MICA Operations & Finance

This FAQ includes information about MICA's on-campus operations as well as information about the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on the College's finances.

Updated: July 14

Q: What is next in College planning now that some of the most urgent decisions around plans for spring 2020 are in place?

MICA’s leadership has been focusing on preparing for the fall semester, and on July 6, released a memo detailing three phases of reopening.

For a full explanation of the phases, please visit the MICA Reopening Website.

Phase 1 — Initial Reopening
Begins July 20

During this initial phase, every department/office/program should follow on-campus activity levels as based on its applicable divisional plans. In accordance with these divisional plans and subject to the approval of the respective Vice President, supervisors will have the discretion to determine which employees can continue to work remotely based on scope of work responsibilities and which employees need to be physically present on campus to support critical operations and instruction.

It is expected that all employees in non-academic divisions who can work effectively remotely without compromising the nature of that work should continue to do so. The presence of faculty and staff on campus will be determined by the need to prepare for class instruction and scheduling as well as the nature of work. 

Phase 2 — Intermediate Reopening
Begins August 3

During this second phase, the number of people and activities on campus may increase, but caution and the primary protocols will still take precedence. Final decisions regarding who should be permitted to return to work on campus during this Phase 2 should be approved by the applicable Vice-President or designee for each division.

Additionally, campus conditions will need to be monitored and assessed closely so that swift action can be implemented should MICA experience cases of the virus on campus or locally. If on-campus or localized outbreaks emerge, tighter restrictions, including reduced physical presence and activities, may need to be implemented again.

Campus divisions should consider the following to continue to limit the number of individuals on campus:

  • Remote Work. Those employees who can continue to complete work remotely without compromising the nature of that work should do so.

  • Alternating Days or Shifts. In order to limit the number of individuals on campus and interactions among them, divisions should consider scheduling partial on-campus activity on alternating days and/or based on shifts. This will be especially relevant for offices on campus where employees work in close proximity to each other. These schedules will also help with physical distancing in common areas.

  • Staggered Schedules and Arrival/Departure. The beginning and end of the workday typically bring many people together at common entry/exit points of buildings. While staggering class schedules and breaks will be addressed in Phase 1 for students, divisions are strongly encouraged to use staggered arrival and departure times for staff (by 15 to 30 minutes) to reduce traffic in common areas and meet physical distancing requirements.

Phase 3 – Studio Access Begins
Begins August 24

Students with individually assigned studios can begin using them on August 24.

The academic year begins on August 31 with flexibility in its instructional approach that strongly upholds MICA’s educational standards. The approach includes the following important features:

  • Maximizing online and remote options for teaching/learning;

  • Emphasizing low-density learning contexts and public health;

  • Maximizing options for individuals who require/seek learning and work adjustments; and

  • Providing a clear process for requesting and obtaining adjustments.

This includes the return of students to the physical campus, but modifications will be in place to reduce public health risks and respond to ongoing state and local guidance and mandates. Employees will return to the workplace except for those who have been identified as appropriate for working remotely; those who have been identified to work an alternating remote/workplace schedule; or those who have received an accommodation or an approved adjustment to work from home on a case-by-case basis.

Q: What financial issues are emerging for MICA in the near future that need to be addressed/planned for in next year’s annual budget (and, what impact will that have on existing programs and expenses)? What long-term financial impacts will the College experience?

The primary foreseeable issues that impact next year’s annual budget are related to enrollment. It is likely that the College will enroll fewer new students on both undergraduate and graduate levels due to a combination of factors including prolonged restrictions on travel, preference for a gap year due to psychological/emotional fatigue or fiscal circumstances, preference to attend a college closer to families, etc. In addition, it is anticipated that more new and returning students will need institutional financial aid due to the financial disruptions caused by the global pandemic.

This kind of impact on tuition revenues materializes will be felt across the higher education sector and experienced by many, if not all, MICA’s peer art schools. 

On May 22, the MICA Board of Trustees reviewed and approved the COVID-1 budget and COVID-2 contingency plan.

The Board understands the still evolving scenarios for the upcoming academic and fiscal year, and supports a phased approach to adopt the COVID-1 budget measures first while we follow the R5 Roadmap and take a one-team approach to avert more severe COVID-2 measures. 

Accordingly, the College implemented the following COVID-1 measures effective Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21), which began on June 1, 2020.

Compensation-related:

  • Salary freeze for all staff and full-time faculty; there will not be a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) increase to salaries, staff equity increases or faculty step increases.

  • The scheduled 1.5% adjustment to the full-time faculty scale and potential increases to staff salaries based on the results of Segal Consulting’s third-party compensation study will be deferred.

  • MICA’s match to employee 403(b) plan contributions is suspended.

  • The President’s salary will be reduced by 15%, and the Vice Presidents’ and Vice Provosts’ salaries will be reduced by 10%.

If the FY21 year-end budget results can be balanced with sufficient funding also available for restoration of any of the above items, the administration and Board of Trustees will develop a plan for reinstatement at the end of FY21 in collaboration with the faculty and staff with the decisions being made in early May, 2021.

Non-compensation related:

  • Non-compensation divisional budgets will be reduced by $1.5 million.

  • The $512k reserve for future debt service will be deferred.

  • The $300k reserve for strategic plan initiatives will not be funded.

Per the  May 12 Campus Memo, we will continue with the “right next step” approach and phase-by-phase planning that makes the best sense for MICA and our community.

  • On July 6: The campus community was informed of a more concrete Fall 2020 reopening plan, as shaped by the R5 work groups. For more information, visit the Reponening website.

  • The campus community will also be informed if COVID-1 budget coping measures need to be escalated towards the level of COVID-2.

  • If there is a need to augment COVID-1 level budget measures with COVID-2 level reductions, the new measures will likely be shared with the College community by mid August, and would take effect in the September 11 paycheck. If salary reductions are unavoidable, MICA is committed to creating a progressive plan that provides higher percentage reductions to those who earn more and smaller percentage reductions to those who earn less.

If there are any questions, please contact Doug Mann at vpoperationsandfinance@mica.edu. 

Q: What is the impact of COVID-19 on major initiatives at MICA?

The College is moving forward with major initiatives with special consideration to the reality of current circumstances. The delivery date of MICA’s Strategic Plan and Campus Master Plan will be extended from May 1 to October, 2020 to allow more time for campus members to work thoughtfully on the content of these plans. The 81 Mosher project has been postponed due to the pandemic, potential restrictions on construction, and the unknown timing of campus reopening; the state grant that covers a portion of the project's costs provides a seven-year window for completion, so the funding will not be jeopardized, and MICA remains committed to completing the project in time for the 2022-23 academic year.

Q: Will the federal government’s $2 trillion stimulus package impact MICA? What other governmental relief support does the College have from city, state, or country?

There is a higher education relief fund included in the federal government’s $2 trillion relief package that will be used to provide grants to colleges and universities on a formula-driven basis, and MICA is expecting some funding from that fund. There is also a governor’s emergency education relief fund, which is primarily for k-12 schools, but there may be some funding available for higher education. Other funds are possible through the employer retention credit program.

Before the COVID-19 crisis, the Maryland General Assembly had increased funding for the 13 MICUA colleges by about $10 million, the largest increase in 15 years, about 500k of which is MICA’s share. It is unlikely the state will provide any additional funding to colleges and universities. MICA is continuing to work on this issue and will know more in the next several weeks.

Q: There has been a lot of discussion about diversifying revenue streams (such as greater support for outside grant funding). Is this goal being strongly prioritized, and is the Research Office being given the resources needed to be successful in these efforts?

Since 2016, the number of staff dedicated to the research operation has gone from .5 FTE to 3 FTE, we have hired a Director of the Research Office, and we have established additional resources for research cultivation and faculty support through the Office of Strategic Initiatives. In addition, since that time, we have more than doubled the amount of internal research money we award to faculty on an annual basis 

Thanks to the work of the Research Office and the Research Committee, we now have a fully functioning, model IRB process, a federally negotiated indirect cost rate that contributes to our funding for research support, and a much better functioning process for pre- and post-award grants management. We believe this is an area where we have seen some significant progress over the past several years.

Q: Are offices at MICA open?

The College moved to remote and alternate access wherever possible over the summer, though this looked different office-by-office.

For the Fall, MICA has released a three-phase plan for returning to campus. For a full explanation of the phases, please visit the MICA Reopening Website.

Q: Will administrative offices be cleaned before employees return to work: carpets, walls, bathrooms, etc. If not, will cleaning supplies be provided to employees so desks, phones, etc. can be cleaned? Will MICA employees be returning to a clean and safe environment?

Yes, MICA’s Building Services team is continuing to work and will be cleaning all offices and work spaces. They use cleaning supplies and methods that are recommended by the CDC. You can be sure that all spaces will be clean and sanitized.

In the Fall, the College will have enhanced cleaning and disinfecting, additional cleaning protocols, increased ventilation and HVAC and reduced touch points.

A full breakdown of these plans can be found on the College’s Reopening Website.

Q: How long will Postal & Print be open? If they'll close, where should we redirect packages?  

Please check the Postal & Print page for the latest updates on hours and operations.