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Panel to consider ways for Ohio colleges to share services
By Marc Kovac
COLUMBUS
Representatives of Ohio’s public colleges and universities gathered in Columbus Thursday for the inaugural meeting of a panel that will consider ways for campuses to share services and save money.
The Efficiency Advisory Committee was established in the last biennial budget bill to study and offer recommendations for increasing shared services, reducing textbook costs and determining other ways to reduce spending at colleges and universities.
The group will meet at least quarterly.
“We really want the universities to come up with ideas,” said Sloan Spalding, general counsel for the Ohio Board of Regents. “Odds are, you’ve already done the work, you’re already doing it now. ... What we’re not doing a good job of is telling our story.”
He added, “You are the folks out there in the field that know how to generate savings. You know what programs work and which ones don’t. Sitting here in Columbus, we’re far- removed from the field.”
It’s the latest effort to encourage more cooperation in higher education. Last year, schools worked together on capital-budget requests, and Gov. John Kasich recently asked colleges and universities to work together on the next two-year budget.
Thursday’s meeting was mostly introductory, with a review of a survey conducted by the Kasich administration of local governments.
Randy Cole, president of the state Controlling Board and a policy adviser in the Office of Budget and Management, told members that government spending has increased to $107 billion in 2009 from $48 billion in 1993. The state’s population has remained relatively flat during that same period.
“So it costs 120 percent more to serve the same number of residents,” Cole said. “That’s not sustainable.”
Thursday’s meeting also included comments by Paul Kobulnicky, executive assistant in the office of the vice president for finance and administration at Youngstown State University. He outlined an effort by YSU and other colleges and universities in northeastern Ohio to work together and save money. They’re considering ways to partner in health-care programs and administrative activities, including joint purchasing.
“We knew each other, and we thought there might be some opportunities to come together and find some efficiencies, find some more effective practices,” he said.