Rutgers University: One System, A Dozen Strategic Initiatives

Rutgers University, the eighth oldest institution in the nation, has three campuses in the state of New Jersey, together serving over 70,000 students with a budget of over $4.5 billion. The extensive administrative services supporting these campuses and these students are operating in the same challenging context we all are. But for over 10 years now, Rutgers has been strategically improving just about every facet of their operation.

The work B&D has helped Rutgers complete through our Management Advisory Services practice includes:

Auxiliaries organizational restructuring
Capital program & project management system (CPPM) solicitation and implementation (e-builder)
Computerized Work Order Management System (CWMS) solicitation and implementation
Energy P3 evaluation
Housing operational efficiency analysis
Access management & security technology operational efficiency and organizational structure analysis
Parking strategic plan
RCM (Responsibility Center Management) budget process evaluation
Transit mobility and operational plan – Covid-19

The objective for all of these seemingly disparate projects is the same: Empower Rutgers’ Administrative units to maximize their strategic value to the institution through predictable and effective organizational, operational, and financial structures. With the changing higher education landscape, this work is important—but in a COVID-impacted era with tighter-than-ever budgets, it has become critical to the long-term success of Universities across the country.

Here is a closer look at some of these projects.

Auxiliaries Organizational Restructuring

Opportunity: Evaluate the impact the decentralized Auxiliary Services management structure has on revenue production and service levels

Projected Outcomes:

Unification of Auxiliaries management across all campuses
Consistent branding
Predictable and uniform student experience
Increased operational effectiveness and efficiency
Three-year average annual net revenue projected to increase by $5M

RCM (Responsibility Center Management) budget process evaluation

Opportunity: Evaluate the impact the University’s current RCM budgeting structure has on net revenue production

Projected Outcomes:

Developed RCM budget participation model that permits stable Auxiliary net revenue growth and supports broader strategic campus initiatives
Reduced University subsidies to Auxiliaries by 50%
Forecasted Auxiliary RCM assessments for five-year period enabling predictable long-term financial planning

Computerized Work Order Management System (CWMS) solicitation and implementation

Opportunity: Review current state of Institutional Planning and Operation’s CWMS processes and systems to establish system performance and functional requirements for new system

Projected Outcomes:

Move from 11 separate CWMSs to 1
Reduce number of shadow systems currently in use; currently 100
Increased customer transparency and access
Increased agent and technician productivity with better tools and self-management capabilities
Strengthen data reliability and reporting with centralized data repository

Access management & security technology operational efficiency and organizational structure analysis

Opportunity: Review Identify Access Management and Securities Technology departments’ operating structures to identify opportunities to reorganize organizational structure, business processes, and staffing to align with desired organizational outcomes

Outcomes:

Unification of IAM and Sec. Tech under single leadership
Increased strategic utilization of contractors to meet peak demand
Creation of Quality & Assurance and Installation and Maintenance Departments
Develop baseline level of services and sustainable budget model

Parking strategic plan

Opportunity: Review existing physical and operational conditions and practices to develop short- and long-term strategies to strengthen the optimization of Parking’s physical assets and increase operational effectiveness and efficiency

Outcomes:

Implement Transportation Demand Management program
Improve customer service performance by leveraging existing call center, developing standard operating procedures, implementing quarterly customer service trainings, and creating self-service portal
Establish service-level agreements with IP&O support departments
Reorganize department into two operational areas: administration and customer service
Develop a leadership-approved financial performance goal for Parking

Transit mobility and operational plan – Covid-19

Opportunity: Develop data-driven decision-making tool to inform transit operational planning based in changes in travel modes, class schedules, building occupancies, and other activities resulting from the pandemic

Outcomes:

Develop a dynamic travel forecast model
Identify over-capacity travel modes and areas
Create service and operating plan for shuttle, walk, bike, scooter, and parking that addresses over-capacity condition

"The leadership and information from B&D, and the clarity with which they provide it, brings added credibility to the process and ensures that a range of university stakeholders, including senior leadership and our board, are fully informed for – and confident in – their required decision making.”

B.J. Crain, Former Interim Vice President for Finance and Administration

Texas Woman’s University

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