University System of Ohio News and Updates

Announcements

Efficiency Panel Holds First Meeting

February 12, 2009

The Advisory Committee on Efficiency in the University System of Ohio holds its first meeting on Feb. 12 to examine Ohio public college and university business practices, identify improvements, and ensure they are spread throughout the system. The committee, launched by the Chancellor as part of Ohio's 10-year Strategic Plan for Higher Education, is made up of University System of Ohio trustees, presidents, faculty, students, and staff, as well as representatives of the business community.

Members

Position Description

Name

Affiliation
Chancellor – Ohio Board of Regents Eric D. Fingerhut Ohio Board of Regents
Member – Ohio Board of Regents Bruce Beeghly Ohio Board of Regents
President – Inter-University Council Bruce Johnson Inter-University Council (IUC)
Executive Director – Ohio Association of Community Colleges Ron Abrams Ohio Association of Community Colleges (OACC)
Executive Director - Ohio Association of Career-Technical Superintendents Tom Appelgate Ohio Association of Career-Technical Superintendents
University Trustee Bob Nevin Wright State University
Community College Trustee John Moore Owens Community College
Board Member, Adult Career-Tech Center Bruce Clapp Member, Board of Education, Northmount City Schools Member, Board of Trustees, Miami Valley Career Technology Center
Community College Faculty Member Pam Janson Stark State College
Executive Director - Ohio Business Alliance for Higher Education and the Economy Shaun Yoder Ohio Business Alliance for Higher Education and the Economy (BAHEE)
University System of Ohio
Student Representatives		 Debra Van Camp
and Jason Marion		 The Ohio State University

Overview

On March 31, 2008, Chancellor Fingerhut delivered the Strategic Plan for Higher Education, which, for the first time, gave Ohio and its institutions of higher education a detailed blueprint that charts the future. The Strategic Plan recognizes that Ohio's primary goal must be to raise the educational attainment of the state's population. In order to accomplish this, the focus must be on three targets:

  1. Graduate more students,
  2. Keep more graduates in Ohio, and
  3. Attract more degree holders from out of state. 

Plan Elements Related to Efficiency

The strategic plan sets forth dozens of specific strategies that are designed to accelerate Ohio’s progress in the three target areas.  With regard to efficiency, the Strategic Plans say lays out a bold statement of commitment:

"The University System of Ohio will be committed to promoting, monitoring, and rewarding public campuses for their successful efforts to manage their resources, either individually or collectively, and to provide the highest quality service to students, communities, and the state at the lowest possible cost to students and taxpayers."

The following strategies from the Strategic Plan are most relevant to the issue of efficiency:

  1. Continuous improvement system (pg. 97):  A continuous improvement system will be created to identify spending efficiencies and productivity improvement strategies and implement them statewide. 
  2. Set annual efficiency targets (pg. 97-98):  Annual efficiency targets for the system will be set based on an aggressive monitoring of costs and efficiencies with the goal of spreading best practices through the system.  The challenge is setting appropriate annual benchmarks, and then assisting schools in meeting these benchmarks.
  3. Division of Affordability and Efficiency (pg. 98):  The Board of Regents will establish an office that continuously monitors spending practices and successful productivity strategies with the goal of spreading these best practices throughout the system. 
  4. Academic delivery (pg. 98):Special attention will be given to advancements in teaching and learning initiatives, such as those developed by the National Center for Academic Transformation, which have been shown to lower the cost of instruction and increase learning. 
  5. Purchasing aggregation programs (pg. 98):  The University System of Ohio will participate in purchasing aggregation programs developed by the state.  Purchasing cooperatives covering products and services not aggregated by the state will also be supported.
  6. Enhance campus energy efficiency (pg. 98):  Sub. H.B. 251 of the 126th General Assembly requires public campuses to adopt energy conservation measures that are aimed at reducing energy consumption by 20 percent by 2014. The University System of Ohio will continuously monitor progress toward achievement of these goals and promote best practices among campuses.

Measures Related to Efficiency

Finally, the Strategic Plan defines 20 specific metrics by which the performance of the system will be measured.  These metrics are divided into four categories driven by visionary goal statements, as follows:

  1. Access: The University System of Ohio will be a flexible, integrated higher education provider making the widest range of education opportunities available to, and raising the educational aspirations of, all Ohioans. 
  2. Quality: The University System of Ohio will be known for the excellence of the teaching and learning of its faculty and students and the reputation of its institutions.
  3. Affordability and Efficiency: The University System of Ohio will enable all Ohioans to afford the education and training they need to succeed.
  4. Economic Leadership: The University System of Ohio will provide the intellectual and organizational infrastructure to measurably improve the economic outlook for all Ohioans. 

Under the heading of "Affordability and Efficiency" are the following metrics: