ASU Trustees Hear Update on Systemwide Efficiency Study
LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas State University System will receive a third-party report early next year on ways to grow revenue, reduce costs and reallocate resources to strategic initiatives.
Andrew Laws, managing director at Huron Consulting Group and the engagement leader for the Accelerate ASU project, gave members of the ASU Board of Trustees an update on progress of the efficiency study at its regular meeting today. He said the Huron team expects to present 40-50 opportunities to the system and its campuses with a majority being focused on new revenues.
“You’re not alone in this,” he added. “Many universities desire to do better and find resources to invest in strategic projects. You’re doing it from a position of strength.”
All faculty and staff were recently surveyed for input, and Huron received 900 responses with 40 percent being from faculty members. The study process is at the halfway point with most interviews and campus visits completed.
“This is an indication of how this board operates and what their commitment is to make ASU better and more efficient and make best use of the people’s money for opportunity for our students,” board Chairman Ron Rhodes of Cherokee Village said after hearing the report.
Trustee Price Gardner of Little Rock said he was “very impressed with the overall scope and the deep dig they are doing. I appreciate the cooperation of the staff on the campuses. Everyone seems to believe in this.”
In the chancellors’ reports, all ASU System campuses noted heightened efforts to improve student retention, which is a key element in state higher education’s new productivity funding formula.
A-State Chancellor Kelly Damphousse said his team has reached out to fall students who haven’t enrolled for the spring semester to determine why and how the university can keep them. He also noted that closer collaboration between the recruiting and admissions offices has resulted in record levels of applications and admissions for the fall 2018 semester.
“We feel very confident about fall 2018 because we are ahead on scholarship offers, and we’ve also made changes regarding the ACT,” Damphousse said. “We’re accepting December scores for scholarship consideration, and we’re now accepting ACT super scores.”
Damphousse said the Jonesboro campus will have more than $80 million in privately funded construction under way in early 2018 with the north end zone project at Centennial Bank Stadium and the hotel and convention center project. Spring initiatives at A-State include an awareness campaign on sexual assault, a report from Chancellor’s Commission on Completion regarding retention, and a comprehensive climate survey of how students feel about A-State.
Among action items, the Board approved:
- Officers for 2018, including Dr. Tim Langford of Little Rock as chairman, Niel Crowson of Jonesboro as vice chairman and Stacy Crawford of Jonesboro as secretary.
- A $1.3 million plan to replace roofs for the Fowler Center, the Education and Communications Building, and the Military Science Building.
- A $1.5 million Guaranteed Energy Cost Savings Capital Project and related financing for ASU Mid-South.
- An optional voluntary retirement program for the Jonesboro campus. To be eligible, employees must be at least 60 years of age and have 10 years of continuous full-time employment as of June 30, 2018.
- New mission, vision and values statements and a new Certificate of Proficiency in Quality Technology for ASU Mid-South.
- A two percent increase in total compensation for ASU System President Chuck Welch, retroactive to July 1. The raise is consistent with what was awarded to Jonesboro campus employees, and his salary is now $358,500.
