Putting Bowling Green State University on
firmer financial footing will take campus-wide changes, consultants from Accenture reported to the campus
community Wednesday.About 700 faculty, administrators, staff and students gathered in the student union
ballroom to hear the report that promises the university net savings up to $85 million over five years
through dozens of changes.David Metnick, a managing director, said that the recommendations were developed
through meetings with more than 50 campus "leaders, academic leadership, administrative staff,
classified staff and students."The company was paid $500,000.President Mary Ellen Mazey said the
university will now take over studying and implementing the recommendations. She promised to convene working
groups to study the recommendations in January."I’m very optimistic as long as everyone works with
us… we can implement every one of the recommendations," she said.The plan calls for "a dedicated
project management team to manage the overall initiative." The initiative would require an investment
of up to $13 million.Metnick asserted that not only will the recommendations save the university more money,
but could also help bring as many as 3,000 new students.The recommendations, presented by Metnick and
Accenture strategy manager Samantha Fisher, covered the gamut of university offerings and
operations.Included is a call for reducing the number of general education classes and requiring minimum
enrollment for those classes to be offered. A Faculty Senate committee is already studying the issue. The
university now offers 315 courses, and Accenture suggested getting that down to 125.Another recommendation
is for the university to offer more online courses. The report says only 10 percent of BGSU students now
take at least one online course. Nationally, 32 percent of students take courses online.David Jackson, the
president of the BGSU Faculty Association, said he found those recommendations "insulting."
Consultants who do not teach courses shouldn’t be making recommendations about what courses are offered and
how many students are in those courses, he said.He also questioned the idea of offering more online courses
without taking into consideration the quality of those programs.Accenture also recommended either closing
the university bookstore, moving some items to other shops, offering a "pop-up" bookstore early in
the semester and creating "a robust online store," or contracting with an outside company to run
the store.More cost savings, Accenture said, could be achieved by consolidating offices. That would include:
one office to handle student services; another to oversee student internships and co-ops; and another to
manage and promote all conferences and events on campus.These, Metnick said, would not only be more
efficient, but also would better serve students.Achieving some of the results would require cooperation with
the city. The report contends BGSU is paying higher municipal utility rates than other institutions and
calls for the administrators to discuss lower rates with the city.At the same time, the report calls for
extensive energy conservation measures and the use of more "green" energy sources including
geothermal and solar.This pleased student Josh Chamberlain of the university’s Environmental Action Group.
He attended the speech, he said, to make sure he was informed about the initiative.Alex Solis, the president
of the Undergraduate Student Government, said the changes could make the university "a different
place."But, "if we do what is right for students, the BGSU experience can be preserved."Click here to download the full
report on Accenture’s findings.