2004 CANADIAN UNIVERSITY BUSINESS OFFICERS’ CONFERENCE SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN 12-15 JUNE 2004 CAUBO is the professional networking organisation for Canadian University Business Officers operating in a similar function to AUA for British University Administrators. It was my privilege and pleasure to attend their 2004 Conference in Saskatoon during a visit with family in the same town. Pre-Conference Seminars The conference was divided into five themes, ‘treks’ to use the local vernacular, as follows:1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Treasury Management Procurement Human Resource Management Internal Audit Institutional Resource Planning
with a specialised one-day pre-conference seminar for each trek being offered as an optional extra to the main conference. As a Business & Planning Manager with a UK Medical School, with a wide portfolio for management within the School, the fifth ‘trek’ was chosen as being of most relevance to my current role. The pre-conference seminar on this topic consisted of a number of presentations advocating the relatively new ‘science’ of institutional resource planning. Planners in Canada are moving towards an integrated planning solution using either Banner or Peoplesoft as their preferred IT tool. The seminar introduced planners to the new emerging IT tool on the HEI market, Cognos, with presentations being given by representatives from the University of Alberta on the implementation of the system in their institution; and the University of Calgary on the results they achieved in turning around a CAN$30m (c£12.8m) deficit into a positive balance within 2 financial years. The seminar was pitched at individuals involved in resource planning, budgeting, forecasting, analysis, performance management and reporting. The financial situation in Canadian Universities seems to be more acute than in the UK with an increased focus on research, record enrolments (admissions) and an insatiable demand for services leading many institutions to challenge their traditional funding methodologies. One of the ways in which this was being facilitated was through the introducton of a number of planning models and software applications created to provide an “integrated planning” environment.
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Participants on this session were introduced to Cognos, which applications has now already been introduced in the UK, at Queen’s University Belfast, the University of Ulster and in the University of Aberdeen. Main Conference Event The Conference began with the award of prizes to the various successful entrants to the CAUBO Quality & Productivity Awards Programme, a programme similar in scope to the AUA Award for Excellence, although, perhaps with a higher profile as prizes are given at the main conference itself and with wider publicity. Similar to the AUA conferences, a number of concurrent events are organised, interspersed with plenary sessions with individual participants signing up for each session as part of the electronic conference booking form. Not all of the sessions were of relevance to my current role, or were too specific to Canada rendering any attempt to transport their contents to the UK environment meaningless. Nevertheless, some general points that may be relevant to the AUA (and Cardiff University): •
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Canadian Universities are actively targeting the new European Union countries and the Republic of China for investment/overseas student recruitment. Canadian Universities were advised of the growth available in the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. Canadian Universities were reminded of the potential available in engaging in activity in Iran, a country which seems now to be more willing to deal with the West than previously. It was considered that the US market was saturated and that little or no significant benefit could be derived from operating in this market unless an aggressive marketing strategy were adopted, with Canadian Universities going head-to-head with their US rivals. (Indeed, the dilemma of a homogenous Canadian HEI system was oft repeated informally during the various social gatherings. Canadian Universities in Vancouver and British Columbia feel that they have more common, and operate in a similar environment to US Universities across the border in Seattle and Washington State than with other Canadian HEIs in the East. Similarly, the University of Saskatchewan had more in common with HEIs in Montana and Dakota, and so on).
Decentralisation of financial management within Canadian Universities was one of the topics on the agenda for the main conference. Similar to the UK, a number of Canadian HEIs are involved in mergers, resulting in the formation of large Universities or ones where campuses are remote from each other. The impetus for the various mergers mentioned was not pursued.
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Three large Universities (Toronto, Ottawa and Victoria) advocated the decentralisation of financial management, an aspect of University management which had only been made possible to them through the use of various integrated software solutions (Cognos was again cited as one of the platforms used). The advantages of decentralisation were the decreasing resource base and the need to ensure that decision making is taken at the right level. The solutions adopted all sought to minimise duplication of effort, ensure that real time reports are available to all who need access, that sufficient security arrangements are put in place, and that Deans have sufficient flexibility to respond to market pressures/demands in ensuring that they remain aligned with organisational objectives. The question of supporting multi-disciplinary research groups was also discussed; whatever vertical financial lines of accountability are set up, there will always be some form of horizontal activity which requires infrastructure support. The University of Saskatoon has adopted an approach, seemingly similar to that adopted by the University of Aberdeen. Saskatchewan has set up a Research Park, with its own management infrastructure to support the needs of both single-discipline researchers (Mode I) and multi-disciplinary research teams (Mode II) operating as a separate affiliated company. Personnally, my role in the UWCM School of Medicine has involved some negotiations with AURIS (Aberdeen University Research Institute Services), a separate enterprise set up to manage research within the University. The final seminar at which I was present, returned to the pre-conference seminar theme of Institutional Planning. A presentation was given by the Director of Resource Planning at the University of Alberta (the convenor of the pre-conference seminar) on the process used to develop and introduce a 4-year Integrated Planning Framework within the University, a research-intensive University with over 33,000 students and an annual expenditure of CAN$863m (cÂŁ367m). This framwork was approved and set up in 2000 and has enabling the preparation of fully-integrated business plans at institutional, faculty and support unit levels. The Director felt that he had achieved his goal of effectively linking strategy to budget, environmental factors to planning, timely financial information with decision making and stakeholder responsibility with stakeholder accountability.
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Canada has already adopted a variable tuition fees structure and an internal HEI market has been created, not only for students, but for staff, where each University is able to negotiate its own terms & conditions of service with its various staff groups under individual collective agreements. These nuances, unique to the Canadian system do make management within the sector slightly more … interesting for the University Manager than might be the case in the UK. Trade Union activity and turbulent industrial relations are much more evident than in the UK and most University Managers admitted to having to deal with some form of major dispute in the recent past. One University had effectively been closed for 5 months during the winter of 2003-04 as a result of a industrial action by the faculty staff (academics). Again, it was often cited during informal discussions with Canadian colleagues that the faculty staff are not always supportive of the business ethos within which this conference was steeped. With a population half the size of the UK, the competition for enrolments/student admissions seems to be increasing and the concept of Lifelong Learning seems to be relatively new. A top-level Government representative speaking at one of the plenary sessions felt the need to reiterate the need to promote and faciliate ‘lifelong learning’ to the conference delegates. However, the concept of Widening Access and the additional costs that such a policy might entail are not supported by the majority of those University Managers with whom I spoke (predominantly at the research-intensive end of the sector), although some (community college end of the spectrum) were beginning to see that a change in tack and entry into new segments of the student recruitment market might be necessary in order to maintain a ‘positive bottom line’ and maintain sustainability. Personal Action Points 1. 2. 3.
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Submit report of Conference to AUA International Committee. Submit report of Conference to Director of Planning, Cardiff University. Investigation of possible presentation by Cognos UK, possibly in collaboration with representatives from any one of the three UK Universities using this system to the next (or subsequent) AUA Conference. To date, I have insufficient knowledge of the IT tools supporting the Cardiff University Planning process to make any informed comment to the Cardiff University Director of Planning on the potential benefits deriving from Cognos in comparison with current planning software applications.
Ian Doyle Business & Planning Manager School of Medicine University of Wales College of Medicine
AUA Member and International Correspondent for Argentina (1997 – 2003)
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Acknowledgments: Mr Phillip Stack, Director of Resource Planning, Univerity of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta Mr Ernie Millard, Director of Finance, University College of the Caribou, Kamloops, British Columbia Mrs Helen MacGregor, Budget & Special Projects Manager, St Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia Circulation: Ms Alison Johns, Chair, AUA International Committee, Leadership, Governance & Management, Higher Education Funding Council for England, Northavon House, Coldharbour Lane, Bristol, BS16 1QD Ms Lynn Rawlinson, Secretary, AUA International Committee, AUA National Office, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL (less CAUBO Quality Awards Brochure) Dr Sue Hybard, Director of Planning, Cardiff University, Main Building, Park Place, PO Box 481, Cardiff CF10 3TU (less CAUBO Quality Awards Brochure) Internal Courtesy Copy: Mr Les Rees, AUA Executive Committee, Registrar, UWCM, Cardigan House Enclosures: 1. 2. 3.
Queen’s University Belfast Cognos Information Sheet University of Aberdeen Cognos Information Sheet CAUBO 2004 Quality and Productivity Awards Programme Brochure
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