Financial Plan - Cornell University Division of Budget & Planning

Tuition, Financial Aid & Endowmentspecific cost containment strategies designed to reducegrowth pressures on student prices.• Workforce Planning – Launched in November 2001,this effort included a review of eight areas—human resources, financial transactions, alumniaffairs and development, information technology,facilities, student support, libraries, and purchasing—withthree primary objectives: (a) clarifyroles, responsibilities, and accountabilities; (b) realizesignificant financial savings; and (c) improvethe effectiveness of major support functions.Workforce Planning reported major accomplishmentsas of April 2005, including $15.7 million inannual, ongoing savings, and has set in motion acontinuing institution-wide focus of review andimprovement of operational support activities.• Energy Conservation – While Cornell has beenengaged in energy conservation and the use of renewableresources for many years, 13 one of its firstlarge-scale initiatives was the Lake Source Cooling(LSC) project. LSC reduces the campus energyuse for cooling by 80 percent, conserving over 20million kilowatt-hours annually. To date, LSC hassaved the university a cumulative $11.3 millionin electricity costs. LSC is one of more than 20of Cornell’s supply-side conservation efforts thathave been undertaken since the 1980’s designed toreduce energy costs for the Ithaca campus.Other programs include: (a) a 4.4 million-gallonthermal storage tank to hold chilled water thatis processed at night, saving approximately $300thousand annually; (b) cogeneration of electricityat the steam-heating plant, which supplies over10 percent of the Ithaca campus’s electrical needs;and (c) improved energy management and controlsystems.Cornell is also employing demand-side approachesto reduce the need for energy, including: (a) convertinglight fixtures to high-efficiency fluorescentsources, thereby reducing lighting energy consumptionby 30 percent and saving approximately6 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually;(b) upgrading and installing occupancy anddaylight sensors and digital energy controls; (c)13 Constructed in 1898 on Fall Creek below Beebe Lake,Cornell’s hydroelectric plant generates about 5 millionkilowatt-hours annually, enough electricity for 600 homes.introducing variable-speed fan and pump drivesthat reduce electricity consumption by 30 millionkilowatt-hours per year; and (d) installing heatexchange systems in facilities that have a highturnover of building air to temper incoming airwith heat captured from exhaust air. These strategiesyield substantial savings because of the largevolume of activity. For example, the buildingswith heat exchangers mentioned above exhaust 3million cubic feet of treated air per minute.• Supply Management Services – Over the past 20 years,Cornell’s “purchasing” function has evolved into“supply management,” which merges the traditionalactivities of purchasing (bidding, negotiation,order processing, and delivery) with preferredsupplier agreements and strategic sourcing.Cornell expects to save over $1 million in 2008-09as a result of these new approaches, especially inthe $15 million expended annually to purchasecomputer hardware and electrical and plumbingsupplies and the institution’s significant outlayfor scientific and office supplies. Key goals of theprogram are to ensure a sustained level of highquality, low price, and uninterrupted supply ofthese essential commodities. The university is alsoexpanding the use of management tools such aseShop, eAuctions, and Ariba (a reporting tool) aswell as bundled purchases.• Room and Board Rates – An early component of theWorkforce Planning effort was a hiring freezefor nonacademic positions at the Ithaca campusduring 2001-02. While the mandate for campuswidelimitation on hiring has been lifted, theDivision of Student and Academic Services hascontinued it as a standing practice. No position isfilled unless it is part of an approved staffing planor has received vice presidential authorizationthrough a waiver submission and review process.The Division continues to require annual staffingplan submissions for all of its operating units, andDivisional workforce planning committee reviewsthese plans. In addition, any new position requestor change must be submitted through a waiverprocess, reviewed by that same workforce planningcommittee, and must receive approval fromthe vice president before it can be filled.Dining chefs and managers work collaborativelyto maintain consistent, industry-benchmarked16