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Regents to host efficiency study update at ISU [Ames Tribune, Iowa :: ](Ames Tribune (IA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) June 22--Representatives from Iowa State University, the Iowa Board of Regents and the consulting company hired to conduct an efficiency study of Iowa's three public universities will hold a town hall meeting Tuesday morning in Ames to give an update on the study's progress to date. The study, which has been presented as a top-to-bottom review of ISU, the University of Iowa in Iowa City and the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, began in February when the Board of Regents hired Deloitte Consulting on a $2.5 million contract. Earlier this month, the Regents voted unanimously to spend up to $1 million more for Deloitte to continue working into December, three months longer than originally planned, in order to allow more faculty feedback on the academic portion of the study in the fall. At the town hall meeting, Deloitte representatives will present their findings from phase one of the study, where they visited each campus, conducted a reported 390 interview sessions and focus groups and met with nearly 700 people from the universities and the Regents office. Regent Larry McKibben, chairman of the efficiency study committee, said while the study is still in the early stages, "it's clear that we are proceeding in a direction to better evaluate our processes and determine ways to operate more effectively and efficiently, and in a sustainable manner, on each campus and throughout the university-system." Last week, Deloitte gave a preliminary estimate of $30 million to $80 million in potential annual savings if the universities implement their efficiency suggestions at the end of the study. "With the potential savings already identified, we will have the opportunity to strengthen and transform our three universities by reinvesting tens of millions of dollars into our programs, our campuses and, most important, our students," McKibben said in an update released last week by the Board of Regents. Regents President Bruce Rastetter said early on in the study that any savings identified through the process will be reinvested in the university where they were found. At Tuesday's meeting, Deloitte will also lay out their plans for phase two of the study, where they will focus on 12 savings opportunities they've identified in areas such as how the universities purchase products and services, cutting energy costs on each campus by consolidating summer classes into certain buildings and streamlining information technology services. The town hall is scheduled for 9 to 11 a.m. Tuesday in ISU's Howe Hall Auditorium. ___ (c)2014 the Ames Tribune, Iowa Visit the Ames Tribune, Iowa at www.amestrib.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |