AMES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Board of Regents decided Wednesday to spend $1 million more on an outside consultant that is trying to identify ways to save money at the state’s three public universities.
The regents approved a $1 million addition to its contract with Deloitte Consulting LLP, on top of the $2.5 million the company received for the first phase of its review. The cost overrun comes even before the regents have discussed any of the New York-based company’s initial recommendations, which they promised would be made public later this month.
“To the extent that we pay for more work from these folks, it would be prudent for all of us to see what they have done so far. This sometimes can be a little loose situation,” Regent Ruth Harkin said during a meeting at Iowa State University. “We should have some kind of a product for the money.”
Regent Larry McKibben said the “cost creep” was necessary because a committee overseeing the review decided to slow down the timeline for approving cuts and changes to academic programs. He said those proposals would now be considered in December, instead of September as initially envisioned, so that faculty members have more time to offer input on the changes. Moving ahead on the initial timeline would invite a backlash, he said.
“We want our stakeholders, our faculty, the people on the campuses, to be bought in as we move forward,” he said.
McKibben said that Deloitte had brought an “A-team” of consultants to the project. He said he believed the cost-cutting plans would save more than 10 times what the regents ultimately spend on Deloitte, which he said could rise again later in the project if the company is retained during an implementation phase.
The regents hired Deloitte in February to conduct a wide-ranging study of the schools’ academic, administration and athletics programs to find potential cost savings, in the largest review of its kind in 25 years. Changes to staffing levels, cuts to inefficient programs and sharing more services across the universities are all on the table. Regents say the savings will be kept by the universities to be invested in other priorities.
Deloitte’s consultants visited the state’s three universities this spring, and are working with McKibben’s committee to finalize a list of about 15 cost-saving opportunities that may be pursued.
“I was really surprised at the potential return on investment,” McKibben said, pledging to release details soon.
