Legislators "were very cordial and non-committal" to a group of UB supporters who recently traveled to Albany to voice concerns over the budget and speak on behalf of the university and its needs, according to President William R. Greiner, who traveled with the group.

"It's a very peculiar time. I've never seen one like this," he said.

He noted that the state usually is further along in the budget process at this point in the fiscal year. "By now you should be at the point where heavy negotiations are going on." Instead, the process is at a standstill, at least in part because of uncertainty over how much funding the federal government will provide to New York State.

Greiner added that the state is even considering passage of a three-month budget, which would allow New York State to make adjustments after the impact of the federal budget on New York State is known.

The Tuition Assistance Program appears to have a good chance of being substantially restored, and indications are that the SUNY Trustees are in favor of allowing campuses to keep the tuition they generate.

But the flexibility legislation that many feel is vital if SUNY is to remain viable, may not pass. "We keep hearing that all this flexibility legislation is premature," Greiner said. "If it's not timely now, when is it timely? The answer is, after the election (in November)...."

As much as he would like to see a restoration of funds to SUNY, Greiner said, "I think we have to be realistic." Financial aid has greater priority, in his mind. "If tuition goes up, and it probably will, you'd better have excellent financial aid packages."

While various tuition increase figures have been suggested, there's "no way of knowing" how much tuition could rise for the 1996-97 academic year, Greiner said.

"My fear is we'll get the tools we need to manage, but (that flexibility) will come too late. The money will come out (of UB's budget) and we'll have a lot of wreckage next year," Greiner said.

In other business, the council heard a report on the School of Nursing by Dean Mecca Cranley. While the School of Nursing enrolls more than 600 students, "we have a lot of competition in the area...which forces us to define our niche," Cranley said. One of UB's strengths is that it's a university, with extensive library facilities, an active faculty engaged in scholarship and research and opportunities for interdisciplinary study and research.

These benefits are not confined to students living in the Buffalo area, she noted. The School of Nursing's distance learning program allows the university to reach students on campuses that include the Olean campus of Jamestown Community College.

The health care system revolution will impact the university in a number of ways, Cranley noted. Changes to health care will mean changes to the job market for both students and alumni. These changes also will affect what she called the "human laboratory" in which students learn. Students traditionally have learned basic care skills in hospitals caring for moderately ill patients. "It will not be possible to find such a (learning experience) in a hospital any more....Hospitals are essentially intensive care units these days," Cranley said.

While allowing students to care for critically ill patients raises a number of ethical issues, some of the educational issues can be resolved through the growing sophistication of simulation technology, which allows students to "treat" patients without posing any risk to people through their inexperience. However, these treatment-simulation technologies are expensive, she said.

While as recently as two years ago 80 percent of nurses practiced in hospital settings, that number has declined to 50 percent today, with the remainder employed in home care and ambulatory care settings, and preparing students for these new employment areas will present a teaching challenge.

The School of Nursing's most pressing needs are faculty recruitment, faculty development funds and technology, Cranley told the council."We are recruiting faculty in a sellers market. There's a shortage of nursing faculty nationwide....When we go out to recruit, we are competing with every school in the country," she said. Another problem the school faces is the possiblility of rapid faculty turnover over the next few years. According to Cranley, Nursing tenure-track faculty are an average age of 59.5 years and have 22 years on the UB faculty.