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NEWS
KANSAN.COM
Report: Consultants cost KU millions, offer few benefits
ANGIE BALDELOMAR
@AngieBaldelomar
A after releasing a report about the millions of dollars the University of Kansas spends on consultants, University Senate is aiming to create an analysis of the benefits that the University receives from these spendings.
Consultants are being used for many projects within the University, including construction projects. A report from this spring semester by the University Senate found that millions of dollars are being given to these consultants, sometimes without substantial results.
Suzanne Shontz, University Senate president, said that although nothing is set in stone yet, she expects a discussion on this analysis during the first University Senate meeting in September.
at KU with little-to-no tangible evidence of positive work product relating to the bulk of these monies."
Consultants are hired to fix problems, cut costs, make operations more efficient or anything else the client asks them to do. At the University, consultants are used in different areas, from the climate study reports (Rankin & Associates Consulting) to consultants for the implementation of IT systems (Oracle America Inc.).
In the spring semester, the Planning and Resources Committee released a report on the use of external consultants and consulting contractors by the University who were paid more than $10,000. The report concluded that "there is strong evidence pointing to more than ($21 million) being spent on consultants and consultant-like activities over the past 7 years
For Shontz, this report is only a step forward and shows that more research needs to be done, especially of the benefits of these costs.
"That committee, as you can imagine, they had a lot of charges, they got through a lot, but they weren't able to do every single thing because they needed to interact with the administration, and administration was giving them things, but it takes a while to talk to them and get data from them," she said.
File Photo/KANSAN
Ron Barrett-Gonzalez, aerospace engineering associate professor and member of the Planning and Resources committee, agreed with Shontz in that more research is needed. He said in an email that the work results of nearly all of the consulting services are unverified.
"It doesn't mean that the work wasn't done or done satisfactorily, it just means that the Administration hasn't shown the Committee evidence of this," he said in an email.
The report was done in response to a specific charge given by the University Senate Executive Committee, Barrett-Gonzalez said, to "develop a cost-benefit analysis of partnerships between KU and outside contractors and consultants."
Although Shontz said she can't guarantee the committee will make the benefit side of this analysis the following year, she thinks it is more likely to happen.
For her, there needs to be a way to find a "happy balance" between what instances need consultants and the cost of using them.
"Do a little more on this, investigating side, asking is it really worth the money you pay? That's just one
thing," she said. "Another thing would be just also getting more input from people who will be involved."
The Kansan reached out to some members of the University's administration, but they could not be
reached for comment.
Shontz expects a decision to be made on whether this benefit side of the analysis will be a charge for the Planning and Resources committee during the first University Senate meeting in September.
Lawmakers' decision triggers raises for KU employees
CHANDLER BOESE
@Chandler_Boese
The University announced plans Tuesday to issue pay increases to some faculty and staff members this summer.
A 5 percent increase will be given to faculty members and unclassified staff members who have been at the University for more
than five years and haven't gotten a raise in the last five years. A message to faculty and staff said this group should be relatively small, since "virtually every employee" has seen an increase in the last five years.
A 2.5 percent increase will be given to faculty members and unclassified staff members who were hired in the last five years.
The increases come after a last-minute decision in June by the state legislature to increase salaries for all state employees who hadn't recently received a raise.
During a June meeting of the Board of Regents, representatives from the University of Kansas and other state universities said the legislature's decision, while good for employees,
was proving hard to implement.
The legislature funded the increases for employees whose salaries came out of the state's fund, but many faculty and staff members at universities are funded (at least partially) by other sources, like grants, federal funding or endowment. As a result, universities would be obligated to increase
some employees' salaries, but had to come up with that money on their own.
According to the University's proposed tuition plan, the legislature would be providing $2,461,969 for the increase, but $1,186,062 more would be necessary to fully fund the increase. The University said it would fund that through reallocations, not tuition revenue.
Graduate teaching assistants will also be getting a salary increase this year, according to the University's plans, as a result of a contract negotiation with the GTA union last year. This increase raised the minimum GTA salary to $15,000 and will be paid for through tuition increases.
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