Annual Report Finance Administration · Annual Report March 2015 ... (SciQuest) – 2012 – 2015. Reduced paper, time, ... color and black and white printers. As of the

Annual Report

March 2015

Finance & Administration

Table of Contents

A. Facilities Planning and Projects ................................................................... 1

B. Finance ....................................................................................................... 3

C. Human Resources ....................................................................................... 9

D. Information Technology ............................................................................ 10

E. Physical Plant ............................................................................................ 14

F. Public Safety ............................................................................................. 16

G. University Facilities .................................................................................. 18

A. Facilities Planning and Projects

Collaboration The department involved stakeholders as early

as possible in projects and throughout the

design process; not just the end users, but also

secondary and tertiary users, such as public

safety, IT, grounds, maintenance and custodial

services, etc. Involving stakeholders early has

helped to preempt changes late in the design or

after construction has started and resulted in

project savings.

Design & Construction Standards The department has begun developing design

and construction guidelines to serve as steering

documents for architects and engineers as they

produce technical specifications and

drawings. They help with quality assurance and

provide a roadmap for consistency across all

aspects of the built environment: maintenance,

aesthetics, and overall quality.

Project Process Presentation Facilities Planning & Projects will be presenting

design and construction processes to select

groups on campus, explaining the differences

between maintenance and construction, the

project schedule, budget issues, the importance

of planning, etc. This will help to communicate

what is a disruptive and often confusing

process.

Project Request Procedures This is an effort to systematize the process by

which capital improvements are requested,

affording the opportunity to improve project

tracking and apply design and construction

guidelines and aligning expectations between

end users and Facilities Planning and Projects.

Capital Improvement Prioritization Formalize the policy where requests for capital

improvements would be submitted at the

department or college level several months

prior to the work occurring. The policy would

assist in the planning process and has the

potential for cost savings by “bundling”

projects, and allows for a consistent and

thorough review of priorities. Capital

improvement requests would be for

construction costing $100,000 or less.

A. Facilities Planning and Projects

Fine Arts Building Construction This is construction of a new approximately

46,000 square foot fine arts facilities with

general use classrooms west of Trahern at the

corner of Jackson Alley and Henry Street. The

project also includes renovations and

improvements to Trahern. The total cost of the

project is $20,300,500. Pending approval by the

State legislature, construction is expected to

begin fall 2015 and be complete fall 2016.

Claxton HVAC Replacement This is replacement of the HVAC system in

Claxton. Work will happen this summer and be

complete by the start of school fall 2015.

Project cost is approximately $1.6 million.

Kimbrough Trading Center This is an interior renovation of an existing

conference room, office spaces and atrium

approximately 3,250 square feet for the

construction of a Trading Center to study trade

in global markets. The project budget is

$700,000. Schematic design and estimates

have been completed. The next steps are

solicitation for design. Construction is expected

to happen summer 2016.

Student Health Center This project will repurpose a 5,300 square foot

church purchased by the University in 2014 into

a student health and counselling center, moving

the operations from Ellington. The cost of the

project is estimated to be $800,000.

Construction is expect to begin in summer

2016.

Facilities Projects and Planning is in the process

of retooling procedures to align more with

industry best practices (IBP). Some of these

include more engaged monitoring of projects

from scoping and estimating, to delivery up

through warranty. FP&P has started to produce construction documents, specification, bid

documents, and conduct construction

administration to help reduce design

costs. Other items include developing and

maintaining design and construction standards;

archival document management; and

revamping the project request

system. Facilities Planning and Projects is also

starting to take on more tasks that had

previously been completed by Facilities Services

as maintenance projects. Facilities Planning 7

Projects is also emphasizing customer service in

the interest of quicker turn‐around for requests

for renovations, scoping, etc.

Therefore, the larger workload, an emphasis in

customer service, along with alignment of

existing practices and creating new ones, both

in the interest of IBP, has created a need for an

additional professional position.

B. Finance

Post Office Self‐Service Area The campus Post Office added a self‐service

area in the lobby at the start of the fall 2014

semester. Ordering online is now very popular.

This self‐service area in our lobby has enabled

students, and the campus community, the

option of using click and ship for U.S. Postal

mailings, Fed‐Ex and UPS. Often such methods

of mailing also offer discount rates. We provide

everything needed for their shipping needs.

And then the convenience of being able to

accept their pre‐paid mailings for pick up;

including Fed‐Ex and UPS. This service is used

daily since put into operation.

Post Office Commercial Base Pricing

and Postage Savings Per equipment leased from July 1, 2014 to

February 13, 2015, for our APSU Permit

#388/bulk mailing, we have saved $52,744.39 in

postage fees. And there has been a savings of

$1,772.37 on regular department mail

processed; (per the commercial base pricing).

Bookstore Contributions to APSU

Athletic Program

The campus Bookstore has worked with the

Athletic Department per setting up a Pro‐

Shops at the new football stadium and as

well as in the Dunn Center. This has helped

with promoting APSU apparel and items

supporting our Athletic Department. The

Bookstore vendor has also supported the

Athletic Department by donating shirts,

$10,000, orders at cost only, allowing price

match offers for texts ordered for their

athletic students, and the Bookstore vendor

purchased box seats ($800), in the new

stadium which they also have given out for

students.

B. Finance

Bookstore Reorganization The campus Bookstore, per past failures, has

reorganized their staffing operations adding

additional staff, including a full‐time Textbook

Manager. Their online ordering site and

methods of how texts are ordered have

improved in the spring 2015 semester. They

are well supplied with APSU apparel and logo

items. Wait time during peak rush periods in

the spring 2015 semester was only 11 minutes.

The Bookstore advertised price match and

rental options more than in past semesters. Per

their Best Price Promise/Price Match, this

offered a total student savings of $13,021 for

the spring 2015 semester. They ordered more

adoptions than in any prior term to date, had

25,587 texts left in stock as of February 2015.

Also any text available by e‐Books was tagged

on the shelf next to textbooks to help show as

options also. A Textbook Advisory Committee

was formed in the fall 2014 semester and will

now meet at least once each semester to help

keep things on track.

Textbook Scholarship Per the $1,500 to be used by the Provost at his

discretion, an additional 83 textbooks were

ordered for the Library in Honors Commons

since July 1, 2015. The Bursar Office awarded

two students textbooks for the fall 2014

semester ($1,000 value); Auxiliary/Bookstore

helped Bursar Office award one student and

two additional students with free texts for the

fall 22014 semester ($1,500 value); and the

Student Financial Aid Office was able to help

fourteen students receive free texts for the

spring 2014 semester ($6,000 value).

B. Finance

SciQuest Implemented an online e‐procurement system

(SciQuest) – 2012 – 2015. Reduced paper, time,

and increased efficiency.

Process time for completion of requisition to

issuance of PO for 0‐5 days was FY 14 – 91.9%

was and FY 15 is 94.0%.

Number of POs issued through SciQuest was FY

14 – 3,109 (an average of 259 per month) and

for eight months in FY 15 – 2,156 (an average of

269 per month).

Process time for requisition from start date to

completion for 30+ days was FY 14 – .26 % and

FY 15 improved to .22%. One of the reasons for

the time delay from the time of requisition

completed to issuance of a PO is due to the bid

process. One of the solutions being considered

to reduce the number of days is instead of using

a requisition, the department could complete a

bid form.

Multi‐functional Devices As a part of the initiative, an extensive

evaluation process was completed. Two

separate vendor contracts were compared

based on price, features and customer service.

Several departments selected color devices with

fax capability which allowed the departments to

eliminate fax machines and color printers.

Smart business decision that saved

department’s budgets and resources.

Number of Devices:

FY 11’ – 70 devices

FY 12’ ‐ 72 devices



FY 15’ – 84 devices

Number of Fax Components on Multi‐

Functional Devices:

FY 14’ – 4

FY 15’ – 22

B. Finance

Multi‐Functional Devices Continued

Contract Savings:

FY 14’ – $14,259.91 for 72 devices

FY 15’ – $8,500.73 for 84 devices (a monthly

savings of $5,759.18 or an annual savings of

$69,110.16)

Contract Evaluation Savings

The evaluation was based on the potential cost

for the same size devices that the departments

had for FY 14’. After the contract was awarded,

departments were able to select the size of

device that would best meet their needs.

Purchasing was able to provide each

department with their usage history so that

each department could make an informed

decision. Based on the FY 14 machines, the FY

15’ expense for each vendor would have been:

Canon ‐ Monthly ‐ $7,702.04 (an anticipated

annual savings of at least $9,178.28)

RJ Young – Monthly ‐ $8,466.90

Additional Savings

For a small monthly fee, departments were

offered the opportunity to add a fax component

to their multi‐functional devices. By adding fax

components, department realized savings by

elimination of the costs for toner, repair or

maintenance service and specialized paper.

Many departments took advantage of the great

pricing for color devices. The price for each

color copy is only .049 per copy. Several

departments elected to dispense with their

color and black and white printers. As of the

contract, the vendor provides all toner, repairs

and staples which results in significant savings

to the departments.

B. Finance

Expand options to find better mailing

solutions, in both retail and

department mailing needs.

Continue to work with Bookstore vendor to stay

on track with working well with our students

and campus community.

Automation of several billing

processes for grants and contracts.

Utilizing screens available in banner, we plan to

streamline processing bills and shorten the time

required to collect data required by grantors.

Plans are to continue working with the bank to

implement several programs which are partially

completed.

Online Database:

Develop and implement a centralized online

database of all available contracts for use by

departments. The database will streamline

availability and accessibility to all TBR, UT and

state contracts. Currently, to find an available

contact, staff and faculty have to access

multiple sites to find their options for an

available contract. The database will provide

one central location to determine contracts,

vendors, dates of availability and types of

commodities. Time and cost of labor will be

reduced and efficiency will be increased. Staff

and faculty will have additional time to focus on

student initiatives. Online payment plan for

students who are no longer enrolled.

Online acknowledgement of financial

responsibility.

Create a process to roll discounts and waivers

from term to term.

Working to continue to find better

mailing solutions and better methods

of processing mailings both in

receiving and processing.

Continue to work Bookstore on finding ways

they can maintain the service we demand to

help keep costs down for textbooks. And

continue to help promote APSU in general.

E‐Procurement Forms:

Assist and enable departments to route forms

through e‐procurement for approvals. To

increase efficiency and customer service,

Purchasing is offering opportunities for

additional forms to be created and available in

SciQuest to allow electronic approval and

routing to correct department.

Targeted texting for confirmation,

billing, etc.

Enhanced Mailing Solutions What is allowed under the agreement with the

U.S. Postal Service. And to review any changes

or additional equipment, supplies, needed. In

some situations, it may be a cost vs. service

issue.

B. Finance

Bookstore The bookstore has taken a financial loss in

trying to meet the demand and services we

require in the spring 2015 semester and

APSU/TBR employees seeking alternative

options to eventually get free texts to students.

But as we all know, nothing is free, this can

affect operations in the bookstore, but hope to

see them continue to offer the service they

have in the spring 2015 term and push more

students to use them than outside vendors

since often this can be the best option for a

student either renting or purchasing texts.

Postage Currently the Purchasing operating budget is

$9,500 per year. The Purchasing department

has fixed costs each year that have to be paid

along with costs that vary year from year. Each

year the department covers fixed cost for

telephone, PO Box, TBR mandated payment for

Commodity Codes, fee for National Association

for Educational Procurement (NAEP), and

postage. The total for these charges as of

February 11, 2015 is $2,918.68. The

department has also spent $697.26 on supplies

and $1,366.34 on the copier.

SciQuest – Accounts Payable Shortage of funds and personnel are continuing

challenges. Inability to purchase software to

automate the Accounts Payable portion of

SciQuest requires the staff of Accounts Payable

to perform many manual processes which are

not cost efficient or effective. Lack of personnel

to complete all tasks increases stress and

increases likelihood of errors or failure to

complete required tasks. Lack of space is also a

challenge, in addition to older, out of date

equipment.

SciQuest Modules APSU implemented the TBR mandated e‐

procurement system (SciQuest) in 2013.

Currently we have the Express version which

has limited capabilities and functionality. To

enhance the system, we are requesting to

purchase additional modules. With the

purchase of the additional two (2) components,

purchasing and accounts payable will be able to

improve the efficiency of the processes to

include but not limited to contracts and rebid

dates; catalogs; comparison pricing; electronic

invoicing and matching.

Any RFPs, RFIs and RFQs over $100,000 have to

be mailed certified which cost approximately

$100 for the bid, $100 for Questions and

Answers and if an amendment has to be done

then an additional $100 is added to the price.

RFPs are usually bid in five (5) year timeframes.

The postage spent in FY11’ was $3,314.87 and

in FY16’, we will be bidding the same RFPs

again. The anticipated costs of postage for next

fiscal year will be over $4,000.

The department has not received any increases

in the budget in the past 4 years to cover the

inflationary costs while postage and other costs

have increased every year. Without the

additional $1,000 to cover the increase in

postage, the department will have even less

funds available to support the operations in the

purchasing department.

Based on initiatives from the president, we will

have additional international students. Billing

internationally and collecting these funds might

require additional resources.

C. Human Resources

Professional Development

Opportunities Human Resources has continued to offer

professional development opportunities for

faculty and staff. So far this year, 15 in‐person

trainings have been offered with 369 faculty

and staff attending. Trainings have also been

offered through D2L, with 3,623 successful

completions of required trainings. Changes

have been made in the student employment

process, which have resulted in increased

efficiency, i.e., less time spent by students and

supervisors on the process of hiring.

Our goals for next year include expanding our

professional development offerings to include a

training series for managers and training for

new employees to introduce them to the

processes and culture of the University. We are

also working on the implementation of

Electronic Personnel Action Forms in Banner,

which will allow us to more efficiently process

activities that are still done largely via paper

such as the hiring of adjuncts

Our major task will be to work with a consultant

and the Compensation Committee to

recommend an updated compensation plan for

the campus.

The professional development opportunities

that have been offered in the past 2 years have

required minimal expenditures and have been

accomplished with no increase to our budget.

We have utilized a low cost alternative for

purchasing web based seminars that we have

been able to offer in a group setting, or have

relied upon internal expertise to develop

trainings. As these materials are becoming

stale, increased funding for professional

development would allow us to increase the

quality and relevance of these opportunities.

D. Information Technology

Relocation of the campus data center to Maynard facility

Upgrade of the VoIP System

Cabling, network, wireless, and voice – New Stadium

Cabling, network, wireless, and voice – Maynard

RuffaloCody rollout

Alertus Desktop rollout

Replaced campus emergency phones

Migrated campus listserv to off‐site hosting

Relocated backup replication site from Dickson to Smyrna OIR

Upgraded campus Internet bandwidth from 200 to 750 Mbps; upgraded Residence Hall Internet bandwidth from 200 to 300 Mbps

Completed Network closet cleanups – Browning vault, Harned, Library

Completed Campus Cable Mapping

Completed Phase II of the campus Infrastructure Upgrade

Upgraded Communications Rooms UPS systems

Late Add Registration Workflow

My Future Enhancements – Macro Majors

Access Control Systems upgrade

BossCops/BossCars upgrade

TN Promise Modifications

Overhaul of RMS/OneCard/Access Control Systems integration

Duplicate ID removal workflow

College Scheduler implementation

Created searchable FAQ to assist mobile

device support for faculty, staff, and students on campus wireless network and email. This included iPod, iPad, iPhone, Kindle, Windows Phone, Microsoft Surface, and Android devices. The FAQ also provides support for Office 365 for faculty, staff, and students. This included personal computers and mobile devices.

Responded to all Help Desk calls in a timely manner, with a reported 99% of issues being resolved in less than thirty days.

Assisted students with obtaining and maintaining access to the One Stop user portal.

Provided one on one and group training sessions for faculty, staff, and students for Macintosh Devices, Multi‐media equipment and PC based hardware and software.

Addressed 3700 work orders in 2014‐15.

Replaced 146 staff PC’s and 52 staff Macintosh computers in 2014‐15 in order to increase the efficiency of the staff.

Replaced 190 TAF funded student use PC’s and 85 TAF funded student use Macintoshes in 2013‐14.

Upgraded 21 TAF funded multi‐media classrooms with new equipment at a cost of over $300,000.

Hired a multi‐media technician to permanent staff in order to better service the more than 180 multi‐media classrooms across campus.

Assisted the College of Education in the design and implementation of the 21st century classroom with the use of the Mondo pad technology.


Improve Network Infrastructure Improve network infrastructure to eliminate

single points of failure to ensure access to

service.

Reorganize Office of Information

Technology Reorganize the structure of the Office of

Information Technology and complete a

compensation study to determine appropriate

salaries.

Provide Quality Front End Services Provide high quality front end Web and Portal

services for all patrons.

Improve Campus Community

Knowledge Base Improve the information sources and

knowledge base for technology available to the

campus community.

Campus network expansions and

improvements

Add Second Internet Provider to/from Campus Internet for redundancy and failover

Redesign Core Network to create a redundant physical for failover

Relocate perimeter network and telco equipment to Browning Compute Room vault from Browning 3rd floor ‘what is that area called’

Install Cabling, network, wireless and voice – 322 Home Ave

Install Cabling, network, wireless and

voice – New and existing Farm buildings

Install Cabling, network, wireless and voice – Church of Christ building

Emerald Hills Wireless Install

Install Cabling, network, wireless and voice – Fine Arts Building

Web Improvements

Selection and implementation of next campus portal

Outsource campus infrastructure servers required for faculty/staff email to provide high availability

Reconfigure Student email to ensure continued Single Sign On capability with campus portal (OneStop)

Assisting PR with Course Management System upgrade/implementation

Mobile development and new application deployment


Campus Productivity and Security

Improvements Banner Workflow system upgrade

P.O. Box Management system in Self‐Service

Non‐Banner Systems Password Policy upgrade and password management system application installation

Pilot – print management system for student labs

Pilot – Virtual application system for student access

Prior Credit Workflow

Travel module and workflow – invoice creation & Go‐Live

Upgrade non‐Banner virtual server system hardware and software

Offsite DR agreement with TBR

Update Procedures Manual for team functions

OIT is located in 5 facilities across campus. This presents challenges between teams and within teams to effectively cooperate, communicate, and coordinate tasks and projects. Recommend a single location be identified and fitted for OIT to move to as an intact department.

Reorg – OIT’s organizational structure in terms of titles & job responsibilities are under‐titled one‐level when compared with other TBR institutions. A CIO level position should be AVP or VP level whose direct reports are at the director‐level.

Security Office position needed – It has been recommended by internal audit that APSU designate information security officer duties to a position at the university. Industry best practices indicate that at minimum, the CISO must be a prominent member of the CIO's, chief risk officers, or general counsel’s leadership team.

Competing for talent with local public sector jobs – This should be addressed in reorganization and through working with HR on an IT specific compensation plan.

Hosted ODS at OIR instability and unreliability – Keep an open dialogue with TBR OIT as they investigate other hosting options in the near future. Advocate to be an early adopter of the new Golden Gate rollout on which TBR is working.

Aging Campus Portal and Luminis 5 – Actively seeking and evaluating the best solution for our campus. This may be the new Ellucian Portal.

Uncertainty in long‐term planning for Banner XE due to uncertainty at TBR level

Meeting demands and deadlines of shifting & competing priorities – improve change management process for system upgrades and scheduled outages to be participatory amongst functional departments. Implementation of new/improved Project Management software to increase productivity, collaboration, and transparency.


Lack of vendor support from Perceptive (Nolij) ‐ Allocate resources for training for OIT staff and temper the customization expectations created in 2011 regarding in‐house Nolij development.

E. Physical Plant

Hired new Assistant Director, Environmental Health & Safety

Hired new Assistant Director, Building Services

Participated in FY14 APPA Facilities Performance Indicators (FPI) survey

Use Resources Wisely

Evaluate "In‐Sourcing" Opportunities

Evaluate various EH&S service providers to

determine if some services are better delivered

utilizing in‐house staff.

Implement PM Program for Landscape

Equipment

Track runtime on landscape and grounds

equipment and use this information to schedule

routine service

Improve Vehicle Maintenance Process

Improve management of vehicle life‐cycle cost

and maintenance process

Improve Maintenance Storeroom Utilization

Eliminate unused and minimally‐used

storeroom items. Add commonly needed items

that are currently non‐stock items.

To Effectively Maintain Campus

Buildings and Grounds

Track Operational Costs of Buildings

To gather necessary information for better

decision‐making

Evaluate and Implement Efficient Landscaping

Improve grass areas, irrigation systems and

passive stormwater management features (rain

gardens, bioswales, etc).

Develop a Highly Effective Workforce

Provide Appropriate Training Opportunities for

Maintenance Staff

Provide formal and informal training for

maintenance personnel

Provide EH&S Training Opportunities On‐Line

Begin providing mandatory and optional EH&S

training on‐line

Provide Landscape Maintenance Training

Provide additional training for grounds and

landscaping staff.

E. Physical Plant

Perform fume hood testing in‐

house

Expand “preventive maintenance”

efforts

Focus on additional training for

Physical Plant employees

“Optimize” maintenance

storeroom

Operating Expense ‐ Funding level

is below regional average

Building systems are getting more

complex

Capital maintenance funding is

not keeping pace with campus

needs

Finding skilled labor is sometimes

challenging

F. Public Safety

Peay Parking AssistAt the beginning of the fall semester, we used

volunteers who directed commuter students

from full lots to where they could locate

parking.

Food for Fines ProgramAt the end of the fall semester, Public Safety

conducted a program that allowed parking

violators to pay for parking fines with 10 cans of

food that were donated to the APSU Food Bank.

We waived 156 parking citations for 119

individuals during the seven days of operations.

We collected 1,627 cans of food that is

projected to help students in need through

summer.

Reclassifying Security Guard PositionWe expanded the number of sworn officers

from 17 to 18 by reclassifying a security guard

position. The security guard retired and the

reclassification was completed without needing

any additional funding. This allowed the Police

Department to increase the minimum staffing

requirements which improves public and officer

safety.

Public Safety ReorganizationCompleted reorganization within Public Safety

to increase efficiency. This change included

adding an Assistant Director/Assistant Chief of

Police (changed from Lieutenant of Operations)

and a Parking Office Supervisor (changed from

Administrative Assistant) to create a parking

office to better serve the university community.

This was funded by reallocating funds from a

collapsed security guard position that was

vacant due to a job transfer to another

department.

F. Public Safety

To provide an effective and efficient police

department

To enhance campus safety and preparedness

through a comprehensive emergency

management program.

To increase parking office efficiency.

Parking

Loss of Trahern Lot (Faculty/Staff) and re‐zoning

without adding parking lots at this time.

Perception that commuters suffer the brunt of

parking changes and challenges.

Addition of Jenkins and Wynne Parking Lots –

Must add/improve transportation since those

lots will be on the outskirts of campus. This will

involve creating Parking & Transportation and

taking over the operation of the Peay Pick‐Up

from Student Affairs/Student Government

Association.

Professional Development – Finding funding to

allow for training for police officers beyond

those required by Police Officer Standard s and

Testing (POST) and for training for non‐police

personnel.

F. University Facilities

Discontinued the sending of the 10‐15 page summer contract and related material by mail and all done electronically.

Major cooperation on the part of the major campus venues to coordinate and communicate event information.

Percentage use of Rooms in the UC on a daily basis has risen on an average of 10% with the ballroom seeing an increase of 30%.

Identification of UC visitor parking

Increase off campus rentals by 5%

Creation of a separate ID card and Access Services office

Increase the use of the ID card off campus – potential revenue stream

Identify other revenue sources for UC operations.

Coordination and cooperation of campus venues in planning, use of resources and reduction of conflicts

Move to a digital room signage protocol in the UC

Use room reservation system software to interface with HVAC system to coordinate opening and closing facilities

Move campus ID card from mag stripe to touch less system.

Parking for Guests

The lack of designated or close parking affects

our ability to have community members use our

rent our space.

Staffing

While we are constantly asked to do more,

provide more service, use more space over the

last 10 years, our staffing has not increased and

creates a strain to continue providing quality.

I have one person that does multiple jobs in the

facility reservations area. This number is

significantly lower than the TBR average of

three.

Large Meeting Venues

We do not have enough large banquet/meeting

space to meet the demands of the campus.

Documents

Annual Report Finance Administration · Annual Report March 2015 ... (SciQuest) – 2012 – 2015. Reduced paper, time, ... color and black and white printers. As of the