Washington, D.C.—A new report released today by the American
Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) and the National
Association of Educational Procurement (NAEP) reveals that significant
opportunity exists to increase cost savings, efficiency and productivity
through the reform of state and institutional policies in public higher
education procurement.
Based on a survey of procurement officials at the nation’s public
four-year universities, the report looks at the impact of state policies
on institutional efforts to better control costs in campuses’
purchasing operations.
According to the report, some state procurement policies—such as the
mandated use of state contracts—inhibit colleges’ and universities’
ability to fully maximize purchasing power, generate cost savings,
enhance product/service quality and improve procurement efficiency and
productivity. Data shows that there is a general sense that some state
policies limit institutions’ ability to appropriately tailor their
purchasing needs.
“At a time when federal and state lawmakers are calling on higher
education leaders to do more with less, attention must also be paid to
the role that state regulatory reform can play in reducing costs and
improving efficiency,” says AASCU President Muriel A. Howard. “Such reform in the multibillion-dollar higher education procurement
enterprise offers great opportunity for individual campuses and
university systems to streamline purchasing operations to save time and
money, and to increase product and service quality. But most
importantly, it would enable the redirecting of critical resources
toward universities’ core missions of teaching and learning,” she says.
The survey reveals that although U.S. public colleges and universities
frequently use technologies that facilitate smart purchase
expenditures, further improvements can be realized through the use of
additional e-procurement tools that can help institutions better assess,
control and leverage procurement expenditures. The study also notes
that institutions authorized by state policy to participate in
cooperative purchasing arrangements are making broad use of such
compacts.
“This study affirms that, while institutions are making gains in
boosting cost savings and productivity in their procurement operations,
much more can be done, in partnership with states, to streamline the
procurement process,” said Doreen Murner, CEO of NAEP. “The purchasing
function on college campuses can often go unnoticed. Yet this study
illustrates its pervasiveness and underscores the opportunity for
reform, while maintaining accountability for taxpayer-provided
appropriations and students’ tuition dollars.”
Included in the study are recent examples of effective state
procurement policy reforms. The report offers several key
recommendations for states, systems and institutions. Among them:
Key Recommendations for States
- Provide greater autonomy to systems and institutions regarding procurement policy;
- Review and, if warranted, increase the minimum dollar
threshold for purchases requiring state approval, as well as adjust
minimum thresholds involving formal competitive (sealed) bids;
- Make participation in state purchasing contracts voluntary; and
- Allow institutions to participate in group-purchasing consortia.
Key Recommendations for Systems and Institutions
- Where state policy allows, seek to fully utilize opportunities to participate in group purchasing consortia;
- To the extent that institutional resources permit, further
analyze institutional procurement expenditures through greater
utilization of e-procurement tools;
- Review current system/institutional procurement rules with the goal of developing a cohesive and comprehensive policy;
- Build a campus culture of procurement accountability;
implement institutional policies to ensure that administrative
purchases are made through established contracts.
The report is available online at http://www.aascu.org/media/policy/procurement10
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AASCU is the leadership association of 430 public
colleges and universities Delivering America’s Promise through their
common commitments to access, affordability and educational
opportunity. Enrolling more than 3 million students, these institutions
fulfill the expectations of a public university by working for the
public good through education, stewardship and engagement, thereby
improving the lives of people in their community, their region and their
state.
The National Association of Educational Procurement (NAEP)
has since the 1920s served as the non-profit professional association
primarily dedicated to serving higher education purchasing officers in
the U.S. and Canada. NAEP’s mission is to facilitate the development,
exchange and practice of effective and ethical procurement principles
and techniques within higher education and associated communities,
through continuing education, networking, public information and
advocacy. Serving over 1,500 member colleges and universities, the
association provides progressive knowledge management in strategic
sourcing, supply chain, materials and logistics for procurement
professionals.