Winter/Spring 2003 - The Council of Independent Colleges

PRESIDENTS INSTITUTE(Back-office, cont’d from page 8) (Facilities, cont’d from page 9)Rolf Wegenke, president of theWisconsin Association of IndependentColleges and Universities (WAICU),reported on a statewide initiative,launched in 2001, to perform alladministrative support functions on acollaborative basis for the 20 membersof WAICU. WAICU is creating grouppurchasing organizations, contractingwith a single collection agency, andconducting a joint selection process foradministrative software. While parts ofthe initiative succeeded in streamliningadministrative support functions andsaving money for the colleges, Wegenkesaid some projects were terminated aftera thorough assessment. For example, thetravel services program was terminatedbecause of “too much flux in the industry…[and]internal resistance from theaffected institutional departments,” hesaid.Haaland and Wegenke said theylearned several important lessons inimplementing these collaborative projectsthat could benefit others:• Provide a clear sense of the reasonfor the project. Projects will be mucheasier to implement if the institutionshave a clear sense of the reason forthe project, and the impact that itwill have on their college.• Establish the priority of the projectamong participants. Individuals fromthe involved institutions must have aclear sense of the priority they mustgive to a consortial project.• Communicate clearly andfrequently. Collaborative projectsneed to be effectively communicatedamong the participating institutionsso that the institutions are not workingindependently on the same projectsthat are being pursued on aconsortial basis.• Focus on a few projects at a time. Itis better to give a lot of attention tothe development of a few projectsthan it is to give a little attention toa large number of projects.RBC Dain Rauscher, a company thatprovides tax-exempt bond sales for nonprofitinstitutions; and Ronald Watkins,CEO of Partners and Associates, Inc., afull service real estate development anddevelopment management company,presented a case study of LaGrangeCollege’s efforts to build two new residencehalls and renovate other, existingresidence halls. Gulley said, “One of thechallenges we have faced has been negativereactions from prospective studentsto the condition of our residence halls.”He noted that RBC Dain Rauscher isproviding the financing for the projectsthrough tax-exempt bonds and thatPartners and Associates is the projectmanager for construction and renovation.So far, Gulley reported, the projectis “in budget and on time.”Gulley stressed the importance offorming key strategic partnerships withsuch firms at the very beginning. Russellsaid that building projects should startwith the financing issues. “Calculate thetotal development costs for the projectrather than just the construction and/orrenovation costs,” he said.The panelists emphasized that it iscritical to select a firm with experiencespecifically in the project areas relevantto a college or university, such asacademic buildings, residence halls,athletic complexes, student activitiescenters, and arts facilities.Post-Institute WorkshopTackles FinancialManagementOnce again, CIC held a one-day workshopfor presidents immediately followingthe Presidents Institute, this yearfocusing on financial management. Cosponsoredwith the NationalAssociation of College and UniversityBusiness Officers (NACUBO), theevent attracted 63 presidents.Presenters included current and formerpresidents who had been chieffinancial officers, as well as representativesfrom Moody’s Investors Serviceand NACUBO and other experts. Thesessions covered ways to assess thefinancial health of institutions; the criticalrelationships that the president haswith the chief financial officer, businessstaff, and board of trustees; and key decisionprocesses such as budgeting andcontrols. Other topics included makingmaximum use of financial statements,understanding cash flow, managingdebt and endowment, discountingtuition, outsourcing, and determiningcompensation.Participating presidents pinpointedseveral areas where additional assistance,perhaps by CIC, would be useful.For example, many asked for additionalguidance on the subtleties of balancesheets and of income and expensereports. A number of presidents hopefor better access to comparative financialdata, especially for institutions notseeking bond ratings from such groupsas Moody’s, as well as for recommendationson key ratios and specificbenchmarks.POST-INSTITUTE WORKSHOPSPEAKERS:Robert W. Pearce, President,Mount Mercy CollegeKent John Chabotar, President,Guilford CollegeJames E. Morley, Jr., President,NACUBOMargaret M. Healy, PresidentEmeritus, Rosemont CollegeEmerson M. Wickwire, Principal,E.M. Wickwire Associates, L.L.C.Michael K. Townsley, President,Pennsylvania Institute ofTechnologySusan Fitzgerald, Senior VicePresident, Moody’s InvestorsServiceIndependent 10 www.cic.eduWinter/Spring 2003