Two faculty unions have thrown a wrench into plans to reform the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system.

The unions, representing faculty at all 31 colleges and universities, announced Thursday that they will no longer take part in the planning process known as "Charting the Future," which has been underway since 2012.

But Chancellor Steven Rosenstone says the move won't slow down the project, which is designed to improve collaboration and modernize academic programs throughout the system, which includes seven state universities and 24 two-year colleges.

"Change is hard, and is always accompanied by high emotion and complication," Rosenstone said in a statement. "While the heads of the unions may have made the regrettable decision to walk away from the table, their seats will be there for them whenever they decide to return."

Faculty leaders have complained for more than a year that their members have been given short shrift in the process. On Thursday, the two union presidents released a letter to Rosenstone, saying they were pulling out because of concerns about "trust and transparency."

"We want to emphasize that this is not about the ideas contained within Charting the Future," wrote Jim Grabowska, of the Inter Faculty Organization, and Kevin Lindstrom, of the Minnesota State College Faculty. But they argued that faculty concerns have been largely ignored in the planning process.

Kim Olson, the chief marketing and communication officer at MnSCU, said that the project will go on as scheduled. "Although we're very disappointed in this, we hope that they'll come back to the table," she said.

Some of the first innovations, including ways to improve collaboration among the schools, are expected to roll out in the spring.

Maura Lerner • 612-673-7384