UW Stout Assessment

University of Wisconsin – Stout Efficiency Study April 11, 2013

© 2013 Huron Consulting Group. All Rights Reserved. Proprietary & Confidential. 2

Table of Contents

I. Objectives 3

II. Approach 4

III. Timeline and Key Deliverables 6

IV. Menu of Recommendations 8

V. Focus Area Assessments

a. Campus Space Utilization 10

b. Information Technology 25

c. Academic Administrative Structure 38

d. E-textbooks & Textbook Rental 46

VI. Appendix

a. Information Technology 55

b. E-textbooks & Textbook Rental 60

c. Interview List 61

Page

Project Objectives

3

The project was undertaken to assist the University in its efforts to identify opportunities to reduce costs, improve services and process efficiencies, and promote better usage of performance metrics to drive decision-making.

Functional Areas Reviewed

Campus Space Utilization

Information Technology

Academic Administrative Structure

E-textbooks and Textbook Rental

© 2013 Huron Consulting Group. All Rights Reserved. Proprietary & Confidential.

Project Approach Throughout the engagement, we employed a consistent, five-step approach to identify and review individual efficiency opportunities.


• Confirm project scope and objectives

• Develop detailed project work plan

• Define roles and responsibilities

• Conduct kickoff and planning meetings

• Provide UW –Stout with a formal data request

• Utilize available data on University’s website

• Verify findings with administrators

• Use existing knowledge of the UW System gained from engagements at Madison, Stevens Point and Platteville

• Gather benchmarking information from peer institutions

• Collect industry sources, and best practices, for each of the scope areas

• Identify significant gaps between UW –Stout’s operations and best practices

• Develop quantitative assessments of the opportunities identified

• Assess implications to service levels and attendant risk exposure

• Provide analysis and high-level recommendations

• Present recommendations identified and discuss with Steering Committee and other key University constituencies

Confirm Scope and Objective

Information Collection

Assessment and Analysis

Business Case Development

Present Findings & Gain

Consensus

4

Information Collection

• Reviewed financial, staffing, and operational data

• Conducted over 100 stakeholder interviews

• Conducted focus groups and open discussion forums

• Performed benchmarking analysis

• Reviewed best practices and trends in higher education and their application to UW- Stout

• Reviewed high-level current state findings with Steering Committee at project mid-point

5

Engagement activities focused on data collection and interviews, resulting in a fact-based profile of the current state:


6

Project Timeline Week Beginning

2/11 2/18 2/25 3/4 3/11 3/18 3/25 4/1 4/8

1. Confirm Scope

2. Information Collection

3. Assessment / Analysis

4. Business Case Development

5. Presentation / Consensus

Confirm Scope Information Collection Assessment / Analysis Business Case Dev. Presentation / Consensus

• Kickoff presentation • Detailed work plan • Communications plan • Project meeting schedule • Initial interview schedule • Status reporting process

• Interview & data collection • analysis

• Assessment themes • Observations / gaps

• Develop business cases for the four focus areas • Assess risk and

recommendation implications

• Present on findings & gain consensus

Midpoint Presentation

Final Presentation • Business Case • Menu of

Recommendations • Cost-Benefits Analysis

1 2

Activ

ities

De

liver

ables


1

2

Timeline & Key Deliverables

Summary List Key

7 © 2013 Huron Consulting Group. All Rights Reserved. Proprietary & Confidential.

Huron has developed 13 recommendations across the four focus areas: campus space utilization, information technology, academic administrative structure, and e-textbooks. The key below provides guidance on our evaluation of each recommendation.

# Recommendation One Time Capital Savings

Potential Budget Impact

Organizational Efficiencies Gained

Service Enhancements Risk to University Difficulty of

Implementation

Tracking number

Short description of the recommendation

Initial amount saved by following

recommendation

Aggregate future budget impact of recommendation

Impact of recommendation improvements on

organizational structure or processes

Impact the recommendation will have on the

University’s ability to provide

enhanced services to the university

community

Likely effect of negative

ramifications due to following

recommendation

Difficult in following

recommendation at the University

Level of Impact Description of Impact

% Change from Original

0 None No effect 0%

1 Minor Lesser effect 20%

2 Moderate Limited in scope or effect 40%

3 Material Consequential 60%

4 Substantial Substantial 80%

Menu of Recommendations


Information Technology One Time

Capital Savings


Organizational Efficiencies

Gained

Service Enhancement

Risk to University

Implementation Difficulty

4 Implement Formal IT Governance Structure N/A Enabler 3 3 0 2

5 Reorganize Learning and Information Technology (LIT) N/A Enabler 3 3 1 2

6 Consolidate Help Desks N/A $360K 3 3 1 2

Campus Space Utilization One Time

Capital Savings



Gained

Service Enhancement

Risk to University


1 Institute Comprehensive Space Management Policy N/A Enabler 3 3 1 2

2 Centralize Scheduling of University Space N/A Enabler 3 3 1 2

3 Actively Manage Space to Meet UW-System Standards Up to $56.7M $1.19M 4 3 2 2

The following recommendations are covered in greater detail in the respective sections of this report.

0 None 1 Minor 2 Moderate 3 Material 4 Substantial

Menu of Recommendations


E-Textbooks and Textbook Rental One Time

Capital Savings



Gained

Service Enhancement

Risk to University


N/A Move to E-textbooks; Manage and Operate the Program in-house N/A ($3.6M) 0 0 3 4

N/A Move to E-textbooks, Manage the Program in-house and Outsource Operations N/A ($2.5M) 2 2 2 3

13 Fully Outsource E-textbook Management and Operations to a Third Party Vendor N/A $195K 4 3 1 1

Academic Administrative Structure One Time

Capital Savings



Gained

Service Enhancement

Risk to University


7 Consolidate Enrollment/Recruitment Functions N/A TBD 4 3 2 2

8 Eliminate Advisement Center N/A $655K 4 0 2 2

9 Consolidate Program Directors N/A $600K 4 3 2 2

10 Eliminate the School Director Position N/A $280K 3 2 1 1

11 Realign Research Administration N/A Enabler 3 2 1 1

12 Develop a Comprehensive Strategic Academic Plan N/A N/A 4 3 0 1

0 None 1 Minor 2 Moderate 3 Material 4 Substantial

The following recommendations are covered in greater detail in the respective sections of this report.

Campus Space Utilization


Current State Strategy and Operational Alignment: • Opportunities exist to formalize and enforce space-use guidelines and

more efficiently plan for current and future space needs • Control of space has been pushed down to the local units causing

uneven utilization levels and varied levels of enforcement Policy: • Inconsistent enforcement of policies contribute to inability to maximize

space utilization Process: • There is no formal process to vet and prioritize space requests

Summary of Options

Opportunities • Create an institutional policy with effective enforcement that

incentivizes the best use of campus space • Optimize EMS to improve utilization of academic spaces • Develop baseline metrics to analyze and monitor the productivity of

space in order to maximize utilization of current space. Low utilization spaces can be fashioned into multi-functional spaces to ensure maximum utilization and eliminate the need for additional space

0 None/NA 1 Minor 2 Moderate

3 Material 4 Substantial

One Time Capital Savings



Gained

Service Enhancement

Risk to University

Difficulty of Implementation

1 Implement Comprehensive Space Management Policy N/A Enabler 3 3 1 2

2 Centralize Scheduling N/A Enabler 3 3 1 2

3 Actively Manage Space to Meet UW-System Standards Up to $56.7M $1.19M 4 3 2 2

UW-Stout has an opportunity to promote the efficient and strategic use of space to help meet the current and planned needs of the campus community and limit additional future investment.

Opportunity Summary

Benchmarking


GSF Comparisons

GSF/Student FTE GSF/Faculty and Staff FTE

335 323

263 251 245

050

100150200250300350

Stout Stevens Point Whitewater La Crosse Eau Claire

2,628 2,595 2,556 2,323 2,237

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

Whitewater Stout StevensPoint

La Crosse Eau Claire

Peer Average: 2,396 Peer Average: 271

Observations

• UW-Stout has the highest GSF per Student among its peer set

• UW-Stout exceeds the peer group average with the second highest GSF per FTE among its peer set

Benchmarking indicates that UW-Stout appears to have an opportunity to utilize space more efficiently.

Huron normalized Gross Square Feet (GSF) to student enrollment FTE and faculty and staff FTE to provide a benchmarking comparison.

Sources: UW-System 2011 – 17 Agency Physical Development Plan; UW-System Financial Statement; IPEDS 2011 Staff Data


Huron’s assessment and analysis has identified opportunities for enhanced space utilization limiting the need for additional campus space.

2013 – 2015 Campus Physical Development Plan Space Needs Summary2

• UW-Stout completed a Campus Space Audit, Inventory and Utilization Study to address facility use of all building relating to efficiency, availability, appropriateness, condition and flexibility of space

• UW-Stout identified the need for additional space as follows:

1 UW-Stout 2013-2015 Campus Physical Development Plan 9/6/2012 2 ASF: Net Assignable Square Footage

Facility ASF3 Use Heritage Hall (CFSC/SOE) 10,900 Laboratory and Office Sports and Fitness Center 100,040 Special Use and Office Masters of Fine Arts and Design 9,580 Laboratory and Office Military Science/ROTC 3,280 Laboratory and Office Discovery Center 15,050 Laboratory and Office International Education/ESLI 1,500 Office Veterans Center 600 Office McNair Program 600 Office University Total 141,550

UW-Stout completed a Campus Space Audit Inventory and Utilization Study to assess space needs for the 2013-2015 Campus Physical Development Plan.

UW Campus Sport and Fitness Center Benchmark Analysis

• Benchmark data from UW System campus peers was gathered to compare Sport and Fitness Center ASF.

• Huron’s analysis shows that UW Stout has a larger Sports and Fitness Center than like peers and does not need to add an additional 100,040 ASF of Sport and Fitness special use and office space.

Physical Development Plan Analysis

Campus Facility ASF

La Crosse Eagle Center 103,776

Eau Claire McPhee Physical Education Center and Ade Olson Addition 135,202

Whitewater David L. Kachel Fieldhouse 100,000 Green Bay Kress Events Center 175,000 River Falls Karges Physical Education Center 67,150 Average 116,226 Stout Sports and Fitness Center 136,635

Space Utilization Analysis (PAGE 1 OF 3)


As part of its assessment, Huron conducted a high-level space utilization analysis using data provided by the University to compare current utilization rates with the results of the 2007 campus space audit.

Approach

• Huron developed a “heat map” to illustrate utilization rates for laboratory and general assignment (GA) classrooms between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., Monday through Friday

• Huron compared UW-Stout’s utilization rates to the UW-System utilization standards: • UW System General Assignment Classroom utilization standard: 78% • UW System Laboratory utilization standard: 54% • UW System utilization standards apply to “peak time:” 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

• Utilization is measured using a gradient scale:

Illustrates the space is utilized at a rate that is greater than or equal to the UW System standard

Illustrates that space is underutilized compared to the UW System standard

Illustrates that space is significantly underutilized compared to the UW System standard

• The assessment is based on spring 2013 data provided by the Registrar • Seat utilization was compared based on GA classroom data



UW-Stout General Assignment Classroom Utilization

UW-Stout Laboratory Utilization

Observations

• Classrooms are underutilized during peak scheduling hours (between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.) • UW-Stout’s classroom utilization is 61.85% during Peak Hours compared with the UW System standard of 78% • UW-Stout’s lab utilization of 31.45% during Peak Hours is well below the UW System standard of 54%; some of this variation may be attributable

to the specialized nature of many UW-Stout labs

` 8am 9am 10am 11am 12pm 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm Average (Peak)

Total Average

Monday 15.80% 19.80% 25.50% 28.20% 16.60% 18.90% 23.90% 30.40% 25.50% 13.60% 5.50% 4.40% 3.20% 23.60% 17.79% Tuesday 25.10% 28.60% 32.90% 30.60% 23.80% 24.50% 25.20% 27.90% 20.70% 10.00% 4.30% 4.20% 2.60% 26.78% 20.03% Wednesday 45.70% 78.40% 77.10% 70.50% 63.30% 61.50% 56.40% 60.70% 47.80% 31.80% 12.80% 7.70% 2.90% 64.46% 47.43% Thursday 24.00% 28.20% 34.70% 33.70% 26.40% 24.50% 23.30% 26.10% 20.10% 9.30% 3.60% 2.60% 1.40% 27.13% 19.84% Friday 10.30% 17.10% 25.70% 24.50% 11.60% 10.40% 12.30% 12.50% 8.00% 2.30% 0.00% 1.10% 1.10% 15.26% 10.53% Average 24.18% 34.42% 39.18% 37.50% 28.34% 27.96% 28.22% 31.52% 24.42% 13.40% 5.24% 4.00% 2.24% 31.45% 23.12%

Days 8am 9am 10am 11am 12pm 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm Average (Peak)

Total Average

Monday 45.70% 76.30% 76.30% 67.80% 59.80% 61.80% 60.70% 66.20% 50.00% 30.20% 11.20% 8.70% 2.70% 64.86% 47.49% Tuesday 40.80% 65.80% 90.20% 75.60% 65.20% 82.50% 68.90% 71.20% 41.40% 28.50% 24.10% 14.70% 6.40% 70.10% 51.95% Wednesday 45.70% 78.40% 77.10% 70.50% 63.30% 61.50% 56.40% 60.70% 47.80% 31.80% 12.80% 7.70% 2.90% 64.46% 47.43% Thursday 38.70% 63.60% 84.70% 72.40% 66.70% 81.30% 64.60% 65.20% 41.20% 31.90% 20.00% 7.90% 1.10% 67.46% 49.18% Friday 33.60% 59.70% 61.20% 50.50% 47.20% 45.70% 31.60% 23.50% 19.50% 23.90% 21.60% 21.60% 18.80% 42.36% 35.26% Average 40.90% 68.76% 77.90% 67.36% 60.44% 66.56% 56.44% 57.36% 39.98% 29.26% 17.94% 12.12% 6.38% 61.85% 46.26%



Seat Utilization Number of Classrooms 20% - 30% 3 30% - 40% 1 40% - 50% 13 50% - 60% 14 60% - 70% 18 70% - 75% 5 75% - 80% 6 80% - 90% 17

90% - 100% 4 100% 6

UW-Stout GA Classroom Seat Utilization UW-Stout Seat Utilization by Building

Observations

• UW-Stout average seat utilization is 61.69% • 55 of 88 GA Classrooms have an average seat utilization below 75% benchmark • Opportunities exist to better utilize existing space by:

• Optimizing match of section sizes to classroom capacity • Centralizing classroom scheduling through the Registrar • Establishing seat utilization targets and monitoring actual performance

Building (Room) Seat Utilization1 Applied Arts 28.25% Jarvis Hall Science Addition 46.15% Bowman Hall 47.62% Robert S. Swanson Learning Center 47.69% Micheels Hall 48.96% Jarvis Hall Science Wing 51.46% Heritage Hall 59.76% Vocational Rehabilitation 62.18% Communications Technologies 70.89% Harvey Hall 73.82% Sports & Fitness Center 78.00% Fryklund Hall 78.95% Jarvis Hall Technology Wing 95.24%

Average 61.69%

1 Utilization rates may be inflated due to spaces being scheduled to block off space

Policy and Process Analysis (PAGE 1 OF 2)


Six approvals required

Requests aren’t always vetted by the

Department or College before they enter the process

Requester often bypasses meeting and seeks direct approval from the Chancellor

Space management at UW-Stout does not appear to be guided by an institutional space management strategy resulting in local governance, compartmentalization and reactionary decision making.

Opportunities exist for UW-Stout to improve space utilization by taking a more strategic view of instructional space, standardizing processes, relying on consistent criteria to guide project reviews, and improving overall campus coordination.

Current Space Request Process

Policy and Process Analysis (PAGE 2 OF 2)


38

5 6 9 8

48

12 2 1

47

64

5 2 4

48

11

44 34

8 3 1 0

10203040506070

M MF MTWF MTWR MTWRF MW MWF MWR MWRF T TR TRF TWR TWRF W WF R F S SSU SU

Academic scheduling at UW-Stout is decentralized with limited consistency, authority or guidelines around standardization leading to less than optimal utilization of classroom space.

Impact of the Decentralized Scheduling Flow

Lack of central management has led to the University offering 21 class combinations and over 400 course periods

Event Management System (EMS)

Class Combinations

Tota

l Cou

rse P

erio

ds

Registrar Department Chairs

Current Space Scheduling Flow

Recommendation #1 IMPLEMENT COMPREHENSIVE SPACE MANAGEMENT POLICY (PAGE 1 OF 3)

19

General Assignment Scheduling

Departmental Needs

New Construction

Room / Building Renovation


Policy Setting and Enforcement

UW-Stout does not have a comprehensive set of policies and standards to guide institutional space utilization and management, making it difficult to encourage or enforce positive utilization and planning practices.

Institutional space is a valuable asset that enables UW-Stout’s core mission; policy development and enforcement can be an effective tool to improve the lifecycle of institutional space management.

Though policies should be tailored to the unique issues and requirements of each institution, Huron recommends UW-Stout consider certain items when developing institutional space policies.

Policy Implementation Considerations

• Establish an annual review process to assess administrative space requirements due to changes in departmental needs • Establish standards for administrative space allocation for office and conference space • Establish institutional goals to increase classroom utilization • Review and improve scheduling practices to better manage classroom space to reduce peak usage times, relieve stress on support

infrastructure, and address student needs • Disseminate more detailed information on classroom usage patterns and solicit suggestions for increasing utilization from faculty and staff • Survey students, staff, and faculty to identify preferences and limitations



Effective policies provide structure while also accommodating flexibility; all policies should undergo periodic assessment by a campus committee charged with managing space.

Items To be Considered When Developing Institutional Space Policies

• Alignment with campus master and strategic plans • Administrative space standards • Scheduling goals

• Seat utilization goals • Consistent start times and scheduling patterns • Target goal reports

20


As part of the policy development process, UW-Stout must clearly define the roles and responsibilities of the various parties involved in space management.


Department Role Responsibility

Executive Leadership (Chancellor, Provost, VC,

Admin. & SLS)

Create institutional space management policy

• Champion the creation of an institutional policy to ensure efficient use of space

• Provide oversight to the exception process

Registrar Manage assignment of instructional course space for campus community

• Ensure policy standards are adhered to regarding faculty assignment of classroom space

• Management of the faculty/course assignment process • Maintain accurate data on classroom assignments in EMS

Campus Event Services Provide centralized management of non-instructional space for campus community and external users

• Maintain accurate data on non-instructional space in EMS • Coordinate with campus community to allocated space based on

need, both internal and external • Perform marketing of space for external use and increase market

share of event management space in the local area

Facilities Manage space data and communicate capital planning initiatives that impact space availability

• Maintain accurate data on refurbishment schedule and updated square footage in Space Management system

21

Recommendation #2


Event Management System

Recommended Scheduling Flow

• With the implementation of the new Guidelines for Scheduling of Courses1 the Registrar and Faculty Senate have taken steps in developing scheduling guidelines, but UW-Stout needs to continue to decrease the number of course periods and class schedules available

• As recommended in the 2007 Space Utilization Study2: “Schedule all classrooms through the Registrar’s office to provide more accurate classroom utilization information.” and elevate authority of the Registrar to optimize scheduling

1UW-Stout Academic Scheduling Policy, “Guidelines for Scheduling of Courses”, 12/11/2012 2 UW-Stout Campus Space Audit, Inventory and Utilization Study, 2007

Department Chairs

Registrar

Centralizing the scheduling function through the Registrar will eliminate multiple entry points into EMS and enforce the space management policy, which will reduce schedule variance that lowers utilization.

CENTRALIZE SCHEDULING

Recommendation #3


Metric Current Benchmark/Goal Definition Calculation

GA Utilization 62% 78%1 Percentage of GA classrooms in use

Number of GA in Use / Number of GA Available

Lab Utilization 31% 54%1 Percentage of labs in use Number of Labs in Use / Number of Labs Available

Room Capacity Usage 37% 75%2 Percentage of room capacity that is being used

Course Section Meeting Enrollment / Classroom Student

Seating Capacity

Seat Utilization 61% 75%2 Percentage of seats occupied when a room is in use

Number of Seats in Use / Number of Seats Available

Non-Prime Hour GA Classroom Utilization

Rate 29% 20%2

Percentage of total seats in use outside of prime hours (prime typically 10am - 2pm)

For time outside prime hours: Room Utilization x Seat

Utilization

Non-Prime Hour Lab Utilization Rate 15% 20%2

Percentage of total seats in use outside of prime hours (prime typically 10am - 2pm)

For time outside prime hours: Room Utilization x Seat

Utilization 1 UW System Standard 2 Industry Best Practice

Maintaining metrics on space utilization would give UW-Stout the ability to make informed decisions regarding the addition and/or repurposing of space on campus.

Huron recommends that UW-Stout set goals for classroom utilization; the following general metrics may be used to analyze and monitor productivity of space against the UW System and industry standards.

ACTIVELY MANAGE SPACE TO MEET UW SYSTEM STANDARDS

23

Opportunity Determination Based on UW-Stout’s Proposed Campus Physical Development Plan1


1 UW-Stout 2013-2015 Campus Physical Development Plan 9/6/2012 2 UW-Stout 2011-2013 Construction Costs Guidelines 3 Growth Agenda Accountability report, 2011-12

Facility ASF Space Type How Need is Met Cost Heritage Hall (CFSC/SOE) 10,900 Laboratory and Office Improved Utilization $ 6,565,433 Sports and Fitness Center 100,040 Special Use and Office Existing Space 32,513,000 Masters of Fine Arts and Design 9,580 Laboratory and Office Improved Utilization 5,770,353 Military Science/ROTC 3,280 Laboratory and Office Improved Utilization 1,975,653 Discovery Center 15,050 Laboratory and Office Improved Utilization 9,065,117 International Education/ESLI 1,500 Office Improved Utilization 435,000 Veterans Center 600 Office Improved Utilization 174,000 McNair Program 600 Office Improved Utilization 174,000 University Total 141,550 $ 56,672,557

By improving utilization of existing campus space, UW-Stout can meet the needs identified in the 2013 – 2015 Campus Physical Development Plan and avoid up to $56.7 million in new capital spending.

Benefits of Improving Space Utilization

• Total cost for each of the identified needs were calculated using construction rates published by UW-Stout2: laboratory space ($278/GSF), office space ($145/GSF), and special use space ($175/GSF)

• GSF estimated using the following efficiency ratios: laboratory space (0.6), office space (0.65), special use space (0.7) • Total costs include 30% design and engineering costs • There is an additional budget impact of approximately $1.19M per year in annual maintenance costs for the spaces listed above. This assumes

average operating costs of $4.94/GSF based on UW-Stout published capital maintenance costs3

24

Information Technology

Opportunity Summary


Current State Governance and Strategy: • No integrated governance structure that aligns IT resources with

University strategic goals • No formalized project management function beyond the intake and

project setup processes • Absence of governance and strategy diminishes the capability to

meet user needs and take advantage of innovative technologies Organizational Alignment & Services: • Organization not optimally aligned to best meet the needs of campus

users • Some decentralized units provide redundant help desk and networking

support services

Summary of Options

Opportunities • Establish effective IT governance structure to better align IT initiatives

with University-wide strategy • Integrate governance processes to better incorporate stakeholder

concerns and increase transparency around strategic IT goals and priorities

• Realign IT structure to rationalize service delivery eliminating duplication of tasks performed across IT units and to incentivize cross-training

• Create a formal IT security position that directly reports to the CIO to increase awareness of IT security issues with the University leadership






Gained

Service Enhancement

Risk to University

Difficulty of Implementation

4 Implement Formal Governance Structure N/A “Enabler” 3 3 0 2

5 Re-organize LIT N/A “Enabler” 3 3 1 2

6 Consolidate Help Desks N/A $360K 3 3 1 2

Information Technology provides reliable core services; however, significant enhancements to governance, strategy, and organizational alignment are required for IT to become a strategic enabler for UW-Stout. .


Central IT Budget, Expenses, and Revenue Central IT Expenses by Category

4.75 4.55

5.35 5.10

0.60 0.55

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

FY12 FY13

$ Milli

ons Budget

ExpensesRevenues

Core Services Organization/ Service Delivery Model Funding

• Core services provided by Learning & Information Technology (LIT) include Infrastructure and operations; instructional technology; information management; helpdesk support; information security; technology planning and life cycle management; campus information technology standards

• LIT also acts as the primary coordinator and support unit for the undergraduate laptop program

• Three operating units comprise LIT: Enterprise Information Systems (EIS), Learning Technology Services (LTS), and Telecommunications and Networking (T&N)

• EIS supports the student information system, web application and server applications

• LTS provides training and expertise to faculty and staff to incorporate instructional technology into their teaching practice

• T&N provides held desk and network infrastructure support

• UW-Stout receives continuing base and one-time funding to support both centralized and decentralized LIT expenses

• Base funding is provided on cost distribution to major activities. (Student Services, Institutional Support, Instruction, Research, Public Service, Academic Support and Physical Plant)

• One-time funding is provided through project proposal vetting processes including Special Project, Student Technology Fee, Access to Learning, eStout and Classroom Modernization

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

FY12 FY13

$ Milli

ons Capital

SuppliesSalaries

Learning & Information Technology Profile

Central IT Staffing and Budget at UW-Stout


Central IT Staff as a Percentage of Total IT Staff Central IT Budget as % of Total Budget

Benchmarking analysis using the EDUCAUSE core data survey dataset suggests that LIT is more decentralized than UW-Stout’s peers.

71

80

50%

55%

60%

65%

70%

75%

80%

UW-Stout Peer Average

3.52

4.26

0.00%

1.00%

2.00%

3.00%

4.00%

5.00%

6.00%

UW-Stout Peer Average

Challenges with Decentralized IT Services at UW-Stout

• Consistency in services levels is difficult to maintain as decentralized staff report to the local level Deans or administrators rather than LIT • Coordination challenges between LIT and distributed support units can lead to inconsistent role expectations, skill levels, and training • Absence of a single, integrated help desk system inhibits LIT’s ability to leverage data for issue resolution and continuous improvement • Core processes are not performed consistently across campus (i.e., PC refresh, data backup, etc.) which leads to inefficient IT operations,

business continuity issues, and significant risk exposure in the absence of a strong central governance model

Strong central governance and a restructured organization can support opportunities for cost savings / resource re-allocation; productivity improvements; and improve the consistency, timeliness, and quality of IT service delivery for all campus stakeholders.

Strategy and Governance THE IMPORTANCE AND FOCUS OF EFFECTIVE IT GOVERNANCE

29

What is Governance? Governance in the case of IT is… Focused on Institute-wide IT, not

just Central IT Clarity related to input, analysis,

priority-setting, and accountability Designed to engage stakeholders

and increase transparency Governance in the case of IT is not… IT strategy, but the processes and

organization to enable strategic decisions and successful execution

Bureaucratic structure to slow the evaluation and execution of initiatives

IT governance structures and processes need to be clearly defined. Clear objectives, processes, and committee structures must be established to ensure the governance structure meets UW-Stout’s needs.

Data & Reporting Analysis

Ongoing Training

Unit Specific Technology Needs

Business Applications

Academic Applications

Reporting Design & Support

Network Management

Server Administration

Network & Data Security

Database Management Emerging Technologies

Common University Needs

Governance

IT-specific Needs Unit-specific Needs

Data Centers / Facilities

Project Support

A disciplined governance structure aligns investment decisions with university-wide priorities. Leadership aligned at the appropriate levels of the organization can focus IT priorities to align with long-term strategies and goals.


Governance & Strategy – Current State


UW-Stout’s current governance model focuses on the intake process with no formal decision making criteria to ensure projects align with UW-Stout’s strategic goals and objectives

Current State Governance Map Current State Gaps Findings

No integrated governance structure • Current structure does not ensure

alignment of IT resources with campus strategy and planning

Current structure focused on submissions with no guidelines or clarity around prioritization or decision making

• Multiple opportunities for campus community to submit requests, but no prioritization criteria guidance

• Business units provide requests to the CIO who determines priorities in counsel with IT Committees

• IT Committees serve in an advisory role with no decision making authority

Once projects are approved and set up, no discernible governance structure or project management

• The current process is focused on the front end, with no ongoing oversight or project management once projects have been approved for implementation

• No ability to track ongoing progress, make adjustments, or review resource consumption to ensure alignment with UW-Stout strategic goals

A disciplined governance structure aligns investment decisions with University-wide priorities, which can provide UW-Stout with a formal mechanism to ensure projects are aligned with university IT strategy.

CIO

Other Units

Priority Lists

CITAC

Priority Lists Priority Lists

Priority List

EITAC

Tech Fee

Provost Vice Chancellor

Approved IT Projects

Chancellor

????

Intake & Prioritization

Approval & Project Management

Other Requests

Recommendation #4


UW-Stout should develop a governance structure that ensures alignment of initiatives to University goals and actively monitors progress throughout the project lifecycle.

• The framework provides a sequential view of project requests through the entire life cycle from project initiation to transitioning into production • The suggested framework provides a mechanism to allocate resources to the projects that have the greatest benefit to UW-Stout as a whole • This process allows the leadership and business process owners to determine the allocation of resources across a managed portfolio • Ongoing project and program management throughout the lifecycle ensures

Transition Management

Governance Process Framework

Demand Management Portfolio Management Transition Management

• Review institutional inputs, requirements and business cases for viable academic, administrative and technology initiatives that support UW-Stout strategy

• Requires a structured framework for new project capture, review, prioritization and decision making

• Performed centrally by a PMO function that continually reviews the mix of projects and monitors which projects are on track, which need intervention and which need to be discontinued due to a change in business objectives or other project specific variables

• Provides consistent information and transparency while improving risk

• Requires close coordination between LIT, administration and finance units, and the Department where the implementation was completed in order to successfully transition to LIT’s service delivery framework and ensure ongoing success and supportability of the system or application

IMPLEMENT FORMAL GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE (PAGE1 OF 2)

Portfolio Management Demand Management

Project and Program Management

A centrally managed Project Management Office (PMO) that provides oversight, process standardization, and continual assessment and review of project performance metrics is essential to implementing an effective governance framework.

Recommendation #4 IMPLEMENT FORMAL GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE (PAGE 2 OF 2)


Description

Executive IT Steering Committee • Executive planning and decision making group • Takes recommendations from the committees and has ultimate

approval over IT priorities, new projects and policy decisions • Approves and prioritizes technology initiatives based on institutional

strategy and recommendations of the CIO

Administrative Systems Committee • Business-led governance body, users prioritize needs • CIO and key IT staff serve as technical advisors • Prioritize and make requests regarding administrative systems that

primarily affect staff and administrators

Academic Systems Committee • Consists of academic representatives • Prioritize and make requests regarding teaching and basic research

systems that primarily affect faculty and students in the classroom environment

Infrastructure Committee • Consists of CIO and key IT staff • Prioritizes and recommends infrastructure improvements

UW-Stout can benefit from the strategic use of stakeholder-driven committees to address priority-setting within IT and ensure alignment with University-wide strategic initiatives.

Executive IT Steering

Committee

Administrative Systems

Committee

Academic Systems

Committee

Approved IT Projects

Infrastructure Committee

Request Request

Request

Request Request

Request

Approved Request

Approved Request

Approved Request

Request Request

Request

Staff Faculty & Students

All Users

*Some parts of the proposed governance model exist now but may not have the authority, structure, and/or personnel to perform effectively.

PMO

Supp

ort

Organizational Model CURRENT ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

.


LIT and several of the Decentralized Units provide redundant services, and resources within LIT are misaligned, resulting in inconsistent and inefficient service delivery to campus technology users.

Key Challenges of the current state: • The decentralized units provide redundant services in network management and technical support with multiple help desks • There is an inconsistent approach to the alignment of resources and functions across the LIT organization • There is no single customer service support function in LIT, resulting in multiple entry points, inefficient service, and confusion among customers • Clear overlap and redundancy among the decentralized units, providing an opportunity to rationalize the service delivery model under LIT • Learning Technology Services provides redundant photo/video services and academic support functions that better align with the Provost Division

LIT Organization Decentralized IT Support Units

Recommendation #5 REORGANIZE LEARNING & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY(LIT)

.


Reorganizing LIT to appropriately align functions and resources will enhance effectiveness of the organization, improve efficiency, and ensure that IT at UW-Stout meets the needs of all customers and stakeholders.

Key Design Principles

• Consolidates redundant, decentralized functions into LIT to improve quality, establish process standards, and improve efficiency and customer service

• Strategically aligns resources to concentrate key expertise and skills within functional areas

• Creates dedicated Customer Support function to simplify and improve customer service

• Re-aligns learning and classroom technology support in LIT to ensure quality and efficiency of services

• Establishes a new project management function to ensure proper support for IT projects across campus

• Strategically realigns the Nakatani Teaching and Learning Center to report directly to the Provost Division

• Realigns Multimedia staff to University Communications

• Additional re-alignment of 18 decentralized IT resources into LIT may be necessary where redundancies exist; will require position-by-position analysis1

1 See appendix for list of decentralized IT positions

Externally realigned functions

Recommendation #6

35

Opportunity exists to consolidate help desks and reallocate resources to focus on more mission critical needs while simultaneously improving quality and consistency of service for end users.

Challenges with Current Support Model

• Multiple points of contact for users creates inconsistency and potential service gaps

• Local help desks likely provide many common services to the LIT Service Operations group, causing staffing inefficiencies and higher than needed personnel expense

• Local help desks may use different software and processes for tracking issues/tickets, causing higher than needed software license expense

• Documentation quality among local help desks might be insufficient or inconsistent, making knowledge transfer of specialized applications/systems difficult

CONSOLIDATE HELP DESKS (PAGE 1 OF 2)


Faculty Staff Students

LIT Help Desk Local Help Desk

MULTIPLE POINTS OF CONTACT

The current help desk support model provides multiple points of contact for UW-Stout faculty and staff. The LIT help desk serves the entire campus as a call center, but users may rely on locally managed service desks.

Recommendation #6

36

Consolidating help desk functions into LIT reduces and allows the right-sizing of help desk support on campus so that resources may be realigned to support other critical mission needs.

Future State Model Considerations

• According to benchmarks from Educause1, the current staffing levels of the LIT Help Desk may be adequate for the entire campus population. There may be an opportunity to repurpose IT Help Desk staff after consolidating the decentralized units

• With an ideal support staff model of approximately 1,460 end user FTE per Help Desk FTE, EDUCAUSE data suggests that the total number of help desk support at UW-Stout should be approximately 7 to 8.

• Consolidating the distributed Help Desks functions in SLS and Library into LIT brings total Help Desk employees on campus to 14; right-sizing the help Desk to 8 FTE results in potential budget impact of approximately $360K (assuming average LIT salary of $60K/FTE per FY13 LIT budget data)

• Additional analysis is necessary to determine the appropriate mix of Help Desk (Tier 1 and Tier 2) support and end user support

CONSOLIDATE HELP DESKS (PAGE 2 OF 2)


Faculty Staff Students

LIT Centrally Managed Help Desk

SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT

An ideal future state help desk model includes the concept of a “single point of contact” for all support issues and consolidates multiple help desks in LIT.

1 ECARS 2007 Study: “Service on the Front Line: The IT Help Desk in Higher Education”

Additional IT Opportunities


Through interviews and analyses, Huron identified additional opportunities to increase efficiency and effectiveness of the IT function at UW-Stout.

Opportunity Description

Increase Multifunction Device (MFD) usage across campus

Establish a strong printing policy that mandates the use of Multifunction Devices (MFD’s) to reduce printing maintenance and hardware costs. MFD’s can be deployed under a managed print service solution that combines MFDs with photocopiers, printers, and software solutions to provide a complete supplier managed service that covers all document production using a single “cost-per-page” pricing structure.

Outsource email Outsource campus email to an external vendor (e.g., Google, Microsoft) to improve accessibility and decrease IT maintenance and hardware expenses

Enterprise scheduling tools Implement enterprise calendaring and scheduling tools such as MS Outlook to increase scheduling efficiency among administrative support staff and reduce the amount of time required to schedule meetings, freeing administrative resources to focus on other activities

Technology refresh Reducing the total number of desktops in use across campus yields significant cost savings in hardware refresh expenses; computer lab consolidation, modernization, and desktop virtualization result in a significant reduction in the total number of machines supported across campus, lowering maintenance refresh costs. Reducing lab space allows repurposing of lab space for instruction or other purpose.

Server virtualization Reduce the total number of physical servers across campus to reduce maintenance and support cost while providing improved service and data security through standardized backup protocols

Desktop virtualization Provide virtual desktop services to campus users of IT – virtual desktop configurations allows remote access to software available in computer labs and enables a reduction in computer labs cross camps; achieves cost savings by utilizing campus-wide licensing agreements and reduces support costs for lab computers

Academic Administrative Structure

Opportunity Summary


There is an opportunity to reduce duplication between academic and administrative functions and better align resources to support students and the academic mission of UW-Stout.

Current State Strategy and Organization Alignment: • UW-Stout does not have a comprehensive academic master plan that

explicitly identifies the faculty, space, technology and other financial resources required to support academic program development

• Growth in academic programs has created significant and uneven stress on resources

• There are opportunities for increased communication and collaboration between units

Roles and Responsibilities: • Unclear delineation of responsibility between academic units and other

university departments has resulted in duplication of effort in recruiting, advising, scheduling, and Career Center services

Summary of Options

Opportunities • Consolidate recruitment and enrollment services within the Graduate

School, Stout Online, and International Student Services into a central enrollment function reporting to the Provost Division

• Eliminate the Advisement Center • Eliminate the School Director position • Realign Research Administration to report to the Provost Division • Consolidate Program Directors and make the position a full-time

professional focused on a narrower scope of responsibilities • Develop a comprehensive academic master plan






Gained

Service Enhancement

Risk to University


7 Consolidate Enrollment/Recruitment Functions N/A Undefined 4 3 2 2

8 Eliminate Advisement Center N/A $655K 4 0 2 2

9 Consolidate Program Directors N/A $600K 4 3 2 2

10 Eliminate the School Director position N/A $280K 3 2 1 1

11 Realign Research Administration N/A Enabler 3 2 1 1

12 Develop a Comprehensive Academic Master Plan N/A N/A 4 3 0 1

Project Scope


The greatest opportunities for eliminating redundancy and unmanaged growth will occur at the institutional level rather than at the department level.

Institutional Academic Services

Program Directors, Department Chairs School Directors, Graduate School,

Stout Online, Discovery Center

We believe that by focusing on redundancies occurring at the institutional level, guided by an academic master plan, an even greater potential exists for UW-Stout to reduce costs by eliminating redundant roles and responsibilities and growing academic programs in a more strategic manner.

Our approach was to focus on functional areas within

the Academic Administrative Structure.

Through our interviews and analysis, we

determined that UW-Stout is currently facing

unmanaged growth that needs to be addressed

through a comprehensive academic master plan.

A strategic academic plan will enable UW-Stout to grow its academic programs more effectively and position the University to more strategically align its academic support staff.

Decision Tree Analysis


Through interviews and analysis, Huron determined that much of the redundancy in responsibilities exists between Academic and Administrative Divisions rather than within Academic Departments.

Decision Tree Analysis

Huron performed a decision tree analysis to determine if the Program Director’s roles and responsibilities were redundant with other roles and responsibilities on campus, and if so, whether those positions rested at the department level, the university-level, or both.

Our analysis found that very few if any redundancies exist with other positions at the department level; the majority of redundancies exist with centralized units at the university level.

SWOT Analysis


• UW-Stout has a 97.9% placement rate 1 • Current system works; Program Directors and Department Chairs

have a good working relationship • The Program Director model is focused on providing services to the

customer; recruitment, retention, and job placement

• No comprehensive academic strategy addressing program growth • Clear overlap between academic units and administrative functions

on campus (i.e. recruitment, advisement, career services) • Program Directors receive a standard benefit of $1,500, .25 release

time and 10 days summer pay • Workload for Program Directors varies among programs based on

enrollment and accreditation needs

• Unplanned growth in the number of undergraduate programs (31 to 44) from 2008 to 2012 is not sustainable without a more strategic alignment of resources and a comprehensive academic strategy

• Collaboration amount outside business units (i.e. Marketing and Communications, Advisement, Enrollment Services, etc.) with 67 PDs is resource intensive, and continued growth will only further burden current resources

• Align resources with administrative functions that best serve the campus community and focus on core responsibilities of teaching and research

• Close gaps between business units that currently operate in silos • Develop strategy to align resources with academic requirements to

meet strategic growth goals

Strengths Weaknesses

Threats Opportunities

Academic Administrative

Structure

1UW-Stout Annual Employment Report March 5, 2012

SWOT analysis was performed to assess the current Program Director program, its role in the Student Lifecycle, and to identify opportunities to increase efficiency and effectiveness of the position.

While opportunities exist to enhance the current Program Director model, Huron believes the program is strong and should be realigned to better manage the University’s enrollment lifecycle needs.

Future State Roles and Responsibilities


After assessing the major functions of the student lifecycle, Huron recommends that UW-Stout rebalance the roles and responsibilities of the centralized units and local departments to improve efficiency and effectiveness.

Recruitment

Program Directors

Curriculum Development

Student Advising

Marketing

Program Assessment/Accreditation

Industry Relationship Development

Student Retention

Career Counseling & Programming

Central Units

UW-Stout has an opportunity to better rationalize services administered across campus and strategically identify how best to serve the needs of the campus community by centralizing certain services now performed at the department level.

1

1

1

2

3

4

5

5

Recruitment, marketing and program assessment are primarily coordinated by the central units and driven by the strategic academic plan, but require input and participation from the Program Directors

Career counseling and programming should be coordinated centrally through the Career Center with advice and support from the Program Directors

The Program Director’s role in developing relationships with industry partners has been very successful and should continue to be a major part of their role moving forward

Improving student retention should be a shared responsibility

Curriculum development should be coordinated by the Program Director within the auspices of the strategic academic plan; student advising should be coordinated through the program director

1

2

3

4

5

Stud

ent L

ifecy

cle

Recommendations (PAGE 1 OF 2)


Recommendation 7: Consolidate Enrollment/Recruitment Functions

• Enrollment Services, Stout Online, Graduate School and the Office of International Education all serve in an enrollment function facilitating recruitment, marketing, and admissions

• To increase collaboration, strategically align resources, and better serve the mission of UW-Stout, Huron recommends centralizing the enrollment functions within these business units under an Executive Director of Enrollment Services to oversee Undergraduate, Graduate, Transfer, International, and Stout Online recruitment

• Savings will likely be generated through achieving economies of scale; a more detailed analysis will be required to determine total savings

Huron recommends that UW-Stout realign and consolidate functions across campus and develop a comprehensive academic master plan to guide future academic planning and related resource planning.

Recommendation 8: Eliminate Advisement Center

• UW-Stout’s advisement is currently a shared responsibility between the Advisement Center and Program Directors and faculty members • Huron recommends UW-Stout shift the current centralized advisement role to general education faculty and academic staff to better align with

university best practices • Huron estimates that the University could save approximately $655K by eliminating the Advisement Center’s 10 FTE positions (based on 2009

average salary of $65,557 per FTE including fringe1)

1Salary data accessed from public salary records published online at www.madison.com

Recommendation 9: Consolidate Program Directors

• UW-Stout currently has 67 Program Directors who receive an average annual benefit of $21K each for a total program cost of $1.3M • Huron recommends eliminating faculty involvement in the Program Director role so that faculty and academic staff can focus on core missions of

teaching and research • Huron estimates that the University could save approximately $600K by replacing the 67 faculty Program Directors (each receiving a $21K benefit

that includes .25 release time, a $1,500 stipend and 10 days of summer pay for their service) with eight full time professional Program Directors (two for each college). Estimated salary of the new Program Director position is $94K (including fringe); this salary estimate is based on the current School Director salary as the roles and responsibilities of the new position would be similar

Recommendations (PAGE 2 OF 2)


Recommendation 12: Develop a Comprehensive Academic Master Plan

The purpose of a strategic academic plan is to align the design and delivery of the University’s academic offerings with the mission and vision of the institution, and identify the faculty, space, technology and other financial resources required to support academic programing. The plan should serve as a guide for making future decisions about academic programming, the need for and allocation of financial and human resources, the appropriateness of current admissions standards, the procurement of new resources, fund-raising priorities, and faculty hiring needs. This plan should be guided by the larger university strategic plan and focus on achieving the academic tenants of the university strategic plan. A strategic academic plan typically consists of the following components:

• Purpose • Roles and responsibilities • Academic objectives (i.e. increase research activity, increase student retention, build a world-class faculty, etc.) • Faculty, space, technology, and other resources • Clearly defined strategies for achieving the plan’s objectives • How the institution will measure its success in meeting the plan’s objectives

Huron believes the plan can commence after or in concert with the other organizational alignment recommendations that have been made.

Recommendation 11: Realign Research Administration

• Realign the Research Administration function from the Discovery Center to be centrally managed and report to the provost division • Aligns research compliance centrally to reduce risk; research compliance is not a core function of the Discovery Center

Recommendation 10: Eliminate the School Director Position

• UW-Stout currently has three School Directors (one each in CEHHS, COM, and CAHSS) • Conversion of the Program Directors to full-time dedicated resources in each College (Recommendation #11) will deliver the coordination and

support currently provided by the School Directors • Huron estimates that the University could save approximately $280K by eliminating the School Director position (based on 2009 salary data

including fringe1)

E-textbooks and Textbook Rental

Opportunity Summary


Huron believes there is a strong opportunity for UW-Stout to cut costs and enhance service levels by outsourcing its textbook management function.

Current State • UW-Stout has managed and operated a textbook rental program for over

120 years; students pay for the program in their student fees, and the institution reports that they enjoy the convenience the program provides

• Challenges with the current program include providing up-to-date texts and managing costs

• There is broad institutional support to move forward with full implementation of an e-textbook program; over 50% of the students are open to moving to e-textbooks

• Concerns exist around program cost and e-reader device dependency • There has been limited operational planning for the transition from a rental

to an electronic textbook program; identified challenges include textbook availability, platform, and cost

Summary of Options and Recommendation

Options for Consideration • Move to e-textbooks; manage and operate the program in-house as a

rental program but transitioning to e-textbooks • Move to e-textbooks, manage the program in-house and outsource

operations; continue to purchase e-textbooks for rentals to students, leveraging the vendor’s volume buying power to reduce cost to students

• Fully outsource e-textbook management and operations to a third party vendor; UW-Stout ends its involvement in the purchasing, distribution, and management of textbooks on campus






Gained

Service Enhancement

Risk to University


N/A Move to e-textbooks; manage and operate the program in-house N/A ($3.6M) 0 0 3 4

N/A Move to e-textbooks, manage the program in-house and outsource operations N/A ($2.5M) 2 2 2 3

13 Fully outsource e-textbook management and operations to a third party vendor N/A $195K 4 3 1 1

Current State of Textbook Operations


UW-Stout’s current textbook rental program is costly and offers few advantages over traditional textbook operations, which many universities have shifted to outsourcing arrangements.

Current State of Textbook Operations at UW-Stout

Universities Managing Textbook

Rental Operations

1% Universities Not

Managing Textbook

Rental Operations

99%

Analysis of Universities Managing Textbook Operations1

1Sources: Illinois Board of Higher Education; National Center for Educational Statistics

Expenses FY12 Budget FY12 Actual Textbook Procurement $1,090,320 $1,019,760

Services/Supplies $48,680 $59,397

Salary and Fringe $280,641 $282,289

Total Expenses $1,419,641 $1,361,446

• The Department of Instructional Resources Services (IRS) at UW-Stout manages the current textbook rental program, utilizing 3,600 square feet in the Robert Swanson Learning Center

• Current IRS staffing includes 1 FTE unclassified staff, 2 FTE classified staff, and approximately 5 student and 15 limited term employees (LTEs) during periods of peak operations

• The program was funded in FY12 with $1.3M in revenue from student fees ($5.88/credit hour) and $63K in revenue from library fines and textbook sales

• The textbook rental program operated by UW-Stout is unique • Many universities operate independent stores, or they have outsourced

operations to major vendors like Barnes and Noble, Follett, and Nebraska Book Company; these vendors also operate rental programs

• The major vendors offer several advantages over internally managed operations due to leverage buying power and operational efficiency

• Outsourcing textbook operations allows students to choose whether they wish to purchase or rent their textbooks through the on-campus store or purchase or rent from on-line companies or third party vendors


E-Textbook Option 1 MANAGE AND OPERATE THE PROGRAM IN-HOUSE

49

In this scenario, the e-textbook program would be fully managed and operated in-house similar to the current textbook rental program.

Advantages Disadvantages

• The University has deep experience and the existing infrastructure to manage a textbook rental program

• No reduction in current staffing levels to manage the e-textbook program

• Mandates the move to e-Textbook programs across campus

• High costs associated with operating and supplying the program would require the University to raise student fees

• The University must employ additional resources to manage associated technology for e-readers

• Does not allow the students any options that may be preferable to them on an individual basis such as purchasing hard copies or not purchasing textbooks

Procurement Issues

• The University will procure and distribute both the e-textbooks, requiring significant additional support from central purchasing and specialized buying skills to negotiate with e-textbook vendors that will likely require hiring additional procurement support

• The University will not be able to negotiate the best prices on textbooks or e-readers due to its size and relatively low volume of annual purchases

Analysis of Costs to UW-Stout and Students1

Expense Category Current Cost Option 1 Difference Textbook Procurement $1,090,320 $4,714,202 $3,623,882 Services/Supplies $48,680 $50,000 $1,320 Compensation $280,641 $250,000 ($30,641) Total Expense to UW-Stout $1,419,641 $5,014,202 $3,594,561 Student Fee per Credit Hour $5.88 $19.27 $13.39 Total Annual Cost to Student $170 $557 $387

• Cost model based on an UW-Stout study in 2012 to transition to an e-textbook program over 4 years

• Additional costs included in the model are personnel costs for the College Associates e-textbook training program for faculty

• Each of the 3 scenarios models costs assuming full implementation (95% of texts in electronic format) in order to compare full implementation costs between the three options1

1See appendix for additional cost assumption details


E-Textbook Option 2 MANAGE THE PROGRAM IN-HOUSE AND OUTSOURCE OPERATIONS

50

In this scenario, customer service and support would be managed by the University, but operations would be outsourced to an external vendor with experience in e-textbook purchasing and distribution.


• The University can reduce staff involved in managing the textbook program and refocus those resources on core initiatives elsewhere

• Focuses textbook management staff on customer support to both students and faculty

• Eliminates procurement personnel costs and captures vendor’s volume pricing discounts

• Mandates the move to e-textbook programs across campus

• Duplicates management and customer interface functions that could be provided at lower cost by a third-party vendor

• Maintains a costly rental service when all purchasing of textbooks could be transitioned directly to students

• Not standardizing on a single e-reader platform may create challenges in integrating e-textbooks with current learning technologies Procurement Issues

• The University will procure e-textbooks through a purchase agreement with the vendor, but distribution of the e-textbooks will be handled by the vendor, taking the burden of managing procurement and distribution off the University

• The vendor gets better prices on both the e-textbooks and e-reading devices because of its increased buying power


Expense Category Current Cost Option 2 Difference Textbook Procurement $1,090,320 $3,771,361 $2,681,041 Services/Supplies $48,680 $12,000 ($36,680) Compensation $280,641 $162,803 ($117,838) Total Expense to UW-Stout $1,419,641 $3,946,164 $2,526,523 Student Fee per Credit Hour $5.88 $15.17 $9.29 Total Annual Cost to Student $170 $438 $268

• UW-Stout procures e-textbooks via a purchase agreement with the vendor and rents e-texts to students on a per credit fee basis

• Assumes that vendor achieves 15% cost savings over e-textbook procurement costs in Option 1 due to leveraged buying power

• Assumes the university does not standardize on a single e-reader platform, so e-reader cost is not included in student costs because students have the option to use laptop or provide own device

1See appendix for additional cost assumption details


E-Textbook Option 3 FULLY OUTSOURCE TEXTBOOK OPERATIONS TO VENDOR

51

In this scenario, the University would outsource all textbook operations to a third party vendor and allow students to purchase or rent textbooks in the format they desire.


• The University is only responsible for managing the contract with the vendor, reducing costs and eliminating student fees associated with the textbook rental program

• The University still has control over certain aspects of the textbook program making it easier to mandate the use of e-textbooks

• Alleviates the University’s responsibilities around tracking and maintaining e-readers

• Not standardizing on a single e-reader platform may create challenges in integrating e-textbooks with current learning technologies

Procurement Issues

• The vendor will procure and distribute both the e-textbooks taking the burden of managing procurement off the University • The vendor can likely get better deals on both the e-textbooks and e-reading devices because of its increased buying power; these should be

passed on to the University


Expense Category Current Cost Option 3 Difference Textbook Procurement $1,090,320 $0 ($1,090,320) Services/Supplies $48,680 $5,000 ($43,680) Compensation $280,641 $48,530 ($232,111) Total Expense to UW-Stout $1,419,641 $53,530 ($1,366,111) Student Fee per Credit Hour $5.88 N/A N/A Total Annual Cost to Student $170 $0 $0

• The University discontinues the procurement of textbooks and enters into an outsourcing agreement with a vendor

• Salary and services/supplies costs represent 0.5 FTE procurement and contract management staff to manage the relationship with the vendor

• Assumes the university does not standardize on a single e-reader platform, so e-reader cost is not included in student costs because students have the option to use their laptops or provide their own e-reader devices 1See appendix for additional cost assumption details

Can be achieved Cannot be achieved or is difficult to achieve

Option Analysis


Option 1: Move to e-textbooks; manage and

operate the program in-house

Option 2: Move to e-textbooks, manage the program in-house and outsource operations

Option 3: Fully outsource e-textbook management and

operations to a third party vendor

Allows for a reduction in student fees Alleviates burden associated with managing the program Allows for regular textbook updates Convenient for students Offers students the choice of using traditional text-books or e-books

Allows for UW-Stout to have operational control

(via contract)

(via contract)

Shifts responsibility for technology tracking and maintenance away from the University

Comparing the three proposed options across a matrix of customer service, financial, and operational considerations indicates that full outsourcing is the most cost efficient alternative.

Overview of Major Private Bookstore Operators The services required by UW-Stout are offered by the following major private book store operators servicing the higher education industry.

On-campus retail operations (not necessarily required by UW-Stout) Yes Yes Yes

Textbook rental program Yes Yes Yes

E-textbook offerings Yes Yes Yes

Recommendation # 13


Huron recommends that UW-Stout execute option three, end its involvement in textbook management and operations and begin an RFP process to identify an external vendor to partner with the University.

Justification

• Moving to an e-textbook program is a good idea; however, it costly to maintain internally and will lead to increased student fees • While many students are excited about e-textbooks, some are skeptical and prefer using a physical textbook for studying; this option allows

students to choose whether they want to read textbooks digitally or in a traditional manner • By eliminating the textbook rental program and associated seg fee there is no net financial impact to UW-Stout • A national third party vendor arrangement could provide the University a 6.5 to 8 percent revenue share on campus book sales of ~$3M and a

$250 - $500K capital investment • A carefully constructed contract can ensure that the provider agrees to absorb any impacted staff for a specified period of time, minimizing the

impact on current employees • The University does not have to bear the burden of tracking and maintaining expensive devices and managing copyright issues

FULLY OUTSOURCE TEXTBOOK OPERATIONS TO VENDOR

http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=barnes+and+noble&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=OfiAB5qhsHqSJM&tbnid=yuuZzjh_QOYqvM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://students.ollchs.org/index.php?/my-oll/for-alumni-and-friends/barnes-noble-bookfair&ei=_exZUZbhC4i29QTGiYCIBQ&bvm=bv.44442042,d.eWU&psig=AFQjCNHWMRdxweU5FaY0Slxr0HYgx-06QA&ust=1364934266002910

http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=follett+bookstore&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=Y6YQxrGAneheCM&tbnid=72YU5qNersf3GM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://mtsunews.com/follett-bookstore-management/&ei=bO1ZUdDkI43m8gTlyIGoAQ&bvm=bv.44442042,d.eWU&psig=AFQjCNFMH0ynQ5RseoE7l-6BAUTcm9c3tw&ust=1364934322057872

Appendix

Information Technology BENCHMARKING METHODOLOGY


Huron performed benchmarking analysis of UW-Stout’s central IT function to compare funding levels, staffing, and number of devices supported to peer institutions.

Benchmarking

Source Data: • EDUCAUSE’s 2011 Core Data Survey was the primary data source and was supplemented by additional data from the Integrated Postsecondary

Education Data System (IPEDS) to define UW-Stout’s peer set Peers: • Huron used the peer list provided by UW-Stout as a starting point for benchmarking analysis • The peer list was reduced to include only those institutions with similar student enrollments and operating revenues • Of the final six benchmark peers, two are polytechnic institutions and four are UW-System peers

Total Central IT Budget Total Central IT Budget as % of Total University Spend

3.5 3.5 3.7

4.5 4.6 4.8 5.3

0.0%

1.0%

2.0%

3.0%

4.0%

5.0%

6.0%

Peer 4 UW-Stout Peer 3 Peer 1 Peer 5 Peer 6 Peer 2

4.2 4.8 5.3 5.5 6.7

9.4

12.8

0M

2M

4M

6M

8M

10M

12M

14M

Peer 5 UW-Stout Peer 3 Peer 4 Peer 6 Peer 1 Peer 2

. Benchmarking CENTRAL IT FUNDING & STAFFING


Peer Avg. = 6.9

Peer Avg. = 4.3%

Total Central IT Staff Users per Central IT Staff

34

43 44 50

59 61 64

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Peer 5 Peer 4 UW-Stout Peer 6 Peer 1 Peer 3 Peer 2

Peer Avg. = 51 Peer Avg. = 193

114 111 171 171 182 184 245

24 29

20 23 22 22

34

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

Peer 2 Peer 1 Peer 3 Peer 6 Peer 5 UW-Stout Peer 4

Student FTE Staff FTE

Computers Supported per Central IT FTE Central IT Funding per Supported Computer

. Benchmarking CENTRAL IT DEVICE SUPPORT


Peer Avg. = 105

Peer Avg. = 1,473

66 66 81

89 100 106

224

0

50

100

150

200

250

Peer 3 Peer 5 Peer 4 Peer 1 Peer 6 Peer 2 UW-Stout

482

1,330 1,346

1,583 1,785

1,886 1,898

$0$200$400$600$800

$1,000$1,200$1,400$1,600$1,800$2,000

UW-Stout Peer 3 Peer 6 Peer 4 Peer 1 Peer 5 Peer 2

IT Organizational Model HURON USES A CONCEPTUAL MODEL TO ASSESS ORGANIZATIONAL ALIGNMENT


Description • Project and transaction-

driven • Provides for reporting

requirements

Unit Role • Provides services for

unique/local needs

Enterprise Role • Central provides for

commonalities • Service level

management/accountability

Description • Basic infrastructure &

core enterprise systems

Unit Role • Provide CIO with

feedback on needs

Enterprise Role • University-wide approach • Provides for sharing of

control for research and instructional needs

Description • Classroom capabilities • Distance education • Instructional technologies

Unit Role • Local support for

academic technology

Enterprise Role • Central services for common

needs (general support, software purchases)

• Promote collaboration

Description • Individual, research-driven • Complex, unique computing

Unit Role • Address areas of

unique needs (not scalable)

Enterprise Role • Maintain existing central services • Provide shared control in

infrastructure

Unique Needs / Personalized Service

Local Blended Enterprise

Academic – Enterprise / Local

Research – Local

Administrative – Enterprise / Blended

Infrastructure - Enterprise

Economies of Scale / Efficiency LOW HIGH

HIGH LOW

. Decentralized IT Resources


Total Decentralized IT Positions Business Unit Position

ADMISSIONS IS BUS AUTO SENIOR BUILDING MAINTENANCE IS BUS AUTO SENIOR BUSINESS & FINANCIAL SERVICES IS BUS AUTO SENIOR BUSINESS & FINANCIAL SERVICES IS BUS AUTO SENIOR FOUNDATION IS NET SERV PROF HOUSING TECH IS NET SERV SENIOR HOUSING TECH IS SYS DEV SRV SENIOR HOUSING TECH IS SYS DEV SRV SENIOR HOUSING TECH IS SYS DEV SRV SENIOR LIBRARY LEARNING CENTER IS COMP SUPP TECH SR LIBRARY LEARNING CENTER IS NETWORK SUP TECH S PHYSICAL PLANT ADMIN IS SYS DEV SERV PROF PROVOST IS COMP SERV SEN REGISTRATION & RECORDS IS BUS AUTO SPEC SCHOOL OF ART AND DESIGN IS RESOURC SUP TECH S SPECIAL EDUCATION PROJECTS IS RESOURC SUP TECH I FINANCIAL AID SR INFORMATION MGR UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT SR INFORM PROC CONSLT

The following table details the decentralized resources that were identified during Huron’s assessment of IT at UW-Stout; these positions should be evaluated for possible re-alignment to LIT.

. E-Textbook Cost Assumptions


Expense Category 2013 20% Implemented

2014 40% Implemented



Full Implementation 95% Implemented

E-Textbook Content Cost $769,608 $1,539,216 $2,308,824 $3,078,432 $3,655,638 E-vendor Fee $108,000 $216,000 $324,000 $432,000 $513,000 Electronic Content Cost $76,961 $153,922 $230,882 $307,843 $365,564 Print Support Cost $180,000 $180,000 $180,000 $180,000 $180,000 Payroll $250,000 $250,000 $250,000 $250,000 $250,000 College Associates Program $75,000 $75,000 $75,000 $75,000 $75,000 Supplies and Services $50,000 $50,000 $50,000 $50,000 $50,000 Total E-Textbook Program Cost $1,509,569 $2,464,138 $3,418,706 $4,373,275 $5,089,202

Annual Cost to Students $168 $274 $380 $486 $565 Cost per Credit Hour $5.80 $9.47 $13.14 $16.81 $19.56

Assumptions Student FTE 9,000 Number of Courses 8.00 Books per course 1.50 Average Cost of E-text $36 Electronic Content Fee $0 Print Support Cost $180,000 E-vendor Fee $8 Payroll $250,000 Supplies and Services $50,000

• 2013 – 2016 estimated program expense assumptions provided UW-Stout Instructional Resources Services (IRS)

• IRS’s estimates assumed a phased implementation over four years with 80% of texts being converted to e-text format by 2016

• For the business case analysis, all option scenarios assume full implementation with no phasing in of the program, and full implementation is defined as 95% of all textbooks on the UW-Stout campus in e-textbook format

• Cost per credit hour calculations assumes 14.5 credits per semester per student FTE

Member Title / Office Acker, George Campus Planner Addie, Jerry Senate of Academic Staff Adekola, Abel Dean, College of Management Alm, Maria Dean, College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences Anderson, Jeff Dean College of Science Technology Engineering Brown, Amanda Speech Communication, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Correll, Scott Registrar Deery, Kathleen Rehab & Counseling, College of Education, Health and Human Sciences Department Chairs Open Forum 15 Participants Dittmann, Wendy Program Director Drzakowski, Meredith Asst. Chancellor/Dir, Planning, Assessment, Research, and Quality E-Textbook Committee Bob Butterfield, Bill Johnson, Forrest Schultz, Kara James Faculty Senate Approximately 24 Participants Gehrke, Deb Director, Human Resources Ghenciu, Petre College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Gillett, Amy Interim Director, Graduate School Griesbach, Scott Executive Director, Student Life Services Gutman, Gene Business, College of Management Henderson, Jane Director Learning Technology Services Holsinger-Fuchs, Pam Executive Director, Enrollment Services Hopkins-Best, Mary Dean, College of Health and Human Services Information Technology Users Focus Group 5 Participants Kapus, Jerry Department Chairs, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Keyes, Jim Program Director Supply Chain Management

(PAGE 1 OF 3)


The following individuals have participated in one-on-one interviews, focus groups, and open forum discussions as part of this assessment.

Interview List

(PAGE 2 OF 3)


Interview List

Member Title / Office King, Sasha Director, Telecommunications and Networking Krimpelbein, Kristi Special Assistant to the Chancellor Klebesadel, Shirley Director, Physical Plant Kramschuster, Adam Program Director Plastics Engineering Little, Amanda Biology, College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Livesey, Matt Program Director Professional Communication and Emerging Media Lyons, Phil Vice Chancellor, Administrative and Student Life Services McAllister, Brian Director, School of Education Mell, Doug Director, Communications and Marketing Mitton, Maureen Director, School of Art and Design Nelson, Troy Student Association President Olson, Diane Department Chairs, College of Management Parsons, Mark Vice Chancellor, University Advancement Patterson, Marlann College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Peters, Bob Associate Dean, College of Health and Human Services Program Directors Open Fora (2) Group1 (14 Participants) Group 2 (13 Participants) Rach, Lalia Director, School of Hospitality Richartz, Grady Director, Campus Card and SLS Technical Services Rodriguez, Glendali Department Chairs, College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Rost, Hong Director, International Education Rothaupt, Rich Director, Campus Card and SLS Technical Services Schlosser, Pete Faculty Senate Schnur, Kay Director, Enterprise Information Systems Schulte-Shoberg, Kim Assistant Vice-Chancellor, Business and Financial Services Schultz, Forrest Chemistry, College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

(PAGE 3 OF 3)


Interview List

Member Title / Office Senate of Academic Staff Approximately 17 Participants Smolarek, Zenon Associate Director, Physical Plant Sorensen, Charles Chancellor Stevens, Doug Director, UW-Stout Online Student Government Senate Approximately 25 Participants Thomas, Joan Dean of Students Thomas, Kathleen College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Tilton, Brent Director, Procurement and Materials Management Wahl, Doug Chief Information Officer Weissenburger, Jackie Provost Wieland, Curtis Director, University Budget Witucki, Darrin Director, Memorial Student Center / Price Commons

Documents

UW Stout Assessment