Often times, when colleges and universities are seeking means for reducing costs, they do not analyze the cost of support services. Below are some ideas that might trigger some cost-savings ideas across the institution. An institution should explore these and other support service areas for potential cost-savings.
Allow libraries to retain their fines to replace books
Establish fixed-free contracts with outside legal counsel and closely monitor costs
Improve the effectiveness of litigation support functions through automation
Contract out duplicating wherever possible if less costly
Do all printing in one color and double-sided only
Increase charges for transcripts, with overnight delivery options
Evaluate cost-effectiveness of internal campus police
Renegotiate service contracts, shift work to in-house staff where cost-effective
Review consulting contracts for their necessity, reasonableness, and ability to recoup the costs
The surest way to be late is to have plenty of time. - Leo Kennedy
KH Consulting Group (KH) started this Know-How site in 2009 to create a forum for sharing ideas on effectively enhancing revenues and containing costs in higher education in the near and longer term.
KH has posted more than 500 ideas. You can join the forum at:
http://knowhow-education.blogspot.com/
Note: The ideas shared are not prescriptive and will not work in all situations or at all institutions. Some of the ideas are tactical – quick victories to save money in easy ways. Others are strategic, requiring careful analysis before implementing.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Continuing and Contract Education
Some colleges and universities have found continuing education and contract education to be revenue generating opportunities for them. Some have developed impressive continuing education programs that exceed offerings found at many colleges and universities. Others have partnered with local businesses to offer academic programs and courses in the work place through contact education for a fee. Yet others have used distance learning as a tool to offer coursework cost-effectively and deliver programs globally.
Offer more physical education courses through continuing education on a higher fee basis
Charge market prices or full costs for continuing education and contract educational courses
Offer photography courses as continuing education for fees, and use the profits to invest in new photo technology
Develop public speaking and presentation courses for businesses and offer through contract education
Offer small business courses as continuing education
Start large continuing education classes on film history, aerobics, etc.
Offer non-credit courses on modular basis with staggered months
Make continuing education and non-credit programs financially self-sufficient
Change to census days for non-credit classes
Reduce hours of continuing education or non-credit courses if they don’t cover their own costs
Increase or sustain hours of continuing education or non-credit courses if they generate revenues that exceed or cover their own costs
Have continuing education and non-credit course students bring their own supplies and buy their own books
Establish continuing education courses for test preparation, tutor training, Computer Automated Design, and other new areas
Offer contract education courses in workplace literacy through ESL programs
Charge tuition for non-credit classes in summer school
Few people think more than two or three times a year. I have made an international reputation for myself by thinking once or twice a year. - George Bernard Shaw
KH Consulting Group (KH) started this Know-How site in 2009 to create a forum for sharing ideas on effectively enhancing revenues and containing costs in higher education in the near and longer term.
KH has posted more than 500 ideas. You can join the forum at:
http://knowhow-education.blogspot.com/
Note: The ideas shared are not prescriptive and will not work in all situations or at all institutions. Some of the ideas are tactical – quick victories to save money in easy ways. Others are strategic, requiring careful analysis before implementing.
Offer more physical education courses through continuing education on a higher fee basis
Charge market prices or full costs for continuing education and contract educational courses
Offer photography courses as continuing education for fees, and use the profits to invest in new photo technology
Develop public speaking and presentation courses for businesses and offer through contract education
Offer small business courses as continuing education
Start large continuing education classes on film history, aerobics, etc.
Offer non-credit courses on modular basis with staggered months
Make continuing education and non-credit programs financially self-sufficient
Change to census days for non-credit classes
Reduce hours of continuing education or non-credit courses if they don’t cover their own costs
Increase or sustain hours of continuing education or non-credit courses if they generate revenues that exceed or cover their own costs
Have continuing education and non-credit course students bring their own supplies and buy their own books
Establish continuing education courses for test preparation, tutor training, Computer Automated Design, and other new areas
Offer contract education courses in workplace literacy through ESL programs
Charge tuition for non-credit classes in summer school
Few people think more than two or three times a year. I have made an international reputation for myself by thinking once or twice a year. - George Bernard Shaw
KH Consulting Group (KH) started this Know-How site in 2009 to create a forum for sharing ideas on effectively enhancing revenues and containing costs in higher education in the near and longer term.
KH has posted more than 500 ideas. You can join the forum at:
http://knowhow-education.blogspot.com/
Note: The ideas shared are not prescriptive and will not work in all situations or at all institutions. Some of the ideas are tactical – quick victories to save money in easy ways. Others are strategic, requiring careful analysis before implementing.
English-as-a-Second Language (ESL)
English-as-a-Second Language (ESL) is an important component to many colleges and universities, particularly community colleges in urban settings. ESL courses enable students to bridge many of the barriers they may face in day-to-day living, in the work place, or when pursuing higher levels of academic learning.
Maximize use of learning labs by using as listening labs for ESL students
Offer ESL telecourses, supplemented with reduced classroom and lab time
Offer more “bridge” or transitional classes which funnel ESL students into credit courses
Streamline non-credit ESL programs (move students through faster)
Make “Accent Reduction” course fee-supported for ESL students
Track success rates of ESL students into regular credit courses
Track success rates of ESL students in Basic Skills classes into regular credit courses
Place students in ESL courses according to their level of performance and educational goals
Offer contract education courses in workplace literacy through ESL programs
To have ideas is to gather flowers; to think is to weave them into garlands.
- Madame Swetchine
KH Consulting Group (KH) started this Know-How site in 2009 to create a forum for sharing ideas on effectively enhancing revenues and containing costs in higher education in the near and longer term.
KH has posted more than 500 ideas. You can join the forum at:
http://knowhow-education.blogspot.com/
Note: The ideas shared are not prescriptive and will not work in all situations or at all institutions. Some of the ideas are tactical – quick victories to save money in easy ways. Others are strategic, requiring careful analysis before implementing.
Maximize use of learning labs by using as listening labs for ESL students
Offer ESL telecourses, supplemented with reduced classroom and lab time
Offer more “bridge” or transitional classes which funnel ESL students into credit courses
Streamline non-credit ESL programs (move students through faster)
Make “Accent Reduction” course fee-supported for ESL students
Track success rates of ESL students into regular credit courses
Track success rates of ESL students in Basic Skills classes into regular credit courses
Place students in ESL courses according to their level of performance and educational goals
Offer contract education courses in workplace literacy through ESL programs
To have ideas is to gather flowers; to think is to weave them into garlands.
- Madame Swetchine
KH Consulting Group (KH) started this Know-How site in 2009 to create a forum for sharing ideas on effectively enhancing revenues and containing costs in higher education in the near and longer term.
KH has posted more than 500 ideas. You can join the forum at:
http://knowhow-education.blogspot.com/
Note: The ideas shared are not prescriptive and will not work in all situations or at all institutions. Some of the ideas are tactical – quick victories to save money in easy ways. Others are strategic, requiring careful analysis before implementing.
Possible Class and Program Revenue
These ideas are difficult because they may place a financial burden on students. But, if the choice is closing the program or sustaining it, such fees may be justifiable so students can continue to learn and benefit from them. In addition, if a public university or community college, the tuition levels are still a bargain in higher education.
Charge fees for repetition of continuing education courses which have already been satisfactorily completed
Charge fees to audit a class
Charge non-residents to take ESL classes
Charge more to people who live outside the tax-base
Increase charges for GED testing
Increase enrollment and registration fees
Offer photography courses for credit by day and for fees at night and on weekends
Offer tuition installment plans so classes will be more affordable; charge interest
Initiate or increase application fee; credit the fee toward tuition costs after enrollment, if appropriate; and offer no refunds
Charge fees for non-students to use computer labs and photographic dark rooms, especially on weekends and evenings, on an hourly basis
Sell membership cards to non-students to use photographic dark room on a pre-paid basis
Sell membership cards to non-students to use computer labs on a pre-paid basis
Charge a fee for late registration
Charge students who drop or withdraw after two weeks
Charge a syllabus fee for each program
Charge transfer fees
Charge students for tutorial services
If you’re yearning for the good old days, just turn off the air conditioning.
- Griff Niblack, in Indianapolis News
KH Consulting Group (KH) started this Know-How site in 2009 to create a forum for sharing ideas on effectively enhancing revenues and containing costs in higher education in the near and longer term.
KH has posted more than 500 ideas. You can join the forum at:
http://knowhow-education.blogspot.com/
Note: The ideas shared are not prescriptive and will not work in all situations or at all institutions. Some of the ideas are tactical – quick victories to save money in easy ways. Others are strategic, requiring careful analysis before implementing.
Charge fees for repetition of continuing education courses which have already been satisfactorily completed
Charge fees to audit a class
Charge non-residents to take ESL classes
Charge more to people who live outside the tax-base
Increase charges for GED testing
Increase enrollment and registration fees
Offer photography courses for credit by day and for fees at night and on weekends
Offer tuition installment plans so classes will be more affordable; charge interest
Initiate or increase application fee; credit the fee toward tuition costs after enrollment, if appropriate; and offer no refunds
Charge fees for non-students to use computer labs and photographic dark rooms, especially on weekends and evenings, on an hourly basis
Sell membership cards to non-students to use photographic dark room on a pre-paid basis
Sell membership cards to non-students to use computer labs on a pre-paid basis
Charge a fee for late registration
Charge students who drop or withdraw after two weeks
Charge a syllabus fee for each program
Charge transfer fees
Charge students for tutorial services
If you’re yearning for the good old days, just turn off the air conditioning.
- Griff Niblack, in Indianapolis News
KH Consulting Group (KH) started this Know-How site in 2009 to create a forum for sharing ideas on effectively enhancing revenues and containing costs in higher education in the near and longer term.
KH has posted more than 500 ideas. You can join the forum at:
http://knowhow-education.blogspot.com/
Note: The ideas shared are not prescriptive and will not work in all situations or at all institutions. Some of the ideas are tactical – quick victories to save money in easy ways. Others are strategic, requiring careful analysis before implementing.
Faculty Load
Increasing student fees is controversial. Increasing faculty load is also controversial but feasible. Some colleges have worked with their faculty to develop means for sustaining quality education with greater efficiency in the use of faculty time. In addition, during hard economic times when corporations and government agencies are curtailing hiring, reducing pay, or shortening work hours, college faculty members may need to consider some modifications to their load to help their colleges weather these hard economic times.
Create better incentives for teaching larger classes
Evaluate load disparity taking into consideration of out-of-class responsibilities or lack thereof
Increase teaching workload of all faculty
Institute “load banking” (where faculty teach overload for future paid leave) on a “one-for-one” basis
Have only part-time faculty or consultants teach continuing education courses
When classes are cancelled, have faculty “owe” that class in the future
Limit funds available for substitutes
Do not allow substitute instructors for the first day of absence
Eliminate substitutes and have faculty cover for each other
Limit release time
Introduce a self-funded faculty sabbatical program
Substantially curtail sabbatical replacements
Defer sabbaticals for one semester or more
“Reeling and writhing of course, to begin with,” the Mock Turtle replied, “and the different branches of arithmetic—ambition, distraction, uglification, and derision.” - Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
It is a lesson which all history teaches wise men, to put trust in ideas, and not in circumstances. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
KH Consulting Group (KH) started this Know-How site in 2009 to create a forum for sharing ideas on effectively enhancing revenues and containing costs in higher education in the near and longer term.
KH has posted more than 500 ideas. You can join the forum at:
http://knowhow-education.blogspot.com/
Note: The ideas shared are not prescriptive and will not work in all situations or at all institutions. Some of the ideas are tactical – quick victories to save money in easy ways. Others are strategic, requiring careful analysis before implementing.
Create better incentives for teaching larger classes
Evaluate load disparity taking into consideration of out-of-class responsibilities or lack thereof
Increase teaching workload of all faculty
Institute “load banking” (where faculty teach overload for future paid leave) on a “one-for-one” basis
Have only part-time faculty or consultants teach continuing education courses
When classes are cancelled, have faculty “owe” that class in the future
Limit funds available for substitutes
Do not allow substitute instructors for the first day of absence
Eliminate substitutes and have faculty cover for each other
Limit release time
Introduce a self-funded faculty sabbatical program
Substantially curtail sabbatical replacements
Defer sabbaticals for one semester or more
“Reeling and writhing of course, to begin with,” the Mock Turtle replied, “and the different branches of arithmetic—ambition, distraction, uglification, and derision.” - Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
It is a lesson which all history teaches wise men, to put trust in ideas, and not in circumstances. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
KH Consulting Group (KH) started this Know-How site in 2009 to create a forum for sharing ideas on effectively enhancing revenues and containing costs in higher education in the near and longer term.
KH has posted more than 500 ideas. You can join the forum at:
http://knowhow-education.blogspot.com/
Note: The ideas shared are not prescriptive and will not work in all situations or at all institutions. Some of the ideas are tactical – quick victories to save money in easy ways. Others are strategic, requiring careful analysis before implementing.
Staff Functions
Our last two KH Know-How newsletters addressed two controversial topics: increasing student fees and increasing faculty load. Similarly, colleges and universities find changing management and classified staffing configurations and workload hard to do. But austere times require new ways of working – and some of these staffing changes organizations should do because they are good business practices.
Broaden supervisory and management spans of control to at least 8 to 12 incumbents
Review secretarial workload in light of new technology and adjust staffing accordingly
Establish clerical pools to equalize workloads and provide better service
Replace some clerical positions with students on work-study
Establish tutorial volunteer programs to replace paid employees wherever feasible
Allow departments to share support staff
Have paid student workers perform custodial tasks at college
Promote better cross-use of personnel
Increase or decrease work week of classified staff and adjust pay accordingly
Investigate abuse of lunch or rest breaks
Establish stronger supervisory controls over classified staff and clarify reporting relationships
Reduce number of classified supervisory positions
Limit new or temporary classified employees assigned to instruction and hire (rehire) based on need for college semesters or terms
Restructure classified positions to better balance workloads and reduce overlaps
Yellow cat, black cat, as long as it catches mice, it is a good cat.
- Deng Xiaoping
KH Consulting Group (KH) started this Know-How site in 2009 to create a forum for sharing ideas on effectively enhancing revenues and containing costs in higher education in the near and longer term.
KH has posted more than 500 ideas. You can join the forum at:
http://knowhow-education.blogspot.com/
Note: The ideas shared are not prescriptive and will not work in all situations or at all institutions. Some of the ideas are tactical – quick victories to save money in easy ways. Others are strategic, requiring careful analysis before implementing.
Broaden supervisory and management spans of control to at least 8 to 12 incumbents
Review secretarial workload in light of new technology and adjust staffing accordingly
Establish clerical pools to equalize workloads and provide better service
Replace some clerical positions with students on work-study
Establish tutorial volunteer programs to replace paid employees wherever feasible
Allow departments to share support staff
Have paid student workers perform custodial tasks at college
Promote better cross-use of personnel
Increase or decrease work week of classified staff and adjust pay accordingly
Investigate abuse of lunch or rest breaks
Establish stronger supervisory controls over classified staff and clarify reporting relationships
Reduce number of classified supervisory positions
Limit new or temporary classified employees assigned to instruction and hire (rehire) based on need for college semesters or terms
Restructure classified positions to better balance workloads and reduce overlaps
Yellow cat, black cat, as long as it catches mice, it is a good cat.
- Deng Xiaoping
KH Consulting Group (KH) started this Know-How site in 2009 to create a forum for sharing ideas on effectively enhancing revenues and containing costs in higher education in the near and longer term.
KH has posted more than 500 ideas. You can join the forum at:
http://knowhow-education.blogspot.com/
Note: The ideas shared are not prescriptive and will not work in all situations or at all institutions. Some of the ideas are tactical – quick victories to save money in easy ways. Others are strategic, requiring careful analysis before implementing.
Budgeting and Finance
Almost all complex organizations – whether a college, university, government agency, or corporation – find budgeting processes to be complicated or even mystical. Below are some ideas for increasing accountability, transparency, and expertise in budgeting and finance.
Make the budgeting process easier for all employees and the community at large to understand
Replace contingencies in each budget, with one real contingency
Institute program-based accounting or “block budgeting”
Institute zero-based budgeting
Improve the year-to-year continuity of the budgeting process
Train deans and all budget managers in fiscal and budget management
Improve budgeting and tracking to provide control over temporary and part-time employees
Create funding incentives for departments to generate revenues and lower costs
Improve or implement cost accounting
Require cost justification for all major expenditures
Review the use and allocation of the supplies budget
Track grants and special funding sources comprehensively
Simplify the bill-paying system to ensure bills are paid on time to avoid late charges or cessation of services
Use state program-based funding formulas as benchmarks to fund departments
The shortest recorded period of time lies between the minute you put some money away for a rainy day and the unexpected arrival of rain.
-Jane Bryant Quinn
KH Consulting Group (KH) started this Know-How site in 2009 to create a forum for sharing ideas on effectively enhancing revenues and containing costs in higher education in the near and longer term.
KH has posted more than 500 ideas. You can join the forum at:
http://knowhow-education.blogspot.com/
Note: The ideas shared are not prescriptive and will not work in all situations or at all institutions. Some of the ideas are tactical – quick victories to save money in easy ways. Others are strategic, requiring careful analysis before implementing.
Hiring Practices
Many colleges and universities do not think long-term when hiring an employee. They lack a strategic plan or educational master plan that identifies what programs will grow or may have peaked in popularity and demand.
A tenure track faculty position is typically a 20-year commitment that can cost an institution between $1 million and $3 million. Therefore, the decision to make a position tenured should be tied to a 20-year vision of the need for such expertise. Moreover, because of the tendency to avoid terminating employees, other staff members become permanent fixtures – whether they are assets or obstructionists.
Finally, once a decision is made to fill a position, significant improvements can also occur in streamlining the hiring processes.
Do not automatically refill vacant or vacated positions
Delay, for a limited time, replacement of full-time faculty who retire or leave
Hire more staff who are technically qualified and who are able to handle more functions
Administratively control all full-time faculty hiring
Buy back early retirees on a part-time basis to teach large classes
Develop online candidate or applicant tracking system
Develop cost-effective methods to process personnel requests
Furnish substitute teachers for illness or death only
Hire managers with greater experience in their area of responsibility
Reduce overtime by hiring part-time or short-term help to cover vacant full-time, classified positions
Improve the manager training process for the hiring of classified employees
Standardize the training process for search and selection committees
Restrict employees from returning as “consultants” at higher pay
Survey and audit all job descriptions; develop generic job classifications
Use more part-time teachers
Use more volunteer teachers
Use students as graders and clerks
Establish more work-study programs for students in lieu of permanent employees, wherever part-time work is a viable option
Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm.
- Publilius Syrus
KH Consulting Group (KH) started this Know-How site in 2009 to create a forum for sharing ideas on effectively enhancing revenues and containing costs in higher education in the near and longer term.
KH has posted more than 500 ideas. You can join the forum at:
http://knowhow-education.blogspot.com/
Note: The ideas shared are not prescriptive and will not work in all situations or at all institutions. Some of the ideas are tactical – quick victories to save money in easy ways. Others are strategic, requiring careful analysis before implementing.
A tenure track faculty position is typically a 20-year commitment that can cost an institution between $1 million and $3 million. Therefore, the decision to make a position tenured should be tied to a 20-year vision of the need for such expertise. Moreover, because of the tendency to avoid terminating employees, other staff members become permanent fixtures – whether they are assets or obstructionists.
Finally, once a decision is made to fill a position, significant improvements can also occur in streamlining the hiring processes.
Do not automatically refill vacant or vacated positions
Delay, for a limited time, replacement of full-time faculty who retire or leave
Hire more staff who are technically qualified and who are able to handle more functions
Administratively control all full-time faculty hiring
Buy back early retirees on a part-time basis to teach large classes
Develop online candidate or applicant tracking system
Develop cost-effective methods to process personnel requests
Furnish substitute teachers for illness or death only
Hire managers with greater experience in their area of responsibility
Reduce overtime by hiring part-time or short-term help to cover vacant full-time, classified positions
Improve the manager training process for the hiring of classified employees
Standardize the training process for search and selection committees
Restrict employees from returning as “consultants” at higher pay
Survey and audit all job descriptions; develop generic job classifications
Use more part-time teachers
Use more volunteer teachers
Use students as graders and clerks
Establish more work-study programs for students in lieu of permanent employees, wherever part-time work is a viable option
Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm.
- Publilius Syrus
KH Consulting Group (KH) started this Know-How site in 2009 to create a forum for sharing ideas on effectively enhancing revenues and containing costs in higher education in the near and longer term.
KH has posted more than 500 ideas. You can join the forum at:
http://knowhow-education.blogspot.com/
Note: The ideas shared are not prescriptive and will not work in all situations or at all institutions. Some of the ideas are tactical – quick victories to save money in easy ways. Others are strategic, requiring careful analysis before implementing.
Compensation Issues
Compensation represents the bulk of almost any higher education budget. And the brain trust of the faculty and the skills of the administrators and staff are what make any institution great. Therefore, pay is an important reward but, with finite resources, must be used effectively for compensating people fairly and acknowledging people for a job well done.
Give time off instead of pay raises
Evaluate chronic use of overtime or overload, and cut where possible
Eliminate overload pay during college vacations
Have finance administrators review, critique, and sign off on collective bargaining agreements
Implement rewards for cost saving ideas and deliver rewards as additional pay
Review pay practices, especially in administration, for fairness
Employ college aides instead of paying overtime
Reduce abuse of compensatory time system
Develop Pay-for-Performance or merit pay concepts
Reduce pay of tenure review committee or make tenure review work part of regular assignments rather than extra pay assignments
Solicit volunteers among full-time faculty to work reduced workloads for reduced pay
Equalize Pay for Work performed by faculty (e.g., class sizes, labs, etc.)
Stop automatic pay increases based on Cost of Living Allowances and the Consumer Price Index
Ensure that individuals receiving augmented pay for bilingual skills are assigned to areas where such skills are needed
Do not pay instructional rates for non-instructional staff work
Pay part-time instructors on a course basis, rather than an hourly one
Freeze all step increases at the mid-point of the range for a limited time
Have employees voluntarily take from one to 20 days off per year without pay while retaining benefits
Pay stipends for ESL student tutors in lieu of hiring ESL instructors
Prevent abuses when giving credit for “life experience” when determining job or pay grade
Redefine the college’s compensation philosophy to one that pays slightly below market
Offer a voluntary leave program without pay and without replacements
Institute voluntary or involuntary furloughs or unpaid leaves of absence
When you aim for perfection, you discover it’s a moving target.
- George Fisher
KH Consulting Group (KH) started this Know-How site in 2009 to create a forum for sharing ideas on effectively enhancing revenues and containing costs in higher education in the near and longer term.
KH has posted more than 500 ideas. You can join the forum at:
http://knowhow-education.blogspot.com/
Note: The ideas shared are not prescriptive and will not work in all situations or at all institutions. Some of the ideas are tactical – quick victories to save money in easy ways. Others are strategic, requiring careful analysis before implementing.
Give time off instead of pay raises
Evaluate chronic use of overtime or overload, and cut where possible
Eliminate overload pay during college vacations
Have finance administrators review, critique, and sign off on collective bargaining agreements
Implement rewards for cost saving ideas and deliver rewards as additional pay
Review pay practices, especially in administration, for fairness
Employ college aides instead of paying overtime
Reduce abuse of compensatory time system
Develop Pay-for-Performance or merit pay concepts
Reduce pay of tenure review committee or make tenure review work part of regular assignments rather than extra pay assignments
Solicit volunteers among full-time faculty to work reduced workloads for reduced pay
Equalize Pay for Work performed by faculty (e.g., class sizes, labs, etc.)
Stop automatic pay increases based on Cost of Living Allowances and the Consumer Price Index
Ensure that individuals receiving augmented pay for bilingual skills are assigned to areas where such skills are needed
Do not pay instructional rates for non-instructional staff work
Pay part-time instructors on a course basis, rather than an hourly one
Freeze all step increases at the mid-point of the range for a limited time
Have employees voluntarily take from one to 20 days off per year without pay while retaining benefits
Pay stipends for ESL student tutors in lieu of hiring ESL instructors
Prevent abuses when giving credit for “life experience” when determining job or pay grade
Redefine the college’s compensation philosophy to one that pays slightly below market
Offer a voluntary leave program without pay and without replacements
Institute voluntary or involuntary furloughs or unpaid leaves of absence
When you aim for perfection, you discover it’s a moving target.
- George Fisher
KH Consulting Group (KH) started this Know-How site in 2009 to create a forum for sharing ideas on effectively enhancing revenues and containing costs in higher education in the near and longer term.
KH has posted more than 500 ideas. You can join the forum at:
http://knowhow-education.blogspot.com/
Note: The ideas shared are not prescriptive and will not work in all situations or at all institutions. Some of the ideas are tactical – quick victories to save money in easy ways. Others are strategic, requiring careful analysis before implementing.
Payroll Processing
The one administrative process that everyone has a vested interest in is payroll. Everyone wants to be paid. People immediately notify payroll if their pay is not on time or accurate. Institutions are always pursuing ways to streamline payroll procedures and reduce their processing costs.
Implement electronic transfer of salaries to employees’ bank accounts
Combine the payroll process for both classified employees and certified faculty
Computerize the entire payroll system
Process payroll once a month
Enforce payroll/time reporting policies
Establish time and attendance reporting, linked more tightly to payroll
Mechanize or automate the time keeping systems
Outsource the majority of the payroll function and related systems to an outside vendor
Apothecary: My poverty, but not my will, consents.
Romeo: I pay thy poverty, and not thy will.
-William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
Much madness is divinest sense
To a discerning eye;
Much sense the starkest madness.
’Tis the majority
In this, as all, prevails.
Assent, and you are sane;
Demur, — You’re straightway dangerous,
And handled with a chain.
-Emily Dickinson, Much Madness is Divinest Sense
KH Consulting Group (KH) started this Know-How site in 2009 to create a forum for sharing ideas on effectively enhancing revenues and containing costs in higher education in the near and longer term.
KH has posted more than 500 ideas. You can join the forum at:
http://knowhow-education.blogspot.com/
Note: The ideas shared are not prescriptive and will not work in all situations or at all institutions. Some of the ideas are tactical – quick victories to save money in easy ways. Others are strategic, requiring careful analysis before implementing.
Implement electronic transfer of salaries to employees’ bank accounts
Combine the payroll process for both classified employees and certified faculty
Computerize the entire payroll system
Process payroll once a month
Enforce payroll/time reporting policies
Establish time and attendance reporting, linked more tightly to payroll
Mechanize or automate the time keeping systems
Outsource the majority of the payroll function and related systems to an outside vendor
Apothecary: My poverty, but not my will, consents.
Romeo: I pay thy poverty, and not thy will.
-William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
Much madness is divinest sense
To a discerning eye;
Much sense the starkest madness.
’Tis the majority
In this, as all, prevails.
Assent, and you are sane;
Demur, — You’re straightway dangerous,
And handled with a chain.
-Emily Dickinson, Much Madness is Divinest Sense
KH Consulting Group (KH) started this Know-How site in 2009 to create a forum for sharing ideas on effectively enhancing revenues and containing costs in higher education in the near and longer term.
KH has posted more than 500 ideas. You can join the forum at:
http://knowhow-education.blogspot.com/
Note: The ideas shared are not prescriptive and will not work in all situations or at all institutions. Some of the ideas are tactical – quick victories to save money in easy ways. Others are strategic, requiring careful analysis before implementing.
Meetings and Committees
The number of committees and related meetings are significant at colleges and universities because of the governance structures and commitment to participatory governance. In some instances, the committees and meetings are added to the existing structure and not re-conceptualized.
Analyze the governance structure and consolidate the committee structure as appropriate
Delegate decision-making to the appropriate level, thereby reducing unnecessary multiple reviews.
Ensure the charter for each committee is clearly defined, including its membership, goals, operating agreements, and decision-making roles and responsibilities
Limit amount of time spent in meetings
Establish moratorium on all meetings for a limited time
Clarify roles of committees
Define committees’ advisory and decision-making authorities
Eliminate committees which overlap department authorities and budgetary processes
Prevent staff from sitting on opposing committees (conflict of interest)
Set up agendas and identify clearly who should be in attendance, given the topics to be discussed
Eliminate the “culture of distrust” and the need for everyone to “look over each other’s shoulders” to make sure they are making prudent decisions
All government—indeed, every human benefit and enjoyment, every virtue and every prudent act—is founded on compromise and barter. - Edmund Burke
Everything is changing. People are taking the comedians seriously and the politicians as a joke. - Will Rogers
KH Consulting Group (KH) started this Know-How site in 2009 to create a forum for sharing ideas on effectively enhancing revenues and containing costs in higher education in the near and longer term.
KH has posted more than 500 ideas. You can join the forum at:
http://knowhow-education.blogspot.com/
Note: The ideas shared are not prescriptive and will not work in all situations or at all institutions. Some of the ideas are tactical – quick victories to save money in easy ways. Others are strategic, requiring careful analysis before implementing.
Analyze the governance structure and consolidate the committee structure as appropriate
Delegate decision-making to the appropriate level, thereby reducing unnecessary multiple reviews.
Ensure the charter for each committee is clearly defined, including its membership, goals, operating agreements, and decision-making roles and responsibilities
Limit amount of time spent in meetings
Establish moratorium on all meetings for a limited time
Clarify roles of committees
Define committees’ advisory and decision-making authorities
Eliminate committees which overlap department authorities and budgetary processes
Prevent staff from sitting on opposing committees (conflict of interest)
Set up agendas and identify clearly who should be in attendance, given the topics to be discussed
Eliminate the “culture of distrust” and the need for everyone to “look over each other’s shoulders” to make sure they are making prudent decisions
All government—indeed, every human benefit and enjoyment, every virtue and every prudent act—is founded on compromise and barter. - Edmund Burke
Everything is changing. People are taking the comedians seriously and the politicians as a joke. - Will Rogers
KH Consulting Group (KH) started this Know-How site in 2009 to create a forum for sharing ideas on effectively enhancing revenues and containing costs in higher education in the near and longer term.
KH has posted more than 500 ideas. You can join the forum at:
http://knowhow-education.blogspot.com/
Note: The ideas shared are not prescriptive and will not work in all situations or at all institutions. Some of the ideas are tactical – quick victories to save money in easy ways. Others are strategic, requiring careful analysis before implementing.
Student Services
Student services are important for ensuring students benefit from a full college life experience. Learning within the academic classroom is important but students also learn from the total college experience. Student services play an important role in these experiences – student clubs, student senates, student events, dorm life, dining, etc. Such services, however, cost money and should be periodically reviewed in terms of their cost versus value to student life.
Determine actual costs for student services and adjust fees accordingly
Improve or eliminate student services that are costly but not essential
Recruit tutors for students from the private sector
Have psychiatric counselors on call and not permanently employed at the health center
Eliminate the less-used student services and consolidate others
Eliminate “optional” services that are not self-funded
Make food service self-service without changing prices
Privatize many of the non-instructional services for students
Cut non-critical campus activities (e.g., guest speakers) for a limited time period
Have Associated Students Government fees fund their administrator
Have theater box office revenues cover supplies, maintenance, and other contractual costs
A skeptic is a person who, when he sees the handwriting on the wall, claims it is a forgery. - Morris Bender
KH Consulting Group (KH) started this Know-How site in 2009 to create a forum for sharing ideas on effectively enhancing revenues and containing costs in higher education in the near and longer term.
KH has posted more than 500 ideas. You can join the forum at:
http://knowhow-education.blogspot.com/
Note: The ideas shared are not prescriptive and will not work in all situations or at all institutions. Some of the ideas are tactical – quick victories to save money in easy ways. Others are strategic, requiring careful analysis before implementing.
Determine actual costs for student services and adjust fees accordingly
Improve or eliminate student services that are costly but not essential
Recruit tutors for students from the private sector
Have psychiatric counselors on call and not permanently employed at the health center
Eliminate the less-used student services and consolidate others
Eliminate “optional” services that are not self-funded
Make food service self-service without changing prices
Privatize many of the non-instructional services for students
Cut non-critical campus activities (e.g., guest speakers) for a limited time period
Have Associated Students Government fees fund their administrator
Have theater box office revenues cover supplies, maintenance, and other contractual costs
A skeptic is a person who, when he sees the handwriting on the wall, claims it is a forgery. - Morris Bender
KH Consulting Group (KH) started this Know-How site in 2009 to create a forum for sharing ideas on effectively enhancing revenues and containing costs in higher education in the near and longer term.
KH has posted more than 500 ideas. You can join the forum at:
http://knowhow-education.blogspot.com/
Note: The ideas shared are not prescriptive and will not work in all situations or at all institutions. Some of the ideas are tactical – quick victories to save money in easy ways. Others are strategic, requiring careful analysis before implementing.
Services
Below is a pot pourri of ideas that might generate more revenues (or reduce costs) for services. Some involve new services, new fees, or extension of existing services to new clientele for a fee.
Advertise and charge for student services that students use and for which they will pay
Begin building alumni data base for student mentoring programs
Build on-campus housing for faculty
Build on-campus housing for senior citizens
Charge for career counseling services
Charge student services fee to all students
Charge for all requests (after the first request) for evaluation of graduation eligibility
Open the student health center to the public and accept Medicaid
Provide and charge for medical tests at student health services
Open child care center for the college community and the public and charge fees to cover costs
Open selected student services to the public for a fee that covers costs
Open up staff development conferences to outsiders for a fee
Use college’s educational television channel as teleconferencing vehicle and charge for services
“Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!” - Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
KH Consulting Group (KH) started this Know-How site in 2009 to create a forum for sharing ideas on effectively enhancing revenues and containing costs in higher education in the near and longer term.
KH has posted more than 500 ideas. You can join the forum at:
http://knowhow-education.blogspot.com/
Note: The ideas shared are not prescriptive and will not work in all situations or at all institutions. Some of the ideas are tactical – quick victories to save money in easy ways. Others are strategic, requiring careful analysis before implementing.
Advertise and charge for student services that students use and for which they will pay
Begin building alumni data base for student mentoring programs
Build on-campus housing for faculty
Build on-campus housing for senior citizens
Charge for career counseling services
Charge student services fee to all students
Charge for all requests (after the first request) for evaluation of graduation eligibility
Open the student health center to the public and accept Medicaid
Provide and charge for medical tests at student health services
Open child care center for the college community and the public and charge fees to cover costs
Open selected student services to the public for a fee that covers costs
Open up staff development conferences to outsiders for a fee
Use college’s educational television channel as teleconferencing vehicle and charge for services
“Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!” - Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
KH Consulting Group (KH) started this Know-How site in 2009 to create a forum for sharing ideas on effectively enhancing revenues and containing costs in higher education in the near and longer term.
KH has posted more than 500 ideas. You can join the forum at:
http://knowhow-education.blogspot.com/
Note: The ideas shared are not prescriptive and will not work in all situations or at all institutions. Some of the ideas are tactical – quick victories to save money in easy ways. Others are strategic, requiring careful analysis before implementing.
Environmental Savings
Environmental savings are important cost savings and good for the earth. Taking advantage of “green” initiatives also demonstrates that a college or university is a good “corporate” citizen and socially responsible. Environmental initiatives are also a great way to engage the student body in promoting and identifying ways to reduce energy uses.
Reduce hard copies of memos and notices by one-half
Limit photocopying to black-and-white and double-sided
Use electronic mail and encourage discretion in printing out mail
Reduce paper waste
Recycle paper
Eliminate cover sheets wherever possible
Install computerized thermostats and light control panels
Limit publication of academic senate and staff development notices to once a month
Evaluate all printing requirements and eliminate overprinting
Use both sides of paper
Use only white paper because colored paper costs more and cannot be recycled as easily
Provide locations for aluminum, paper, and glass recycling, and resell collected items
Reuse paper in laser printers where possible
Install aerators on faucets
Install low water usage toilets
Install solar panels over parking lots
Use solar energy, and promote demonstration and prototype facilities which may be eligible for outside funding
Consolidate classes in buildings to conserve on heating costs
Have weekend classes limited to a few buildings to reduce operating costs
Hire energy consultant to achieve energy savings that exceed consultant costs in first year
Install energy-efficient light bulbs
Shut down facilities during breaks
Turn off lights, heater, and air conditioners when nobody is in the room
Turn off hear and air conditioning from Friday noon through Monday morning
Have residential halls form environmental committees to promote energy savings ideas (e.g., turn the water tap off when brushing teeth, turn off lights when leaving a room, shorten shower times, avoid plastic water bottles that are only used once, activate computers’ “snooze control,” or use cold water for washing clothes)
Close curtains or window treatments to block out the sun’s heat on hot days – typically the south side of a building
Open curtains or window treatments to allow the sun’s heat to warm the interior during cold days – typically the south side of a building
Open windows at night if the outdoor temperature is cool – allow for cross-ventilation of rooms – and then close the windows in the morning to seal in the cool air for the day
Commit to a cooling schedule, frequently available at utility companies that offer money back for allowing them to turn your air condition on/off during peak-use periods (typically the heat of the day)
Turn up the thermostat for comfort and energy savings – air conditioning at 78 degrees; educate users to resist the urge to drop the temperature for a quick cool, which taxes the unit
Schedule heating-producing periods for using dishwashers, ovens, and dryers in the early mornings or evenings rather than afternoons
Use grills and microwaves on excessively hot days
Clear areas of waste around central air-conditioners or heat pumps
Pay bills on line (which saves trees and staff time and reduces postage)
Wash linens and towels in cold water
Turn down the thermostat when the weather gets chilly; minimize individual carbon footprint by wearing sweat shirts or sweaters instead of cranking up the heat
Activate all computers’ “snooze controls” on campus
These ideas were brought to you by iNPOINT Advisors who recently co-authored the book, Cut it Out! Save for Today, Build for Tomorrow, published by the IFMA Foundation
I was born upon thy bank, river,
My blood flows in they stream,
And though meanderest forever
At the bottom of my dream.
-Henry David Thoreau, I Was Born upon They Bank, River
KH Consulting Group (KH) started this Know-How site in 2009 to create a forum for sharing ideas on effectively enhancing revenues and containing costs in higher education in the near and longer term.
KH has posted more than 500 ideas. You can join the forum at:
http://knowhow-education.blogspot.com/
Note: The ideas shared are not prescriptive and will not work in all situations or at all institutions. Some of the ideas are tactical – quick victories to save money in easy ways. Others are strategic, requiring careful analysis before implementing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
