Restructuring our administrative and business process

For the University to respond nimbly to the challenges ahead with the resources we have, we will need to be lean and creative in our administrative support systems. Achieving that goal requires us to restructure how we operate – both within UCOP and between UCOP and the campuses – so that more resources can be moved to where they are needed most: our programs of instruction, research and service.

The Office of the President, with the help of consultants from the Monitor Group, has undertaken a major restructuring initiative. The diagnostic phase, now complete, identified several immediate priorities:

• Clarify the respective roles of UCOP, the Regents and the campuses, both in the management of the University and in the specific services provided;
• Re-engineer the capital projects development process to generate savings by reducing unnecessary delays; and
• Upgrade Human Resources capabilities to an appropriate level, including:
• Implementing performance management processes to recruit, develop and retain high-performing employees and to identify and manage underperforming employees;
• Reforming Senior Management Group hiring and compensation; and
• Upgrading information systems to enable timely, comprehensive reporting.

What’s next?

Working groups have formed for each of these areas.

Additionally, at the same time that we are developing a new budget process for the University’s systemwide capital and operational budgets that is firmly guided by our academic priorities, we are:

• Revise the UCOP budget process for 2008-09 to implement a more systematic and transparent approach that for the first time enables departments to clearly articulate their needs as well as identify opportunities for savings.

What’s next?

UCOP departments have submitted their budget proposals for 2008-09, which are now being reviewed. In the interim, controls have been placed on filling current vacancies. The 2008-09 UCOP budget will be presented to Regents for discussion in March and formally adopted in May.

Lastly, we will continue to look for near-term opportunities to improve efficiencies and performance within UCOP. Currently, this includes:

• Consolidating basic desktop computing services.

What’s next?

IR&C and Budget Administration personnel will be meeting with department administrators through October to conduct inventories of specific services, applications and support.

• Review reserves and cash management to ensure funds in our short-term investment pool (STIP) are invested to maximize returns.

What’s next?

Vice President Anne Broome has been working closely with campus representatives and is scheduled to provide an update to the Regents Finance Committee in November.

Once UCOP has taken these concrete steps to restore its credibility with the campuses and with the public, we will begin to:

• Identify incentives for campus cost reduction initiatives, which provide a far larger source of potential savings on an ongoing basis.This includes streamlining their own activities, coordinating with one another as appropriate, and taking the lead in areas where individual campuses or campus consortiums can accomplish administrative functions more efficiently than the center can.

What’s next?

Executive Vice President Katie Lapp, with co-chairs UC Davis Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef and UC Irvine Executive Vice Chancellor Michael Gottfredson will begin consultations in the fall, with a task force expected to convene by spring.

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What other issues should we consider?