Budget Efficiency With federal funding decreasing, University of Wisconsin teamed up Huron Consulting Group to find ways to cover

the $174.3 million funding lapse and general lack of funding. Interim Chancellor David Ward sees this as an opportunity for UW. It allows us to look at ourselves for self-help in the absence of federal funding. The project began in March and after months of analysis Huron has identified over 75 saving opportunities for the university to consider. Listed below are five areas analyzed along with Hurons findings. Email and Calendaring: Findings state that UW operates on over 72 email systems throughout campus. In arranging large-scale meetings multiple calendars must be consulted as well as frequent surveys to determine a suitable time due to the multiple systems. The recommendation for efficiency is a common standard for all email and calendaring on campus, saving UW between $250K and $1M annually. Computer Bundles: Analysis of computer purchasing concluded that 20+ standard Dell bundles are purchased by campus divisions, along with many other configurations, through various suppliers. Regarding computer purchases the target discount is 35-45%; the current method of buying at UW results in discounts between 19-30%. By buying through the same supplier $300-$500K would be saved annually. Hurons plan also suggests that bundles should be decided on with the involvement of user groups. Data Center Aggregation: Along with the four major data centers on campus UW has dozens of server rooms and hundreds of single servers. With so many locations the cost of centrally-offered services is high in comparison to the cost local capacity in the buildings. Huron has proposed four methods of aggregating data centers, the benefits increasing with each model: co-location, managed hosting, virtualization and outsourced servers. Though further analysis is needed for accurate understanding of server distribution and costs, estimated savings would be $5M annually. Space Utilization: Currently classrooms utilization on campus is 43% with an average class filling 45% of seats open. Due to the lack of information and integration between databases, UW leases buildings for office space and labs; costing approximately $9M per year. UW can remedy this through analysis of areas where system integration is needed and collection of data in a consistent manner. Efforts would raise utilization rates and decrease the amount of leasing and new buildings needed. Demand Management:

While UW purchases products through primary vendors, savings of $1-$2M could be achieved by reducing the different types of things bought for the same use and buying the less expensive option of products without diminishing quality. This project for efficiency involves three phases. The first was Hurons analysis and identification of opportunities. Phase two involves stakeholders feedback and deeper analysis. The third phase is implementing the new actions. According to Darrell Bazzell, vice chancellor for administration, UW is between phases one and two; awaiting permission to study areas further. In general agreement with the project, audience member Bert Schnell notes, Itll be interesting to see what comes from the findings of this and how it affects students and stakeholders.