Efficiency study team holds more meetings at ISU

By Melissa Erickson, Ames Tribune

Staff Writer

merickson@amestrib.com

The review team selected by the Iowa Board of Regents to conduct an efficiency study on the operations of Iowa’s three public universities will be back in Ames this week for more meetings with Iowa State University campus stakeholders.

Representatives from Deloitte Consulting are expected to be on campus Wednesday through Friday for additional meetings with campus faculty, staff and students during the last week of the academic year.

The Regents awarded Deloitte the $2.45 million contract in February for the efficiency study, which is being called Rising to the Next TIER (Transparency and Inclusiveness in the Efficiency Review).

Deloitte is also visiting the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls this week, and will be at the University of Iowa in Iowa City the week of May 12.

Beyond confirming that Deloitte representatives are holding follow-up meetings on campus this week, ISU officials could provide little detail about the visit, and did not know if any additional public forums will be held.

According to an April 30 TIER update from the Board of Regents, during their visit the Deloitte team will be meeting with campus “sounding boards” made up of faculty, staff and students, including union representatives, as another outlet to receive campus input as the study progresses.

The efficiency study is currently in the eighth week of its 10-week first phase, which is focused on data collection and interviews.

According to a Board of Regents TIER update, Deloitte representatives have interviewed roughly 540 faculty members, administrators, employees and students so far, and are analyzing more than 1,500 pages of data from the universities “covering all elements of their complex operations.”

Phase two of the process, where the consultants will create a more focused list of ways to increase efficiencies at the three universities, is expected to be a roughly 11-week process that will begin around the start of summer.

Deloitte’s analysis of the universities’ academic departments is expected to slow down during the summer months and pick back up in the fall to allow for more faculty engagement in the review.

At the Regents’ most recent meeting April 24, Regent Larry McKibben, who is chairing the efficiency study committee, said the review will “move toward the academic aspects of this study into the fall and make sure that all of our stakeholders, and our faculty, are heavily involved and deeply involved in the process.”

Phase three, where the Regents will vote on and select efficiency recommendations to implement, will be ongoing.