university can expect a $1 million to $2 million deficit in the 1983-84 budget if it continues to take in and spend revenue at the same rate it has since the beginning of the fiscal year, university officials said Friday.
However, University Comptroller Dennis Dougherty said he expects the 1983-84 budget will be balanced once "management corrections" have been made.
"We can look into cost containment in employee-benefit expenditures," Dougherty said. He added such a reduction is
one of a number of solutions being considered.
Another alternative for alleviating the deficit is salary spending, whereby the university would make up the difference in the budget with unused funds originally intended for hiring more staff members, said Jon Strauss, senior vice president of a dministration.
Strauss added there is a projected increase in enrollment this spring semester as compared to levels in previous years, and this addition might also alleviate the budget problem.
"We're waiting for the end of the first six months to see if we
need to take concerted action," Strauss said. "If we're not okay by next semester, then w’e'll consider cutting back on the staff and other similar measures."
President James Zumberge, who estimated the deficit at $1.7 million, said the deficit prediction was made by Strauss at a meeting of the Finance Committee on Nov. 16.
"The blame is on us. Last February when we put the 1983-84 budget to bed . . . we were unable to predict the future as accurately as possible," Zumberge said.
"We can make some correc-(Continued on page 7)
Fees to be settled earlier; reinstatement of old policy
HEIDI EMERSON DAILY TROJAN
It’s not a computer error. The deadline to settle fee bills for the Spring semester is Saturday, January 7, 1984. That's two days before classes begin.
By Mark Lowe
Assistant City Editor
The deadline for students to pay their spring semester fee bills without being charged a late fee has been moved from the end of the first week of classes to Jan.
7,	two days before classes begin.
"It's a reinstatement of an old policy," said Jimi Bingham, director of student financial operations. "It's only been one year that we had it payable by the end of the first week."
Bingham said the university decided to have students settle their fee bills before the beginning of classes because many students waited until the very last day to pay, which broke the university's cash flow.
Many students, who had already received their fee bills for the spring semester and saw the final day for paying their fee bill, thought the printed date must be a typographical error, since Jan. 7 is a Saturday and is two days before classes begin.
But a secretary in the student accounts office said the date was not an error but was a deliberate change.
For the past three semesters, students
had to pay their fee bill by the end of the first week of classes or be charged a late fee of $50.
Bingham said under the reinstated rules, students must settle their fee bills by noon on Jan. 7, or pay a $25 late charge for each week the payment is delayed.
"Our policy of years and years was that you had to pay before the first day of classes," he said, adding last year was the first year the extension was granted.
"We gave ... an opportunity to those students who couldn't make it by the beginning of registration to pay their fee bill," Bingham said.
The secretary in the student accounts office said one reason the change was made was that "most students' financial aid packages are ready" before the beginning of the semester. Bingham admitted the packages were "certainly a factor that had to be taken into consideration."
Financial aid packages are prepared for continuing students the summer before the academic year begins and are designed to last the entire year, said Doug Macklin, a counselor in the financial aid office.