ATTESTING TO TAXPAYERS
Texas Gov. Rick Perry's call for the establishment of accountability measures.
Written by Sally Logue Post
When Texas Gov. Rick Perry directed the state’s public universities to develop accountability systems to measure whether they are using money efficiently and how well they are educating students, the Texas Tech University System’s response was an emphatic, “Good.”
In January, Gov. Perry directed boards of regents to come up with accountability measures that would allow Texans to determine the effectiveness and quality of student education at each institution and to give the state a basis upon which to evaluate the institutions’ need for more state legislative funding.
We take our responsibility to our students, their parents and the State of Texas very seriously. We welcome Gov. Perry’s call for the establishment of accountability measures in higher education,” says David R. Smith, M.D., chancellor of the Texas Tech System.
As a matter of fact, Texas Tech is way ahead of the game. The administration already had instituted a very public accountability system and is continuing its efficiency effort with a new plan to find every possible cost savings and revenue enhancement.
“Coming from a business background, this type of accountability is commonplace,” notes Robert Black, chairperson of the Texas Tech Board of Regents. “Bringing this type of process into the academic world is a good step.”
Texas Tech’s accountability system began to take shape in 1997 when the Board of Regents initiated a thorough strategic planning process that would include the development of an integrated set of system-wide benchmarks and performance measures tied to specific goals.
We intended that this process would set benchmarks that we could use for both internal assessment and as a source of public information for interested stakeholders,” Smith comments. “That is exactly what we have done. We’ve also made this system very user-friendly. The information is available on our Web site.
The system’s strategic plan, which became known as TechSTAR, was approved Dec. 13, 2002, by the Texas Tech Board of Regents. TechSTAR, based on the points of the Texas star, is built around five primary goals: growth, diversity, people, partnerships and recognition. Under those five goals are 38 separate benchmarks.
The Texas Tech system’s strategic plan offers a short explanation of why each of the goals was chosen: Texas Tech grows to increase students’ access to and success in higher education and to fulfill its mission to Texas and the nation. Through diversity, the university enhances the lives of, and is in turn, enriched by, students, faculty and staff who reflect the diversity of our state, nation and world. With people, the system is open and responsive to the needs of the students it educates and the Texans that Texas Tech serves. Through partnerships, Texas Tech strengthens existing partnerships and establishes new partnerships to fulfill its mission. Through recognition, Texas Tech advances its reputation through excellence, innovation, value, enterprise and accountability.
“Texas Tech is a very big business, the 182nd largest in Texas,” says Smith. “We are sensitive to our responsibility not only to the direct Texas Tech family, but also to the citizens of Texas. When we established TechSTAR, we believe we had the same motive as the governor did this year, to make sure we are doing the best possible job with the money we have available.”
Board Chairperson Black agrees with Smith. “We established benchmarks that we know we can trace through the years to see if we are moving in the direction we want to go, factors that we can trace to see if we are making the kind of progress we need to be making.”
Texas Tech’s administrative expense ratios already are among the lowest for higher education in Texas. While the system cut about $2 million, or about 10 percent of its administrative budget in 2002, and the university cut three vice president positions in 2003, the system continues to look for ways to cut costs and enhance revenues. In the Fall of 2003, the board approved the administration’s request for an external review of operational areas for further consideration by the system, the university and the health sciences center.
Accenture, a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company has been contracted to review and evaluate cost-saving efforts undertaken during the past two to three years and to identify and make recommendations on how to achieve additional efficiencies and enhancements. Accenture began work in February, 2004, with the system-wide Organization Efficiencies Committee, which is comprised of financial experts and top administrators from the university, the health sciences center and the system.
The committee continues to review and evaluate current system administration cost savings efforts and will identify and make recommendations on how to achieve additional cost savings and revenue enhancements. The committee and Accenture is reviewing current business operations including finance and accounting procedures, human resources and payroll, information technology, procurement, student services, research management, campus operations and utilities, facilities utilization and maintenance operations.
“We should be looking at everything we do, from purchasing our utilities, to how we manage our square footage, to the amount of our administrative overhead and the upkeep of our buildings,” says Smith.
Several factors play a part in why higher education should develop accountability measures. Hang-over from Enron and other accounting controversies are causing people to question how any institution that receives taxpayer money is using that money, says Smith. “I would argue that tuition deregulation is also part of the equation. Even as Texas Tech raises tuition, we have some concerns about deregulation. We cannot shift the burden entirely to our families. We would like to make sure that the Legislature remains a partner in higher education,” notes Smith.
Smith and Black also emphasize that accountability measures are not placed only on the business side of the institutions. “Our mission is education. We must look at aspects, such as our graduation rate, how many research dollars per full-time faculty member we are generating and how much indigent care is provided at the Health Sciences Center. We have to look at our centers of excellence and how we match up at the national level,” Smith says.
One academic accountability measure just undertaken by Texas Tech University is President Jon Whitmore’s Four-Year Graduation Contract. The voluntary contract goes into effect in the Fall 2004 semester. By signing the contract, incoming freshman students agree they will take enough credit hours each semester to graduate in four years. The university guarantees that the courses needed to accomplish that goal will be available. The goal is to move students toward their degree in a timelier manner so that they can more quickly begin earning wages in their chosen profession rather by spending money to go to college longer. Both Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and Texas Tech University have their own strategic plans that work within the framework of the TechSTAR plan. All three plans are under constant review by regents and institutional leaders.
“TechSTAR is meant to be a high-level strategic plan to look at what’s important to Texas Tech. The new organization efficiencies effort with Accenture is a tactical approach to today’s business issues. We are fine-tuning what we are doing already,” comments Smith. “Accenture has experience both in private sector business and in higher education. They will be using a nationwide business model to help us become more efficient. They will use not just a best practice of universities, but the best practices in business.”
In the end, says Smith, the Texas Tech System is in the business of education. That means not only providing the very best education to students, but doing so while using the very best of business practices to ensure that tuition money and tax dollars are being spent efficiently and wisely.
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