Universities

This study addresses issues related to three university funding matters: policy initiatives or decisions packages, tuition and fees, and funding for student enrollment growth. We found that although decision packages expenditures can be tracked only to a limited degree, universities are spending the full dollar amount appropriated for programs related to decision packages, plus additional monies. We also found that while it was not possible to determine the specific expenditures that were funded from tuition and fees, more than half of the expenditures of unrestricted monies were for instruction and academic support. Finally, we found that the actual amounts the Legislature appropriated for student enrollment growth funding, while generally following changes in student population, have been less than the amounts dictated by the formula used to calculate the funding needed.

This report addresses issues related to auxiliary enterprises at the three state universities. Auxiliary enterprises represent a very wide variety of activities and services, including bookstores, student housing, intercollegiate athletics, and parking services. The report presents two findings. First, it notes that changes may be needed if the universities are to successfully review services for possible privatization, as they have been required to do by a 1996 legislative mandate. Studies performed to date, as well as best practices cited in literature, suggest that the universities may need to collect more performance, service, and financial information to enable them to conduct systematic privatization reviews. Second, the report recommends several ways that the universities could improve the way they operate their auxiliary enterprises. We recommend that universities: 1) actively encourage and pursue partnership opportunities to operate their auxiliary enterprise on campus; and 2) develop and implement standardization policies for purchasing commonly used supplies and equipment, as ASU currently does. We also recommend that the Board of Regents develop guidelines for each auxiliary and internal...

The report addresses issues relating to the universities and the Arizona Board of Regents’ efforts to manage enrollment at Arizona’s universities. First, we found that Arizona’s universities and the Board of Regents need to develop enrollment forecasts to predict future enrollment growth at the universities. Although several forecasts have been developed in the past, they have tended to overestimate enrollment. Additionally, the universities need to revise the existing plan used to manage future enrollment growth. The plan identified several strategies for managing university growth, including expanding the universities’ evening and weekend programs, distance learning programs, partnerships with community colleges, and establishing two new branch campuses. While the universities have experienced success enrolling students in most of the main campus alternatives, they have had difficulties attracting students to the branch campuses. The universities should revisit the current plan and make modifications as necessary. Additionally, the universities and the Board of Regents should initiate a statewide master plan to help the State meet future enrollment growth.

Further, more can be done to increase enrollment...

This report addresses ways in which the ASU Research Park and the UA Science and Technology Park can become financially viable and generate more relationships between park tenants and the universities. Although the research parks were planned to become financially self-sufficient, both have needed assistance from the universities. In particular, ASU has transferred $7.5 million to its park since fiscal year 1990 and UA has paid $2.5 million of its park’s start-up and operating costs. Even the most successful research parks nationally have struggled for many years before achieving financial self-sufficiency, in part because the pool of potential tenants is limited by entry restrictions. Although ASU’s park was unable to lease land during some past years, it has leased significant amounts of land to new tenants during recent years. The report recommends reevaluating the ASU park’s occupancy progress after three to five years. The report also recommends that management at both parks use other strategies to attract tenants, such as developing more effective relationships with university faculty as contacts for potential tenants...

The report addresses ways in which the universities can better manage the existing space on their main campuses. Currently, each university uses classrooms, on average, less than 60 percent of each day. Not only does this use fall below the Board of Regents’ current guidelines regarding utilization of classroom space, but these guidelines may themselves be set too low to ensure classrooms are adequately used. The report recommends that the Board of Regents continue their efforts to develop new classroom utilization standards and hold the universities accountable for increasing their use of classroom space. The report also recommends that as the universities take steps to increase classroom use, they should focus on some of the most expensive rooms, those equipped with instructional technology, which are also underutilized. One way to improve classroom use would be for the universities to schedule more classes through central scheduling offices and more fully automate their scheduling function. The universities can also adopt new practices, such as space audits, to help improve utilization.