101 smart revenue generators

University Business, Dec, 2006

DIGGING OUT NEW REVENUE STREAMS AND DISCOVERING "Why didn't we think of this before?" ways to save can make all the difference as higher education leaders work to ensure they can keep investing in their core business of educating students. Today's budgets, of course, tend to leave little to no wiggle room. With that in mind, the editorial team at University Business has culled (from the magazine's recent archives as well as from conversations with institutional and industry leaders) 101 successful ways that colleges and universities have found to earn--and avoid burning--money. Which of these ideas could your institution implement tomorrow, next semester, or next year to do the same?

ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES

1. Take a new look at the purchasing department. At the University of Pennsylvania, a retooled purchasing department with a Business Enterprise Network and an upgraded SciQuest eProcurement system saved $722 million in its first eight years. Maryville University (Mo.) created purchasing consistency by contracting with FedEx Kinkos for ordering stationery products. The three-year agreement will save more than $100,000--and help ensure a clear, concise, and consistent visual identity. Consolidating purchasing and accounts payable, as the University of Delaware has done, is another way to realize savings.

2. Use purchasing cards. Drexel University (Pa.) reined in out-of-control purchase costs by using purchasing cards from JPMorgan Chase (www.jpmorganchase.com). The cards have pro-assigned spending limits and there's no need for requisitions or check requests. Daily updates from the card issuer are fed directly into the financials database for near real-time cost control. Benefits include less paperwork, reduction of cash exposure, faster processing time, and consolidated invoicing, which saves time, stationery, checks, postage, and filing costs.

3. Eliminate the middleman. Hamilton College (N.Y.) took a different approach to furnishing its new Science Center Building project with its bidding process. While the architectural firm prepared the bid document, everything else-order placement, delivery coordination, installation, final inspection--was handled internally at a savings of several thousands of dollars. As a bonus, the coordination and communication between the school, contractor, and vendors was better because they worked with each other directly. Hamilton plans to replicate the procedure for its latest building project.

4. Join a purchasing consortium. The Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities has a dedicated staff that does the research, finds the vendors, and handles the bidding for its members. Through WAICU, Beloit College saved about $100,000 per year on employee insurance.

5. Nix hard-copy billing processes. Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne contracted with TouchNet Information Systems, a software provider of automated payment solutions, to switch to e-billing for tuition payments. The school saved an estimated $41,000 in annual printing and mailing costs. Additional savings came from being able to reduce temporary staff help during peak times. This helps offset the cost of offering credit card payment options.

6. Eliminate the paper trail. Maryville University in St. Louis saves money (and trees) by not printing things that can be as easily referenced online. Gone are the days of paper course registration, and of printing schedules and grades. Now, all this work is done electronically.

7. Invest in document management. Chapman University needed a reliable document management solution on a small scale. After realizing efficiencies and cost savings with a product from ImageNow, the school expanded the program to all its campuses located throughout California and Washington. The solution was quickly and cost-effectively expanded across various host applications and leveraged to meet a number of departmental needs.

8. Get a handle on printing. The average school of 1,000 spends about $3,000 to $4,000 a month on paper, ink, and toner alone. What makes costs grow exponentially, however, is the number of wasteful or nonacademic print jobs--from photos of pop stars and friends to entire books--that should never be printed or could be copied more economically. Winthrop University (S.C.) turned to Print Manager Plus, printer control software that tracks, quotas, and reports print usage and costs across the school network. Students got a $10 per semester printing allowance, after which they paid out of pocket for further printing. The result was an annual savings of about 50 percent.

9. Look within for training. Maryville College (Tenn.) saves money on its professional development program by tapping its internal expertise. Thirty-one workshops are offered, led mostly by Maryville staff members, with tracks on Customer Service, HR/Community Building, Computer Skills, Safety, Supervisory, Wellness, and Personal Development. So far, the only associated costs have been for copying (handouts), $20 gift cards given to staff workshop leaders, and light refreshments for some workshops.