Achieving Efficiency at the State University of New York
The Need for Efficiency and Productivity
The State University of New York (SUNY) has a responsibility to provide access while
maintaining affordability and improving quality. One lynchpin in the strategy to achieve these aims is to be as efficient and productive as possible. The
university receives its direct funding from three major sources: the State of New York, student tuition and fees, and external contributors, including philanthropy
and research. Maximizing the efficiency of each stakeholder's investment in SUNY is regarded university-wide as the best method to serve not only our major
stakeholders but the entire SUNY community, while meeting our mission of ensuring access, accountability, and quality in public higher education throughout the
state.
Our current focus is on accommodating increased demands on SUNY's existing resources. Our projections show steady growth in New York's pool of college-going high school graduates through at least the end of the decade, which will in turn intensify demand for admission to SUNY's colleges and universities. Already we have seen extraordinary enrollment growth in the community college sector, which because of its open enrollment policy can accommodate growth more swiftly than the four-year sector. Because many community college students seek to transfer to SUNY's four-year colleges, the demand on four-year schools and the pressures on our community colleges remain heavy.
In addition, the university is contending with the increased demands of the state's growing knowledge economy, which requires large numbers of highly educated workers. As the state economy transitions to a system based on intellectual innovation rather than physical labor, the demand for educated workers and the level of education required are both rising, necessitating greater production of bachelor's degree holders and reeducation of older workers - both functions performed in large part by the state's public higher education system.
Finally, mandated costs are forecast to increase, particularly in energy and health care. These increases force us to allocate significantly greater portions of our budget to maintaining these services without seeing any increase in benefit to the university or our students. The end result is that there is less money to invest in student success and institutional quality, making efficiency even more critical to successfully providing access while maintaining affordability and improving quality.
Achievement of Efficiency
The State University of New York achieves maximum efficiency through a diverse assortment of
initiatives that range from large programs generating millions of dollars in savings to small, everyday actions that keep our commitment to efficiency strong at
all levels.
In 2004, SUNY formed a Task Force on Efficiency and Effectiveness, which undertook a major analysis of efficiency throughout System Administration, the State University Construction Fund, and the Research Foundation. The Task Force concluded that SUNY is an efficient and effective organization, and made 91 recommendations for increasing efficiency across System Administration, the State University Construction Fund, and the SUNY Research Foundation. These recommendations were classified by function, including organization, strategic planning, benchmarking, and best practices; and by area within System Administration, the Construction Fund, and the Research Foundation.
Task Force recommendations include:
- Increasing online applications
- Establishing a database of faculty and staff experts
- Integrating campuses' and system administration's vision and goals
- Incorporating system-wide goals into individual campus Mission Reviews
- Improving assessment of campus capacity and enrollment planning
- Developing a clear, dynamic budget allocation process
- Increasing energy savings and cost-avoidances system-wide
- Enhancing electronic data reporting by campuses
As of Fall 2005, more than 50 percent of the recommendations have been fully executed, and the remaining possible recommendations are in the process of being implemented. All new efforts at efficiency and effectiveness have been incorporated into the university's regular processes and are ongoing.
SUNY Best Practices Document and Search Engine
As part of the Task Force on Efficiency and Effectiveness, campus presidents
were asked to provide initiatives they believe they carry out better than any other campus, along with those innovative ideas that have saved or avoided spending
resources. These best practices have been cataloged by campus and by category of campus activity. The best practices report also includes a search engine,
allowing users to quickly find practices within their areas of interest.
The best practices reported in that document have resulted in significant savings throughout SUNY and, when shared with other campuses, have the potential to realize even greater savings within the system. To date, 130 initiatives have been reported, with total savings/cost avoidance of over $7.5 million.
In addition to listing each campus by name, the document also lists the person responsible for the innovative idea, along with a contact phone number to make it easier to share the details of the initiatives. It will be updated quarterly and is available to the general public.
Best Practices Highlights
- The University at Buffalo saved $30,000 via web-based parking registration.
- The College of Optometry saved $25,000 by producing an online course catalog.
- SUNY Delhi saved $411,000 per year by converting from electric to steam heat.
- SUNY Brockport saved $150,000 by partnering with the State Department of Transportation (DOT) on road paving through a DOT training program.
- SUNY Potsdam reduced solid waste disposal cost by partnering with 2 other colleges and saved $25,000.
- Stony Brook University outsourced elevator maintenance, saving $150,000.
- Empire State College saved $137,500 by centralizing academic support and providing services online.
Energy Efficiency
SUNY's energy conservation program began in 1972, when the Oil Embargo inspired increased energy efficiency
worldwide. Since then, SUNY has reduced its energy use by 36 percent and saved more than $1 billion in cost avoidance measures through FY 04-05. The methods used
to reduce energy use and achieve these savings have ranged from shutting off lights and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems when not needed
to using energy savings to pay for over $100 million in upgrades to more efficient lighting and HVAC systems.