Facing pointed questions from North Campus professors, the president of Community College of Allegheny County acknowledged yesterday that his administration failed to adequately include faculty in some key deliberations.

"The process was flawed," Stewart Sutin said of recent talks on whether to close the campus's nursing program and on whether student newspapers on CCAC's four campuses should be replaced with a centrally produced publication.

He and top aides addressed 60 or so faculty on a campus that, more than any in CCAC's system, has openly questioned the wisdom of decisions made under Dr. Sutin. More than three-quarters of its professors, in an unusual protest, signed an open letter on Oct. 4 seeking answers to concerns from how gift money is used to why some administrators got double-digit raises last year when courses were being cut.

As he has in meetings called on each campus this week to address those concerns, Dr. Sutin struck a conciliatory tone. He pledged to listen to faculty and to move the college toward prosperity despite stagnant government aid that has helped push the college to its borrowing limit.

"I think this was constructive. My regret is that what's happened happened and [that] these feelings came out," he said. "The point of the matter is, now it's up to us to do something about it."

Those words drew applause. Still, some faculty left the nearly two-hour gathering expressing disappointment that answers were not specific enough and that Dr. Sutin did not provide the detailed information faculty members asked for in their letter.

For example, Ron Halsac, associate professor of accounting and business and one of those who spoke, asked how much the college had spent recently on consultants. "How much money are we wasting?" he asked.

Officials gave assurances that consultants will be used only when justified, but they did not offer a breakdown of consultants and their total cost either during the meeting, or in response to an earlier request from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

It's "because of the difficulty that we have in finding that information," said Nancilee Burzachechi, vice president for institutional advancement and external relations.

Asked by a professor how administrative costs compare with the recent past, Joseph Calig, whose duties include chief financial officer, replied "We're spending more ... A couple percent."

Dr. Sutin, though, said those costs would have been $500,000 more were it not for efficiency moves, including a reorganization.

Mr. Calig said faculty costs had remained the same, though officials later clarified that his estimates were limited to salary and did not include such things as recent faculty additions.

College officials said they planned to post on CCAC's Web site data that would include salary ranges for various levels of administration.

They also volunteered that Dr. Sutin holds a college-paid membership to the Duquesne Club for business purposes and to meet with donors. Butcollege officials did not disclose how much the membership cost.