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For a UA group tasked with sorting through proposals to change how the institution operates — including possibly cutting some programs — Monday could be feast or famine.

One month after UA President Robert Shelton announced a plan to implement massive structural changes at the university, the group will lay the first set of eyes on what could range from either a handful of thoughtful proposals to more than 100 ideas on how to change the University of Arizona.

Just how many there will be is anybody's guess.

And regardless of whether the group has a few pages or reams to sift through, administrators are pushing to have all the proposals reviewed in 2 1/2 weeks, prompting many to wonder whether such a task can be accomplished.

The quick turnaround of the proposals — with the hard deadline drawn by administrators — typifies what many people on campus view as an overly compressed timeline that is causing undue anxiety and potentially harming the stated goal of strengthening the UA.

While many UA faculty members, staffers and students agree that the institution needs to change, they're concerned that too much is happening too quickly.

Shelton and Provost Meredith Hay counter that the first round of proposals represents only the beginning of a process that in the coming months will involve the entire campus community.

Yet even the chairwoman of the committee that will review the proposals has expressed skepticism about the deadline established by administrators.

Miranda Joseph, who leads the Strategic Planning and Budget Advisory Committee, said the timeline is "insane" during a Faculty Senate meeting last week.

While Shelton and Hay agree that a little wiggle room for deadlines might be needed if a large number of proposals are turned in, they are firm that most of the changes must be finalized before the end of the calendar year.

"This is just the first step," Shelton said. "We want to move rapidly but not leave people behind."

During forums held for faculty members, staffers and students over the past several weeks, a common theme has emerged: People don't think they've been given enough time to come up with quality proposals.

By instituting such a short deadline for the proposals and their review, officials might be missing out on interesting ideas that have yet to be thought up, said Chris Segrin, head of the UA communication department, in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.

"Is there even time for a person to really develop interesting ideas?" he asked. "The concern is that some potentially good ideas may never make it to the table."

Segrin said he believes the UA needs to change and possibly cut some of its offerings, but worries that people are crafting proposals without all the information they need.

"Hypothetically, what happens to students if you merge two departments?" he asked. "Do we convert their degrees to a new name or grandfather them in for three years?"

On top of that, professors across campus already are having to think about what courses are going to be offered next year. With the curriculum for the fall 2009 semester due in a few weeks, many are wondering whether their classes will even be offered next year.

"People are coming up with questions for which there aren't very clear answers right now," Segrin said.

Hay has said that faculty members should plan their curricula as normal for next year, adding that major changes to course offerings probably won't occur until fall of 2010.

Additionally, no current student will be shut out of a major, and it's unlikely that any program would close immediately, said Gail Burd, vice provost for academic affairs.

If a program were to close, students would be allowed to finish their degrees with the full complement of classes they need to graduate, meaning change wouldn't occur overnight, Burd said.

She called the proposals due on Monday a conversation starter that will allow ideas to be fully vetted by the entire UA community.

"The proposals won't mean the end of anything," she said. "This is just the beginning."

But even if the process is only beginning, many on campus already feel rushed, Segrin said.

While he agrees that administrators have to balance making timely changes with allowing for input from everyone at the UA, he's not sure if such a balance has been achieved.

"We're probably leaning more towards the 'let's get something done' end," he said.

Shelton rejects the idea that the process is moving too quickly, adding that delays could jeopardize changes that need to be made.

"We want considerable input," he said. "But at the same time, we can't wait on everybody's individual timeline."