Communications

Achieving Efficiency at the State University of New York (Page 2)

SUNY currently is working with the New York Power Authority (NYPA) and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) on its second $100 million of energy conservation projects.

In 2002, SUNY formed an energy-buying group that allows campuses to buy their electricity directly from the wholesale market operated by the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO). This buying method will save the 29 member campuses more than $1.4 million this year, with an additional $600,000 in savings at the University at Buffalo, which purchases its electricity independently and was one of the first direct customers of the NYISO. This year the energy buying group will extend membership to state operated campuses and community colleges in the Central Hudson and Rochester Gas and Electric territories.

The success of the energy buying group led to a partnership between SUNY and the State Office of General Services (OGS) that enables OGS to be a direct customer of the NYISO. In its first year, OGS is on schedule to save $1 million.

Ninety percent of SUNY campuses are using system-awarded natural gas contracts. These contracts allow campuses to lock in future gas prices while providing competitive delivery costs. Last year many campuses used the ability to lock in forward prices to avoid the high gas prices in January and February. The university uses an outside consultant to bid gas needs and audit the bills from the selected gas marketers, a practice that saves about $250,000 a year.

SUNY energy managers are now working on securing long term electric prices from renewable sources that will lead to a cleaner environment and less price instability. They are also piloting innovative programs to increase energy efficiency on their campuses.

Dutchess Community College (DCC), for example, was the nation's first community college to be named an Environmental Protection Agency Energy Star Partner of the Year for its outstanding contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

DCC's energy conservation efforts include replacing a 500-ton electric chiller with two new 300-ton gas-engine powered chillers. In addition to reducing electricity consumption, the new natural gas engine-driven chillers provide "free" hot water from recovered exhaust heat. Environmental systems and controls were also updated and computerized across campus.

The program is guaranteed to save DCC $1.2 million in energy costs over a 15-year period, as well as provide $308,000 minimum in rebates from New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).

Finally, SUNY has appointed an Energy Task Force co-chaired by Morrisville President Raymond W. Cross and Environmental Science and Forestry President Cornelius B. Murphy to review our energy programs and recommend a comprehensive energy policy for the entire SUNY system.

Procurement
The New York State Procurement Card Program offers campuses the flexibility to streamline local procedures and controls for procuring goods and services. Using the procurement card significantly reduces the time between requesting, ordering, and receiving goods and services.

In addition to saving time, the procurement card program greatly reduces the volume of accounts payable transactions and the associated administrative costs by eliminating supplier invoices and consolidating multiple supplier payments into one monthly voucher payment to the procurement card vendor. Currently, the procurement card vendor is paid monthly through an automated clearing house (ACH) via electronic check from the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC). This process also contributes to the overall efficiency and cost effectiveness of the program.

In 2004, New York State transitioned to a new procurement card vendor, Citibank. Due to the greater acceptability of the Visa card, it is anticipated that the change from American Express to Citibank will greatly increase the number of cardholder transactions and dollar amounts for the next several years. Most important, future increases in transaction volume will significantly increase the administrative cost savings for the University.

According to a recent study by the National Association of State Comptrollers (NASC), savings related to procurement card use ranges from $24 to $75 per transaction. A similar study conducted by a commercial procurement card vendor estimates it costs $67.20 to process a voucher compared to $10.53 with a procurement card - a savings of over $56 per transaction. Using the lowest reported savings estimate, $24 per transaction, SUNY saved approximately $2.3 million in the 2004/05 fiscal year.

Academic Efficiency & Effectiveness
Academic efficiency at SUNY is most evident in three areas: enrollment, retention rates, and graduation rates. These statistics show that SUNY is serving more students, even as funding remains flat, and that academic programs are increasingly efficient and effective, as evidenced by the fact that more and more students are staying at SUNY campuses (rather than transferring outside the system) and graduating in a timely fashion. Enrollment and retention and graduation rates have been steadily climbing since the mid-90s, reflecting efforts across the university to provide students access to all the resources necessary for timely graduation, from remediation to career planning services.

Between 1999 and 2004, total enrollment at SUNY grew 11 percent, much of that at SUNY's community colleges. In fact, community college enrollment grew 30 percent between 1999 and 2004. While the university cannot sustain unfunded growth indefinitely, its ability to accommodate these additional students speaks to the system's effectiveness at maintaining access to public higher education and efficiency in student services and academic programs.

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