Campus efficiencies to eventually save $46M annually

IOWA CITY - After spending $84 million to implement new efficiencies, Iowa's public universities eventually will save an estimated $46 million every year, according to information provided this week to lawmakers.

The Board of Regents last year agreed to move forward with 12 suggested efficiencies in administrative operations on its university campuses, affecting the areas of information technology, human resources, finance and sourcing and procurement.

Now consulting firms are preparing recommendations for five academic-related efficiencies that will be considered later this year.

Implementation of the 12 approved efficiencies is underway at the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and University of Northern Iowa.

'The anticipated savings are still a work in progress,” according to a project update sent Thursday from Board of Regents Executive Director Robert Donley to Robin Madison, senior analyst for the Legislative Services Agency. 'Note that the savings are across all funds, not just the general fund.”

The estimated savings include self-funded enterprises on the university campuses like residence halls, athletics and federally-funded research grants.

The update also notes some of the payback periods needed to recover upfront investments could top five years, but 'implementation plans are being reviewed and validated by two consulting firms this spring.”

The legislative report indicates efficiencies in the area of human resources, finance and sourcing and procurement are expected to both cost the most to implement and return the most in annual savings.

Regents in January accepted plans from each university to implement some of the efficiencies using in-house resources. It also hired Huron Consulting Group to help improve sourcing and procurement practices and Chazey Partners to provide expertise related to human resources, finance and information technology suggestions.

The board expects to pay $660,658 to Chazey for its work and $454,300 to Huron.

In February, the board announced selection of Pappas Consulting Group to continue a review of two opportunities related to distance education and improving time to graduation.

The board is expecting to pay Pappas $672,000, along with another $100,000 to Ad Astra, which was hired last year to review several other academic areas.

The Deloitte consulting group has completed more than $3.5 million in work. With the additional work underway, the total estimated consulting fees are more than $5.4 million.

At their regularly scheduled meeting next week, regents will receive an update on a recommendation that calls for the creation of a 'chief information officer council among the three institutions.” The goal is to identify efficiency opportunities by, for example, standardizing applications and reducing overlap.

The board also will hear an update on plans to establish a policy for professional and scientific search committees on all three campuses. At UI, for example, the roles and responsibilities of human resources supervisors and representatives have been 'significantly revised” to reflect a 'no search committee process” for 90 percent of job searches and a reduced search committee process for others.

Full campus implementation of the changes, which exclude UI Health Care, is set for May 1, according to regents materials.