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Office of Shared Services
Annual Report
July 2013
2
Table of Contents
Shared Services Initiative ....................................................................................................... 3
Shared Services Steering Committee ...................................................................................... 4
Shared Services Stakeholder Groups ...................................................................................... 5
Partnership with New York State ........................................................................................... 8
Strategic Communication Plan ............................................................................................... 9
Status of On-Going Projects and Quick-Wins ........................................................................ 11
Strategic Sourcing .................................................................................................................................. 11
IT Transformation................................................................................................................................... 14
Centers of Excellence ............................................................................................................................. 19
Campus Alliance Networks .................................................................................................................... 29
Phased Approach to Assessment, Design and Implementation of Shared Services Program . 31
Phase I: Assessment ............................................................................................................................... 31
Phase II: Overall Design .......................................................................................................................... 31
Phase III: Implementation ..................................................................................................................... 31
Conclusion and Next Steps .................................................................................................. 32
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SHARED SERVICES INITIATIVE
Goal – to enhance the core academic and student service missions of our campuses by redirecting
resources and reinvesting $100MM in savings into instruction and direct student support. To drive
operational efficiencies and enhance student services to improve Access, Completion and Success.
Beyond Savings - innovation, quality improvements, service excellence, efficiencies, best practices and
savings and reinvestment
• Improving core services across campuses for students, faculty and staff
• Meeting and exceeding our students’ expectations for seamless student services beyond
boundary constraints.
• Appropriately realigning funding to meet the goals outlined in SUNY’s vision
The Office of Shared Services works directly with the Vice Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer to
execute the Operational Efficiencies and Service Excellence: Shared Services – Implementation Plan
(Attachment 1). The plan details specific projects, roles and responsibilities and communications plans.
This tool was created at the beginning of this effort and is maintained by the Office of Shared Services at
http://www.suny.edu/sharedservices/reports/
In order to achieve these goals, the Office of Shared Services has developed a working structure that
includes constant communication with campuses, project managers, professional organizations, peer
institutions and other stakeholder groups; as well as input of the Shared Services Steering Committee.
Additionally, SUNY has partnered with New York State to leverage the work of the State’s business
transformation efforts; and is in the midst of a 12-week engagement with a management consulting firm
for the review of the Operational Efficiencies and Service Excellence: Shared Services – Implementation
Plan.
Strategic Priorities - There are four main areas of our shared services strategy:
Strategic Sourcing: • SUNY/NYS • SUNY-wide • Regional & Campus to Campus
IT Transformation • Seamless Student Information Systems • Software Standardization • Data Center & Networking • E-mail
Centers of Excellence • Transaction Processing Center • Functional Expertise • Regional Hubs
Campus Alliance Networks • Administrative Alliances • Campus to Campus Initiatives • Regional Initiatives
The status updates presented below provide details on SUNY’s progress in achieving these goals and the
thoughtfully designed approach for moving forward.
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SHARED SERVICES STEERING COMMITTEE
The SUNY Shared Services Steering Committee is charged with assisting in the coordinated efforts
required to bring to scale the shared services initiative, including advising System Administration and
providing the leadership needed to drive change to their colleagues at the campus level. The committee
is designed to help prioritize savings opportunities, vet ideas, and help make decisions on SUNY-wide
projects for shared services. This group is convened by the SUNY Provost and SUNY Chief Financial
Officer.
Membership of the Committee consists of the following:
• A president, provost, and business officer from each of the four sectors as nominated by
the presidents across the system.
• Shared governance representatives, including Faculty Senate, Faculty Council of
Community Colleges and Student Assembly.
• A member of the SUNY Board of Trustees as nominated by the Chairman of the Board.
• Representatives of key constituent groups including initially the President of ACT and
the President of NYCCT with more to be added as needed.
• Cabinet and relevant staff from SUNY System Administration.
The meeting schedule and topics are as follows:
March 26, 2012 Leading Transformational Change
May 31, 2012 Alignment and Decision Making
July 25, 2012 Implementation and Project Management
September 18, 2012 Communications and Reporting
November 5, 2012 Governance and Reporting
January 30, 2013 Governance and Funding
April 9, 2013 Communications and Management
June 4, 2013 Management Consulting Firm Engagement
July 29, 2013 Engagement and Next Steps
August 6, 2013 To Be Determined
The Shared Services team is working on an engagement plan to maximize the participation of the Shared
Services Steering Committee and increase the value of participation for both committee members and
the shared services program. Implementation of the engagement plan will begin with a full-day steering
committee workshop on July 29, 2013.
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SHARED SERVICES STAKEHOLDER GROUPS
The Office of Shared Services performs campus engagement including meetings and communications
with campus stakeholder and peer groups, national organizations and consortia, and other university
systems. The purpose of this engagement is to support the implementation of shared services, obtain
useful information through discussion of best practices, and to learn from experts.
SUNY Stakeholder and Peer Groups
SUNY Accounting, Budget, Bursar Committee (ABB) - The Office of Shared Services communicates
with and participates in scheduled meetings with ABB. ABB has also provided its “35 Points of Light”,
a document outlining 35 ideas, including shared opportunities the group is asking SUNY to pursue.
SUNY Alliance for Strategic Technologies (AST) - The Information Technology Transformation Team
(ITTT) participates in regular meetings with AST, presents project updates, and solicits feedback
from the group.
SUNY Business Officers Association (SUBOA) - The support of the business officers is essential for the
successful implementation of the Operational Efficiencies and Service Excellence: Shared Services –
Implementation Plan. The CFO provides regular updates to the group and has engaged them
through subcommittees and special meeting. Additionally, SUBOA plays a significant role in the
development of procurement related projects, including Strategic Sourcing.
SUNY Council for University Advancement (SUNY CUAD) - The campus design and print staff
members represented at SUNY CUAD are critical to the success of Print Matters (SUNY –wide Print
Shop Utilization Project). Print Matters team members presented at the June 2013 annual
conference to a large group of stakeholders. The presentation was well received and served to
inform the project going forward.
NY Community College Association of Presidents (NYCCAP)/Community College Business Officers
Association (CCBOA) – The CFO continues to meet with NYCCAP & CCBOA and works to engage the
community colleges in shared services, to the extent that community college participation is both
feasible and of benefit to the participants. A sub team is being developed and formalized initiatives
focused on the Community Colleges will be prioritized.
SUNY Purchasing Association (SUNY PA) - SUNY purchasing staffs are early adopters of shared
services. The Office of Shared Services began regional procurement group meetings in January 2012.
All state-operated campuses have hosted such regional meetings. This willing participation has been
essential to the quick wins achieved in Strategic Sourcing.
SUNY Council of Chief Information Officers (CCIO) – no update available.
SUNY Human Resources Association (SUHRA) – no update available.
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Professional Groups and Consortia
Educational and Institutional Cooperative Purchasing (E&I)
Through the use of E&I contracts and consortia purchasing, SUNY is able to take advantage of
large volume pre-negotiated contracts, allowing SUNY to capture savings through both reduced
prices and reduction in staff time required for contract negotiation.
HCM Strategists/Lumina Foundation
SUNY has partnered with HCM Strategists, a public policy and advocacy firm that is working with
Lumina Foundation, to advance post secondary education through the development of Strategy
Labs. The Strategy Labs provide policymakers with the opportunity to connect with peers from
other states and to share, identify, and pursue solutions to ensure that more students complete
college within existing resources.
Martha Snyder, the Albany-based Strategy Labs policy lead, is scheduled to present at the next
Shared Services Internal Team meeting scheduled July 22, 2013.
National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO)
As a member of NACUBO, SUNY has participated in conversations and presentations around
best practices in shared services.
The partnership between SUNY Potsdam and SUNY Canton was recently awarded NACUBO’s
2013 Innovation Award. The award acknowledges the campus’ achievements under the
leadership of Vice President for Business Affairs and Administration, Natalie Higley.
National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS)
The Office of Shared Services worked with experts from NCHEMS in the area of governance
required to support shared services.
Other Universities
California State University (CSU)
The Office of Shared Services and the ITTT participated in conversations with CSU regarding IT
infrastructure at both the strategic and tactical levels; including IT vision, direction and
principles; cyber-infrastructure strategy and environment; as well as data center elimination.
City University of New York (CUNY)
A joint meeting between SUNY and CUNY provided an open conversation on shared services
models.
SUNY and CUNY strategic sourcing staff have met on sourcing opportunities, including potential
projects and finding commonalities between both systems.
CUNY is receptive to working with SUNY, especially on strategic sourcing training opportunities;
however, discussions have been at a conceptual level thus far.
Cornell University
Cornell University shared information with the Office of Shared Services regarding its eight
financial and business services centers.
Cornell’s shared services efforts began in 1999, when the need for consolidation of physical
space drove them to create 35 shared services centers.
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In 2003, a workforce planning effort consolidated the 35 shared services centers down to 8,
allowing Cornell to save 63 FTE’s in finance alone.
University System of Georgia (USG)
The Office of Shared Services and ITTT spoke with USG to discuss best practices and lessons
learned during Georgia’s ten years working in a shared environment. USG stressed the
importance of standardization, communication, and the use of a consulting firm to implement a
successful shared services program.
Financial services, including procurement, have been centralized for 33 of 35 campuses. A single
common Student Information System is centrally hosted and used by only 11 of 35 campuses.
Johns Hopkins University (JHU)
JHU advised the Office of Shared Services about its massive shared services effort. Beginning in
2006, JHU used an IT-system driven approach to eliminate all of the shadow-systems and
redundant processes in place at each campus.
JHU was able to implement one shared services center for both the Johns Hopkins Health
System and JHU.
University of Michigan (UM)
The Office of Shared Services and ITTT spoke with the University of Michigan shared services
work in finance, HR, student services, procurement, and IT rationalization.
Through IT rationalization alone, UM was able to save more than $30M in the first year. The
creation of a shared resource center has also lead to a savings of approximately $20M per year.
UM advised that the greatest savings lie in procurement, particularly strategic sourcing.
Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU)
In 2011, MnSCU implemented a Campus Service Cooperative (CSC) which supports MnSCU’s
goal of providing the highest value and most affordable option for higher education to all
Minnesotans.
o Provides services in the area of Finance/Business Offices; Human Resources; Financial
Aid; and Strategic Sourcing.
The CSC’s tag line of “One team, many campuses” is realized through its focus on efficient, high
quality, and transformational delivery of services, while respecting the unique academic mission
of each MnSCU college and university.
Yale University
Yale advised the Office of Shared Services that they too began working on shared services as
means to drive savings into their academic programs. All FTE savings have been moved from
administration to academic functions.
Yale will provide SUNY, along with the University of Texas, a tour of its shared services center on
July 12, 2013. The tour will include a presentation from an academic department on their
experiences (and level of services received) pre and post shared services.
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PARTNERSHIP WITH NEW YORK STATE
It is SUNY’s goal to partner with New York State and leverage their progress in business transformation
and shared services. SUNY will consider all state shared services projects, and where appropriate,
pursue a joint venture. Partnering with the State provides SUNY with the potential to utilize the power
of the Governor to impact change.
Additionally, the State has already invested significant resources on design and implementation.
Working with the State will provide SUNY the ability to utilize existing design and implementation
efforts; rather than expending resources to recreate similar structures. SUNY is working with DOB and
OGS to evaluate the State’s shared services efforts and to thoughtfully plan and implement SUNY’s work
with the state.
In order for SUNY to maximize the benefit the State’s resources and progress, a formal project plan is in
development, a draft of which is attached (Attachment 2: Leveraging New York State's Enterprise‐wide
Transformation Efforts). The project plan uses the Office of Shared Services’ project management
processes and techniques and addresses the functional areas prioritized by the State. The State is
moving forward with shared services projects in the following areas: Finance, Human Resources,
Information Technology, Procurement, Call Centers, Facilities, Fleet Management, Grants Management,
and Learning Management System (employee training tool).
SUNY’s plan incorporates the consideration and evaluation of all of functional areas for which the State
is pursuing. Though SUNY may not elect to move forward on a formal partnership in all areas, we will
document the analysis and decision making process.
The following updates indicate the Office of Shared Services’ progress in this endeavor.
SUNY met with New York State’s Transformation Team to discuss best practices. The State
indicated that each project has a consulting firm supporting design and implementation.
SUNY has a meeting scheduled with Commissioner Destito to continue previous discussions
around SUNY’s desire to partner with New York State.
SUNY continues to work with NYS PRO (NYS procurement) in the area of Strategic Sourcing.
SFS – The 1st year under a bulk load process from SUNY into the State Financial System was
completed in April 2013. Many issues were faced and solved by SUNY system Administration
and the campuses during the year. At this point SUNY is reviewing.
Business Process Centers – SUNY has had several meetings with NYS as they implement BPC
(transaction processing centers). Long-term opportunities exist but require assessment and
planning, tied to the State’s priorities and existing plans.
Call Centers – Although the State’s inquiry into operating all SUNY Call centers through NYS Tax
and Finance did not lead to a merger, there are efficiencies that can be gained by sharing
systems and other operational resources.
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STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION PLAN
The Shared Services Strategic Communications Plan was developed in March 2013 in order to provide a
structure for the collection and distribution of information regarding broad initiative-based goals and
project-specific goals and achievements. The plan was reviewed by the Shared Services Steering
Committee during their April 9, 2013 meeting. The Office of Shared Services continues to update and
roll-out the plan. Additionally, part of the management consulting firm’s engagement with SUNY will
include significant attention to communication, engagement methods and messaging.
Shared Services Website
The Office of Shared Services continues to work with the Office of Communications and the SUNY Web
Manager to develop a web presence (www.suny.edu/sharedservices). The site currently contains media
including news articles and social media items and information on the Harnessing Systemness Regional
Showcase event series. Plans for the website include information regarding the Office of Shared
Services; the overall shared services vision; project-specific information; links to available resources;
information on current and past events; news items; and resources for interested parties.
Webinar Series
In the spring of 2013, the Shared Services Team presented its first series of webinars entitled
“Harnessing Systemness: Discussions on Efficiency and Effectiveness - An Overview of Shared Services
Initiatives.” The sessions were designed to engage campus stakeholders including Presidents, Vice
Presidents, Provosts, Chief Information Officers, and their respective staffs.
The webinars provided project details and information about the implementation of shared services.
The following topics were discussed:
Presenter Topic
Brian Hutzley Shared Services Webinar Series Kickoff
Joe Gardiner Business Intelligence (BI)
Patricia Thompson SUNY Smart Track
Pam Swanigan MWBE
Jean Boland SUNY-wide Data Dictionary
Julie Petti HR and Payroll
Dave Powalyk SUNY Seamless Student Information System (S4)
Laura Stetson Transaction Processing Center (TPC) - Procurement
T. Hippchen & M. Feathers Strategic Sourcing
These webinars were recorded for later viewing and may be found online:
https://sas.elluminate.com/mrtbl?suid=M.FD81857329FDCC4551AD9B51597BD7&sid=2012301
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Over the series, an average of 168 unique registration sites logged in for each webinar; however
multiple users participated at many registration sites. Surveys were issued following each webinar.
Each webinar was introduced by the CFO covering key component of the vision. The Office of Shared
Services plans to provide additional webinars focusing on targeted project areas.
Harnessing Systemness Regional Showcase Events
“Harnessing Systemness: Regional Discussions on Efficiency and Excellence” events were designed to
bring together campuses from the same geographic regions, in order to provide a better understanding
of the shared services initiative, celebrate progress, share best practices, discuss challenges, and foster a
collaborative culture of engagement across SUNY.
The first event was held at Cortland on January 30, 2013. The following events are scheduled and are
being designed using feedback provided from January event attendees, the Shared Services Steering
Committee, and SUNY faculty experts.
Date Host Campus Invited Regions (by REDC)
August 1, 2013 SUNY Potsdam North Country and Mohawk Valley
August 6, 2013 Fashion Institute of Technology NYC and Long Island
October 21, 2013 SUNY New Paltz Capital District and Mid-Hudson
November 20, 2013 University at Buffalo Western NY and Finger Lakes
E-Newsletter
The Office of Shared Services will produce a bi-monthly electronic newsletter, titled “One SUNY”. The
newsletter will highlight success in shared services from around SUNY; and will focus on dollar savings,
process improvement, and resulting investments from identified efficiencies. The newsletter will also
highlight the regional showcase events in order to provide campuses from outside the invited region an
inclusive view of each event.
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ONGOING PROJECTS AND QUICK-WINS
The following ongoing projects are managed by the Shared Services Teams. Each team is managed by a
Functional Lead, responsible for reporting project status (through the use of consistent project
management tools and practices) to the Office of Shared Services; meeting with the Shared Services
Steering Committee and Shared Services Internal Team, as well as engaging stakeholder groups.
Detailed plans for each project can be found in the Operational Efficiencies and Service Excellence:
Shared Services Implementation Plan (Attachment 1).
Strategic Sourcing
The Strategic Sourcing Team is working with the procurement experts at System Administration, the
Research Foundation, state-operated and community colleges, as well New York State to combine
buying power and drive large-scale savings in the purchasing of commodities and services. The Strategic
Sourcing team works collaboratively to identify opportunities and, where feasible, pursue State-wide,
SUNY-wide or multi-campus or regional contracts to achieve cost savings and increase procurement
efficiencies.
In order to facilitate the success of collaborative procurement, including insuring that campuses take
advantage of shared contracts, the Strategic Sourcing Team has submitted a Strategic Planning
Implementation Funding Proposal (Attachment 3) to purchase an electronic procurement solution. The
proposed e-procurement system will not only promote the savings associated with Strategic Sourcing,
but will also contribute to the development of an enhanced procurement system.
Strategic Sourcing is managed at three levels:
State-wide (Partnership with NYS Strategic Sourcing)
SUNY works directly with New York State’s Office of General Services procurement group
(NYSPro) to identify contracts that are beneficial to both SUNY and the State’s executive
agencies. SUNY meets regularly with NYSPro’s strategic sourcing team and provides them with
spend data related to SUNY’s purchasing.
Status of Current NYS Strategic Sourcing Initiatives:
o Office Supplies: contract awarded to Staples effective May 14, 2013
o Auto Parts – Filters: contract awarded to United Auto Supplies effective May 7, 2013;
o Office Equipment – Lot 1 printers: contracts awarded to OkiData and Lexmark effective
February 27, 2013;
o Existing Medical Laboratory Supplies and MRO Supplies: existing contracts are being
extended to allow more time for strategic sourcing projects in these areas;
Preliminary NYS Strategic Sourcing Wave 1 savings data was provided to SUNY and they are
being reviewed and applied towards SUNY category spend to calculate savings to date.
Preliminary calculations indicate that savings could be as high as $9.0M
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SUNY-wide
The Office of Business Operations and Procurement is responsible for the development and
execution of University-wide contracts.
A complete listing of U-wide contracts is available through secure-sign-on at
www.suny.edu/meansbusiness
Both State-operated and community college campuses submit suggestions for the collaborative
procurement of goods and services to System Administration. Suggestions are vetted through
data analysis (including the number of campuses using a particular vendor or item, total spend,
and market information). If analysis indicates the benefit of a U-wide or Strategic Sourcing
contract, it is assigned to a contract specialist.
Ongoing projects include:
o Electronic Bidding and Reverse Auction: Completed RFI process. RFI responses
identified solutions offering e-Procurement and contract management modules which
integrate with Electronic Bidding and Reverse Auctions solutions.
o Grainger Price Reduction: Agreement with Grainger to reduce costs 8-10% SUNY-wide
has been finalized and at System Administration for signature. SUNY-wide
implementation plan is being developed with Grainger and E & I. In addition to the
savings, strategic sourcing has worked with Grainger to increase MWBE utilization from
23% to 85% in the MRO category.
Making $ense - U-Wide Procurement Quarterly Newsletter is produced by the Strategic Sourcing
team.
o The spring 2013 edition was released in April.
o The summer edition has been drafted with a projected July publication date.
The SUNY Means Business Bid Opportunities Webpage project is in progress to provide vendor
community with single stop to access all SUNY procurement opportunities has been delayed due
to IT availability.
Multi- Campus, Regional, and Campus-to-Campus
Through the use of Regional Workgroup Meetings, Campus Alliance Network reporting, and
other stakeholder engagement efforts, the Strategic Sourcing Team promotes and assists
campuses in the development and execution of collaborative purchasing contracts. A
partnership with the State’s Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) was established in order to
develop a process that allows campuses to share estimated use contracts for commodities and
services.
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Initiatives currently in progress include:
o G-27 Collaborative Elevator, Escalator Maintenance: Contract has been signed by all
participating campuses and System Administration is working with SUNY Purchase to
prepare package for Office of the Attorney General and Office of the State Comptroller
review/approval.
Participation by 24 State-operated campuses, 2 community colleges and the
Research Foundation.
Cost Savings – OSC has advised SUNY that it believes millions of dollars will be
saved using this 10-year service agreement.
Cost Avoidance – OSC also commended SUNY on developing a contract model
that will make future collaborative purchases easier to procure.
o Athletic Apparel, Footwear, and Equipment: Draft IFB for has been distributed to 40
campuses for feedback.
o Hospital IDN: has identified and is currently working on price parity and IDN recognition
initiatives including Reverse Auction Opt-in, Sequential Compression Devices, Ablation
Catheters, and Drug Prescription Plans. Negotiations continue with Medtronics for
optimal pricing for all three hospitals in the CRM category.
New SUNY Initiatives:
o Cable TV: Project kickoff meeting held for collaborative Cable TV services project with
Oneonta, Oswego and Cortland.
Opportunity for participation will opened to additional campuses once draft
technical specs have been developed.
o Student Health Insurance Consultant: Formulating RFI with Student Affairs to gain
knowledge of the health insurance consultant industry, capabilities, experience, etc. in
preparation of IFB.
o Downstate Banking Services: Informational meeting scheduled for early July to discuss
feasibility of collaborative banking services RFP with various NYC/LI campuses.
o Photo Equipment and Creative Technology RFP: A SUNY SME from New Paltz has
provided technical guidance to the GPO RFP team. A new GPO contract is expected to
be awarded late summer.
o Office Supplies Price Comparison: Vendor detail spend requests have been sent out to
collect granular data necessary to perform a price analysis for GPO and NYS agreements;
o Reverse Auction: Meeting in early June identified possible spend categories for reverse
auction opportunities - Print Shop Supplies, Copiers, and Police Uniforms.
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IT Transformation
The Information Technology Transformation Team was created to manage the wide range of technical
projects currently being implemented across SUNY with the overarching goal of enhancing the core
academic and student service missions of our campuses by redirecting resources to them from
administrative and non-instructional functions.
The IT Transformation Team takes a two-fold multi-perspective approach:
Technology perspective focused on three areas:
o Academic technology and its seamless use and support on campus
o Infrastructure and technology efficiencies
o Administrative computing and improvements to business functions
Business perspective focused on input from Strategic Teams
The IT Transformation Team and other Strategic Planning teams maintain bi-directional communication
concerning common goals, initiatives, projects, and expected outcomes in order to ensure that
integration, alignment, and seamless systemness is achievable.
The Office of Information Technology is also consulting with the State of New York Office for
Information Technology on IT transformation initiatives across New York State.
The top IT priorities include:
Seamless Student Information System (S4): The S4 project is one of the most critical of all the IT
projects. The goal of S4 is to provide seamless, consistent, and improved system-wide services.
Achieving this goal will assist with future university-wide implementations such as degree
planning, Smart Track, seamless student transfer, reverse transfer, cross registration, single
student identity, and resident hall and housing management. It will also provide consistent
information for improved analytics and decision-making at the campus.
The S4 project consists of three sub-projects:
o Consistent data or creating a SUNY-wide data dictionary
o Seamless student information systems
o Core business processes with limited campus configurations
o SUNY-wide data dictionary – The S4 project begins with creating university-wide
consistent data with the creation of a SUNY-wide standard data dictionary as the
outcome of the first sub-project. Consistent data is the foundation upon which all
phases of the S4 project will build.
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The first phase involved getting student IR data. All student data (IR and HR)
have established draft definitions and set appropriate values for the data
elements. Working with the Common Data Group, chaired by Rick Miller, they
meet weekly to review the elements and definitions.
The pre-review step consisted of sending out the review draft from phase I.
Project staff are currently in the process of reviewing the feedback and
developing the next project. Substantive changes will be reviewed by the
common data group. Using that feedback, they will update the draft and end
review phase. That review phase will include all 64 campuses.
Phase 2 is beginning and project staff is putting together the data for admissions
and recruitment.
o Seamless student information systems - The University is currently working with a
cohort group of campuses creating a standard template for a campus student
information system.
The expectations are to have this template available in the later part of 2013
with campus adoption expectations to follow.
Additionally, there are efficiencies to be achieved by hosting all campus SIS as
part SICAS and ITE). To maximize the savings a new funding model is being
proposed that will provide SIS hosting services for all institutions. Campuses
choosing to continue to provide their own services would be required to cover
the additional costs of running locally.
SUNY has been refining the strategy and working with vendors to understand
the best systems for us. It was established that SUNY needed fewer choices for
student information systems, but these systems needed to be integrated to be
able to deliver expected services.
o Engagement with Ellucian: SUNY is currently pursuing conversations with Ellucian to
refine how their Student Information System make up will look.
Ellucian owns Power Campus, Banner and Colleague. Other student information
systems being used must be able to interface with Ellucian.
In the end, all SUNY data must be compatible with Ellucian’s data.
A mobile strategy, billing strategy, and transfer articulation are being
developed. On May 22, a kick-off meeting was held to align the SUNY and
Ellucian road map. Ellucian will outline the strategy for the required services
that SUNY needs delivered. During the eight-week engagement (beginning May
22nd), Ellucian will work to accommodate SUNY’s expectations and deliverables.
o ITTT is also working with a small group of other vendors to determine the viability of
their solutions in the overall Student Information System Strategy.
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o Milestones:
January 2013: Begin the successful deployment of SIS strategy.
April 6th – 10th: Philadelphia Ellucian Live Conference – this confirmed
Ellucian’s road map was aligned with SUNY’s strategy.
Phase 1 data pre review feedback was due on April 12th
Getting the phase one data to all the 64 campuses in May
May 22nd 2013 – Kickoff meeting with Ellucian. 6 – 8 weeks Ellucian
Consultation Meetings
Moving out of common data group to the 7 colleges
Data Center Consolidation
The Information Technology Exchange Center (ITEC) and the Office of Administrative Systems’
Data Centers have become the cornerstone to delivering technology and services for the
University, with the decision for usage and participation of many services resting with each
campus.
It is recommended that:
o State-operated campuses have appropriate information technology services hosted by
these Data Service Centers, while expanding the hosted services provided.
o SUNY expand hosted services and consider the possibility of alternate prime locations
for those University Data Service Centers.
o Institutions should be encouraged to collaborate on the provision of their services or
participate in the hosted services when appropriate.
o That SUNY leverages SUNY assets and review possible partnerships with NYS.
This strategy builds upon the historical success and savings of these offerings and synergies
already realized. It is expected that the University Centers and Health Science Centers would
continue to provide their technology services locally due to the combined complexity of their
research and academic environments.
o Accomplishments:
Early spring 2013: Two-year NYSERDA Contract signed. SUNY negotiated a two
year contract with NYSERDA. Previously, individual campuses may not have had
enough efficiency to participate in an efficiency reduction plan; with this
contract, campuses can participate system-wide to achieve energy savings.
Campuses collaborating with ITEC are expected to receive large energy savings
credits.
This past fiscal year, 17 campuses hosted Banner. As those servers are
established, campuses using Banner will see an energy savings.
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Old servers and storage are being decommissioning at ITEC and Albany is doing
the same thing.
June 30th, 2013: A Co-Location contract looking for more energy efficient space
built in Buffalo and Albany is in its final stages at OSC. A decision should be
issued soon.
E-mail: A broad SUNY-wide project has been proposed and a budget request has been made to
fund this project.
Federated ID
o SUNY’s state-of-the-art information security strategy has won national awards and has
appeared in publications as the preferred approach in this technology area for colleges
and universities. SUNY has also guided New York State in their strategy and together
implemented the first intra-federation solution between NYS and SUNY to enable direct
access to NYS secured services.
o To ensure faculty, staff and students have access to all available services, each campus is
required to participate in aligning their campus’ identity and security management
strategy into the SUNY Federated Security solution. Example of services provided under
this security model include: SUNY Finance, SUNY HR, Time and Attendance, Degree
Planning and Audit, the Transaction Processing Centers, and services provided from New
York State.
o Campuses are at various stages of completion of the mandatory alignment with the
SUNY Federated solution. This will impact which services and efficiencies campuses may
participate in fully.
o Documentation and technical advice is available from University-wide support centers at
the Office of Information and Technology at System Administration and the Information
Technology Exchange Center (ITEC).
o Conversations on a common SUNY ID for students are underway. Similar discussions are
being held on a SUNY common ID for employees. Many campuses are in alignment with
a common SUNY identifier.
o The integration of a Federated ID solution may take 3 to 5 months. The Federated
Solution gives SUNY the ability to know where students are in the system. Employees
that are also students would have the same identifier.
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure
o The University replaces approximately 20,000 – 25,000 desktop computers annually.
Combining that associated equipment expense with the required licensing and
maintenance of the related software, staff support, etc., makes for considerable on-
going expense.
o The University is positioned and ready to provide a University-wide VDI solution offering
that would provide Desktops as a Service (DaaS) to all institutions. This roll-out would
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enable campuses to retain their older desktop equipment (up to ten years), reduce
software licensing and maintenance expenses and allow existing support staff to be
realigned to support the local academic mission.
o The basics behind the solution would shift the software licensing, support, and required
backend server support to the central location at ITEC.
o There are 5 campuses working on this program. These campuses have received pricing
for the SUNY option of a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI). The pilot was done with
Oswego. Oswego’s CIO will meet with Mike Notarius at the end of May to discuss next
steps and decide if SUNY will manage the program remotely or if the campus will
manage it. New Paltz is interested in SUNY managing it remotely on their campus. Many
more campuses are interested in the SUNY VDI option.
The Oswego pilot put VDI in two labs with significant usage and bandwidth is
being updated now.
Some software coming from academic libraries can be delivered over VDI.
Contract talks are underway about Adobe. An example of software that people
are already using through VDI is SPSS, the statistical analysis program. The goal
is to make it easier to deliver these software and programs university wide.
The Virtual Application Initiative (VAI) will be launched fall 2013. Currently the
Office of Information Technology is looking for pilots campuses. The VAI is
delivering applications, not a desktop tool. This has significantly more interest
and possibilities then the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure.
Organizational & Governance: Equally as important will be the on-going engagement of our
campuses and the need for an efficient organization and decision making processes. Leveraging
the incredible assets of SUNY goes beyond our IT staff and will includes the use of a Smart
Workforce including students, faculty experts and researchers.
o Adequate resources, organizational alignment and controls will be required to move this
from planning phase into action.
o Leadership and governance will include advisory and working groups in critical areas
including:
Investments & Prioritization
Data
Portfolio Management (application and other supporting software) Vendor
Management and strategic partnerships
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Centers of Excellence
Shared Services Centers of Excellence refer to projects that improve SUNY-wide end-to end business
problems and create overall business value in new ways, including:
• Delivering upon continuous improvement, service enhancement and cost reduction targets.
• Enabling growth in existing and emerging markets without traditional investments in new
facilities, new infrastructure and new people.
• Getting closer to our students’ needs and internal customers to provide the services they
demand and truly value.
• Providing accurate and actionable information in real time.
• Innovating new services and solutions to enhance focus and growth.
• Attracting and retaining top talent.
Shared Services Centers of Excellence are comprised of projects falling under three project categories:
Transaction Processing Centers, Functional Expertise, and Regional Hubs. Potential opportunities exist
to reduce and consolidate administrative services including:
• Financial Aid
• Billing and collection
• Budgeting and accounting
• Human resources including payroll and benefits
• Procurement
• Policy and procedures
• Facilities planning and management
• Grant writing and management
• Fleet services
• Print shop
• Internal controls
• Legal and compliance
The centers will be “independent” services that leverage the geographic footprint of the overall System
and its strategic partners to deliver consistent, high-quality services at a competitive cost, while still
maintaining proximity to the customer where required.
Transaction Processing Center
Transaction Processing Centers will deliver cost effective services oriented to drive savings and improve
efficiencies. Projects under this Center of Excellence include:
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• Employee Benefits - The Multi-vendor Coordinator System (MVC) – SUNY is responsible for
administering the SUNY Optional Retirement Plan (ORP), and the new State of New York
Voluntary Defined Contribution Plan (VDC).
o In preparation for administering the VDC, SUNY has been working with campuses, the
OSC and the ORP investment providers over the last year to develop the Multi-Vendor
Coordinator (MVC) system.
o MVC is an online system by which employees may enroll and manage investments not
only in the ORP and VDC, but also in the SUNY 403(b) Voluntary Savings Program, which
is available to all SUNY employees. MVC will feature eligibility verification, and will
allow for easier, unified, and comprehensive management of both the ORP and VDC.
• Human Resources
o Time and Attendance:
The unclassified component of the Time and Attendance system (Phase 1) was
implemented in early 2012. 18 campuses are currently using this and over
100,000 timesheets have been submitted electronically to date. 3 additional
campuses are in the process of implementing the system.
The classified service component of the Time and Attendance system was
initially tested by the pilot campuses in September and was presented at the
Human Resources Conference in October. The second phase of pilot testing was
completed in May and we are currently analyzing the pilot testing results and
making additional system modifications. A detailed implementation plan will be
developed after all system changes have been completed.
Development work has begun on the hourly student assistant and college work
study component of the Time and Attendance system.
o Employee Self Service:
Human Resources has developed an employee home page to host all employee
self service initiatives in HR and payroll, implemented in April, 2013.
Employees can access this page directly from suny.edu with their
current campus log on ID and password.
All employees can view their paycheck and/or direct deposit advice and
update their address directly online.
The ability to update emergency contacts has been identified as the
next self-service initiative and development work on has begun.
We are working closely with OSC as they develop self service options to
ensure that the process will be incorporated into our overall strategy.
• Procurement
o Presently all procurement transactions are processed on the campus on which the
transaction originates. The transactions are routed through the SUNY’s common Web
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Procurement System and submitted to the Office of the State Controller (OSC) for
processing.
o SUNY is using process redesign principles to evaluate options for the shared processing
of procurement transactions. SUNY is considering both internal shared services options
or potentially partnering with New York State to leverage the work of the Business
Services Center.
o A SUBOA sub-team is reviewing the assessment of both the SUNY and Research
Foundation procurement systems and considering possible enhancements.
o Possible enhancements include the optimization of SUNY’s current Web Procurement
System, as well as the use of a packaged e-procurement solution (Attachment 3).
o In order to support either option, campus procurement procedures must be
standardized.
o The development and implementation of the Procurement Training Program (PTP) will
work to standardize procurement processes across SUNY, by providing each campus
with both knowledge and common forms and tools.
The PTP includes the utilization of both existing resources and new resources
(such as the Center for Professional Development procurement training course
and a newsletter).
SUNY is also partnering with the New York State’s Office of General Services
NYSPro to develop a coordinated approach to training and shared training
resources.
• Finance
o SFS: Successfully implemented required year one integration tools and processes with
State. Closed out the first full year. Reviewing possible NYS partnership for direct input.
o Working directly with the SUNY CFO, the ABB group has proposed a multitude of
accounting efficiencies. These initiatives include:
Complete the move from the mainframe to the web and provide one central
platform / portal to operate within with enhanced functionality allowing
campuses to image documents, drill to detail, code project initiatives, and
identify the reason for transactions / the reason for allocation transfer as well as
spreadsheet to system loading.
Centralized P-Card Certification - In the procure-to-pay design centralization of
procurement is proposed. For P-Card transactions, centrally occurring
certification would shift responsibility from individual campuses. Better internal
controls would be achieved with independent reviewers looking at transactions
and it would relieve campuses of the burden of having certifiers who are
different from procurers and program administrators.
Temporary Service encumbrance – build the temporary service encumbrance
capability in the system similar to PSR. The data will allow campuses to better
plan and manage resources.
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Centralized Security Administration – Currently, campuses are required to have
a security administrator. Under this structure, there is an intuitive expectation
that the security administrator understands the system well enough, has a
fundamental understanding of internal controls and has a certain amount of
time to handle the - OSC, SUNY legacy, SUNY SMRT, SUNY SMART and SUNY BI
security. There is a question of implementing an on-line 'Security Coordinator'
function and centralize the requests and knowledge.
Intra Agency Journals and hardcopy journals– Develop an integrated web tool
allowing the campuses to efficiently transfer revenue or expenses between
campuses or within SUNY. For IAP type activity, include academic and program
information in fields that could be reviewed and searched subsequently.
Enhanced Data for Payroll – create user friendly access to payroll data to allow
the capability to pull all payroll, including PDME journal entries , by department,
by fund, by pay type including paid and encumbrance data with underlying
detail transaction data to allow complete payroll information for a person,
department, division or pay type for management purposes at the campuses
Central utility audit and similar type programs - Negotiate a contract to look at
all the campus utility bills for cost savings and recommendations. Other
companies provide similar services for contract payments – i.e., auditing the bill
to determine if the company made an overpayment. This dovetails into
centralizing aspects of the P-Card and the Procure-to-Pay concept.
Project Plan – ABB is developing a detailed project plan as a joint effort with
SUNY System Administration, including an enhanced chart of accounts.
Functional Expertise
The Functional Expertise Center of Excellence will deliver cost effective, high quality services focusing on
customer needs and demands. Projects include:
• Business Intelligence (BI): System Administration and SUNY campuses need a better tool to
report, analyze and manage information. BI provides campuses with pre-defined dashboards
and the ability for campus personnel to create and run their own analysis. By creating financial
and HR views, this initiative will provide for data analytics and an all-funds view of campus
monies.
o Initial focus is on financial information for state operated campuses along with some
payroll information.
o The BI initiative has been campus driven based on a production solution in place at the
University at Buffalo and in collaboration with Binghamton University and supported by
System Administration
o This leverages the University of Buffalo’s Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition
(OBIEE) implementation delivering similar functionality to all campuses.
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o System Administration has acquired OBIEE for use by all campuses thus positioning us to
develop campus and U-Wide managerial/analytical dashboards. The team will be using
UB’s dashboard design, flow, subject matter and look and feel as a basis for developing
campus and U-wide management reporting/analytical dashboards against the SUNY
Data Warehouse and in conjunction with SUNY existing federated security approach.
o One of the fundamental goals of the SUNY Business Intelligence Initiative (SBII) project is
to support planning, forecasting, and decision-making processes at campuses and
System Administration. The SBII solution supports an implementation of a decision
support (DS) model addressing business problems. The OBIEE tool enables SUNY to
produce reporting, charts and graphs for all campuses and System Administration in
flexible user friendly formats.
o Redesign the existing SUNY HR Data Warehouse to create a comprehensive repository
of the SUNY community is required. Historical, current and future data will be
maintained for purposes of reporting and analysis at the detail and summary levels.
Campus and System Administration will have the ability to view current information and
historical trends and also provide input for future projections.
o Financial Operations/ Analytical Dashboards including: Allocation/ Encumbrances/
Expenditures; Supplier Analysis; Money – PSR/ TS/ OTPS; Payroll; Revenue; Budget/
Form 1.
o Human Resources Dashboards – including employee information and student
information.
Employee Information such as: Appointments; Salary; Title and Dates;
Appointment by Account; Temp/ Term Employees.
Student Information including a Payment Summary.
o Milestones:
Phase I—State Operated financial information
Campus Pilots – April 2013
U-Wide Rollout – July 2013
Financial Operational/ Analytical Dashboards –– October 2013
o Payments (details)
o Purchasing (details)
Phase 1a – Security – December 2013
Phase II—SUNY Human Resources information – April 2014
Phase III—SUNY Research Foundation information
Phase IV—Campus Foundation and other campus specific information
o Training-To-Date: 6 Sessions Held; 24 Campuses; 111 People Trained
o Pilot Campuses (8 campuses) – Binghamton, Buffalo State, Oneonta, Plattsburgh,
Potsdam, System Administration, University at Albany, University at Buffalo
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• Financial Aid (Smart Track)
The SUNY Smart Track campaign was developed to combat debt and student loan default and
has three main components:
o SUNY Award Letter
Year one implementation across the system continues and is based on the plans
submitted by each campus President. A subcommittee of the Financial Aid
Shared Services Committee has been established to discuss Year 2
enhancements for the Award Letter. This group includes members of the initial
development team as well as additional members interested in the effort.
o Financial Literacy Campaign
The Financial Literacy RFP process has been completed and the top three
bidders conducted demos of their web resources and tools at System
Administration. The evaluations are being tabulated. SUNY hopes to announce
the successful bidder shortly.
The target date for implementation of the financial literacy is September 2013
with the unveiling of the SUNY Smart Track webpage. In addition to the
inclusion of the financial literacy on SUNY.edu, the tools will be available on
campus websites.
o Student Engagement Campaign and Delinquency/Default Campaign
SUNY has begun testing uploaded NSLDS files from pilot campuses. This will
enable SUNY to send targeted emails to student loan borrowers. Testing will
verify that all files can be transmitted and uploaded properly to SUNY
Administration. An application will be developed by SUNY that can segment
uploaded NSLDS data according to established rules and guidelines, which will
allow for the proper dissemination of Smart Track communications to federal
student loan borrowers.
Additionally, SUNY is exploring available email communication platforms that
can be used, albeit temporarily for phase one of this project, to send Smart
Track communications to federal loan borrowers. These email communications
will begin for the six pilot campuses no later than September 2013.
Smart Track reports will be available for campuses in later phases of this project
and initial project reports will be established for phase 1 including:
The total number and frequency of emails sent to borrowers for each
campus
A breakdown based on the borrower’s status: in school, in-grace period,
in delinquency and/or in default
For delinquent borrowers (Between 30-360th day of delinquency), the
total number of email communications sent for each 30 stage of
delinquency, and the number of delinquencies resolved during
corresponding periods of delinquency.
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The number of rejected emails and the actual email addresses that are
invalid
• Libraries
o The Cataloging and Authority Control Taskforce continues to make great progress. Plans
for consolidation of the shared Aleph systems to a single instance are being developed
in association with documentation regarding library workflows associated with the
change.
o The library of Environmental Science and Forestry had completed the migration of their
library management system and primary digital resource databases from Syracuse
University’s environment to SUNY’s.
o The Library Discovery Systems Task Force presented a recommendation for a shared
discovery system to the SUNY Council of Library Directors at their April meeting.
Campuses are being polled to determine if there is enough support to proceed with the
acquisition of the recommended product.
o 50 SUNY libraries have agreed on a library discovery system. This system provides a
single interface to a majority of providers that SUNY purchases electronic content from.
Full university-wide participation was not possible as several campuses in western NY
have already implemented a different system. Pricing is about 50% of standard pricing,
but as part of the deal, Ebsco is also providing SUNY with 3 additional databases and a
low price for a linking software tool which will likely replace the current linking software
we are using that costs more money. While not every campus is paying for the
Discovery system, every campus can take advantage of the databases and the linking
software at no additional costs (this must be analyzed within financial/business
models). This is a three year deal with costs starting around $270,00 and ending at
$440,000. A team from the Office of Library and Information Services and campus
representatives developed the analysis comparing the three best products for this
service. One was on a SUNY contract, the other two on state contract.
• Print Matters (SUNY-wide Print Shop Utilization Project)
o The project team comprised of campus print shop managers and design staff,
procurement managers, and representatives from the Office of Shared Services began
working in August of 2012 and have continued to meet.
o The project team has defined three kinds of printing services that can be performed on
participating pilot campuses: Commercial Printing, Stationery, and Documents.
At this time, Alfred State, Empire State College, Oneonta. Upstate Medical
Center, and Potsdam can provide all three printing services.
Additionally, Brockport can provide Commercial Printing Services, Buffalo State
can produce Documents, and University at Buffalo and Plattsburgh can provide
both Documents and Stationery.
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o The project team has performed stakeholder outreach at both the SUNY PA and SUNY
CUAD annual conferences.
o In 2012 – 2013, the pilot campuses at Alfred State, Empire State College, Oneonta and
Potsdam have reported performing $223,525 for internal printing clients, including
Adirondack, Canton, Clinton, Cobleskill, Cortland, Delhi, ESF, Fredonia, Geneseo,
Optometry, Oswego, SUNY IT, Sullivan, System Administration, SUNY Retirees,
SUNYCUAD, SUNYCAP, and Upstate. These services were performed internally, and as
such the associated costs remained within SUNY, rather than with external vendors.
o Though currently a small pilot program, Print Matters represents an opportunity for
leveraging existing structure and expertise and for SUNY to potentially partner with New
York State to provide printing services to other state agencies.
Regional Hubs
The Regional Hub Center of Excellence focuses on highly coordinated programs organized around
regions of New York State. These programs are consistent with one another, but are also designed to
address the unique regional environment. Included under this Center of Excellence are:
MWBE
o SUNY has made considerable and impressive progress toward reaching the MWBE goal
of 20% as established by Governor Cuomo.
o For 2012-13, overall utilization is at 16.4%, versus 5.1% last year and the 4th quarter was
at 19.7%.
o During State Fiscal Year 2012-13 SUNY spent $76M or 16.4% of discretionary dollars
with certified MWBEs, an increase of 79.9% from the previous fiscal year, when SUNY
spent of $42.6M with MWBE suppliers.
86% of our campuses (26/30) achieved participation of 20% or greater.
Accomplishments:
o MWBE Program Modification & Improvements
In January, 2013, the University-wide MWBE Program Assessment was
completed; findings and recommendations were presented to the BOT.
SUNY continues to meet weekly as part of a T-12 group with staff from ESDC
and the Governor’s office to identify strategies, measurable goals and targets to
reach 20% MWBE goal participation.
In April 2013, Phase I of the new MWBE program modifications focusing on
services and commodities, was rolled out to all campuses.
The University-wide Elevator maintenance contract successfully used a
“Teaming Agreement” (15-A best practice) to keep the only WBE elevator
maintenance company in NYS, working with SUNY.
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o Data & Reporting
Through a significant effort by the SUNY team and with great support and
leadership from the campuses SUNY is now reporting more accurate MWBE
utilization.
SUNY created a MWBE Total Payment Data File to give campuses a tool to
review their expenditure detail and ensure data accuracy at the campus level.
o Training & Communication
Over 250 procurement staff received enhanced webinar and on-site training at
all 30 campuses on best practices and business rules to standardize MWBE
compliance.
79 Participants attended a presentation on our MWBE Program initiatives and
best practices through our Shared Services webinar series in April. Chairman
McCall was a guest speaker, along with special guests from Governor Cuomo
and ESDC’s office.
Two MWBE outreach events were hosted: 3rd Annual College Regional MWBE
Conference and University at Albany MWBE Workshop.
SUBOA launched a Steering Committee to better engage the campuses and to
ensure alignment with our programs.
o Through the SBDC, a specialized MWBE Contractor Bonding Readiness course was
developed to increase the preparedness of MWBE Contracting firms to do business with
the State and federal governments. A total of 215 MWBE Contractors graduated from
the program and are well on their way to becoming qualified and responsive bidders for
State Procurement opportunities.
Next Steps:
o Phase II and III of our MWBE program improvements are underway, which focus on
construction contracts and development of a web-based MWBE compliance
management system.
o Work continues to develop Regional Hubs to deepen MWBE compliance expertise
throughout the system.
o Working to expand MWBE procurement opportunities with SUNY hospitals.
o Collaborating with campuses to host more regional MWBE outreach events – planning
for Stony Brook and Farmingdale is underway.
o The following have been identified as critical areas for improvement:
System & process: improve MWBE Reporting System, and create a new MWBE
database and compliance management system.
Communication: Increased campus communications, knowledge of program and
best practices, requiring business officer’s support for program improvement,
and adding an MWBE component to middle and lower level mangers’ personnel
evaluations linked to MBWE utilization.
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Program implementation & Enhanced Training: standardize and centralize core
MWBE functions, create new business rules for processing MBWE compliance
documents, review and streamline construction process, continue training
based on specific content of interests to MWBE liaisons, and create a
prospective bidder’s MWBE training video
Regional support: Drive the shared services Regional Hub model and provide
advice and support to campuses without full-time MWBE Compliance Specialist.
Update of procedures: Guidance Bulletins have been posted to SUNY Means
Business Website for clarifications on re-alignment of program responsibilities,
business rules, 9-point memo, and exemption and exclusion policy.
• Legal Services
o The Office of General Counsel (OGC) continues to provide shared legal services to all
campuses and other operating units of SUNY, through the use of attorneys who share
multiple client assignments, and/or perform both campus-focused and system-wide
functions.
o This mode of delivery of legal services is cost-effective, efficient, and protective of
SUNY’s legal interests.
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Campus Alliance Networks
Campus Alliance Networks will work through partnerships across the system to generate additional
savings and best practices. Though specific partnerships have been communicated, it is expected that
realignment will occur based on regional and campus needs and expertise.
Key areas identified in Campus Alliances include:
o Student Services – Enrollment and recruitment; tutoring; housing and food services;
library services; athletic facilities and staff; and, student activities
o Employee Services, Diversity, and Inclusion – Leadership development; and diversity
programming and training
o Advancement – Economic development initiative; grants writing and support; and,
system-wide alumni support
o Academic Affairs – Academic programs and course offerings; developing collaborative
plans; faculty development; international programs and study abroad; and, training in
grant writing
Campus Alliance Networks have successfully partnered across SUNY to generate additional
savings and best practices.
The Shared Services Team assisted in the growth of campus projects through outreach to
campus stakeholders, best practices and opportunities for formalized relationships have been
identified.
Communication strategies include promoting and sharing opportunities through internal
vehicles, role a-like groups, SUNY conferences, press releases, the SUNY website and shared
services webpage, webinars, and the Regional Showcases.
o Implemented a reporting process to identify campus projects.
o Reports are submitted bi-monthly on a rotating regional basis tied to the Harnessing
Systemness Regional Showcase events.
o The information populated from these reports will be used for shared services e-
newsletters, and providing updates to relevant stakeholders. In addition, this
information is used to highlight best practices and innovative programs during the
Harnessing Systemness Regional Showcase events.
• SUNY is looking to find programs that meet standards in the following categories: innovation,
quality improvements, savings and reinvestment, service excellence, efficiencies, and best
practices.
• Shared programs include:
o Adirondack Community College: Regional Center with Plattsburg
o Cobleskill/ Delhi: Collaborating on a study abroad program in South Africa
o Cortland - STAR-NY, an online tutoring consortium that includes Delhi, UB, TC3, Alfred,
Oswego, Ulster. Internationalization Student Teaching in Australia.
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o Farmingdale: collaboration with Stony Brook on a Dental Hygiene program, offering
both institutions’ students a broader experience as they enter into the dental profession
through expanded academic affiliation.
o Binghamton University working with Cortland, Delhi and Morrisville developed joint
contracts which will position campuses in a better bidding position.
o Brockport: Assisted in payroll audit for Geneseo.
o Canton /Potsdam: Shared administration - Vice President for Business; Shared Positions
- CIO, Chief of Police, EH&S, Veteran’s Affairs, and Graduate Residence Director.
National Award for Innovation (NACUBO 2013).
o Morrisville and SUNY ESF: The Morrisville Auxiliary opened a Cafe at SUNY ESF.
o Purchase –Led the RFP process for a shared elevator /escalator contract.
o SUNY System Administration, SUCF, RF, and U ALbany–have formed a network of shared
services including information technology, procurement, fleet management, security,
and print shop services.
• Reinvestment
o The immediate public goal of sharing services has been to shift $100M of administrative
spending to academic and student support services over 3 years. Coupled with the
increase in collected tuition fees from SUNY 2020, campuses were charged with
submitting plans for how monies would be reinvested in academic and student support
services.
o Campuses submit their reinvestment plans as part of the annual budget process. Major
themes that appeared in these reinvestment plans included:
New Faculty Hires
Financial Aid Programs, Tuition Credits and scholarships
Career development programs and staffing
Tutoring and Academic Advisement
New academic and instructional equipment
• Recognition
o In May 2013, the SUNY Potsdam and SUNY Canton team was recognized by NACUBO for
their innovative work in shared services under the leadership of Vice President for
Business Affairs and Administration, Natalie Higley. The campuses received the 2013
Innovation Award, which recognizes higher education institutions that have successfully
re-engineered or designed a program, or improved a service delivery of administrative
activity in response to a campus need. Natalie Higley will receive the award in person
during the annual NACUBO conference in July 2012. Since Vice President Higley was
appointed to oversee the initiative for the Alliance in July 2012, the two campuses have
jointly realized more than $900,000 in savings.
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Phased Approach
In its first year, SUNY has been able to move forward with Operational Efficiencies and Service Excellence: Shared Services – Implementation Plan; including mobilizing project teams and achieving quick wins. The priorities and individual projects are at various stages from assessment to design to implementation. The process for any individual project, as well as the overall shared services initiative requires a consistent approach. Through our shared learning, and with the recent work with a management consulting firm, SUNY has developed a framework for the design and implementation of a working shared services environment, through the use of a three-phased approach.
Phase I: Assessment
Perform an analysis of the shared services strategy and determines what activities SUNY should share.
Articulate the vision and business case for shared services
Confirm the strategy.
Prioritize activities and establish a timeline for implementation
Phase II: Overall Design
Upon determination of the appropriate activities SUNY should share, an operating model/shared
services center must be designed to provide services for each activity.
Design the operating model for shared services center ( potentially named “One SUNY”)
o Organization, Processes, and Governance
Design the incentive structure to support campus participation
Share the business case, vision, strategy, and proposed operating model with campus
stakeholders, get feedback, and refine the plan
Phase III: Implementation
An implementation plan must be designed and executed for each activity to be included in the shared
services center (potentially named “One SUNY”).
Design end state service delivery model, including processes, detailed organizational structure,
and financial model
Planning for transition and roll out of services to campuses
o Pilot and launch, including initial refinement of operating model and processes
o Scale up and performance improvement
Active engagement of customers in planning, design, transition, and ongoing operation.
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CONCLUSION AND NEXT STEPS
In its first year, the Shared Services Team has consulted with campus constituencies, multiple
stakeholder groups, expert scholars, and management consulting firms in the development and early-
stages of execution of the Operational Efficiencies and Service Excellence: Shared Services
Implementation Plan. As SUNY moves forward, the plan is designed to yield significant cost savings and
improved delivery of services. The results of this change effort will provide SUNY with the ability to shift
administrative spending to academic and student services, and will provide campuses with the resources
needed to enable access, completion, and success.
The potential for savings associated with shared services is well documented. According to a leading
management consulting firm, “reductions in general and administrative costs on the order of 20% to
30% are not unusual for [organizations] that do shared services well, and these savings are only part of
the benefits that can be achieved with shared services organizations.” In addition to cost savings, shared
services provide organizations opportunities for employee development and create a culture of value
within a collaborative environment. With continued thoughtful planning and support, SUNY can create a
shared services environment that realizes all of these benefits.
As we move forward the Shared Services Team will continue to work closely with the Shared Services
Steering Committee (SSSC) and engagement of the campuses is critical. The SSSC represents the first-
line of communication with campuses and the Team will continue to look to this group to help guide
efforts, provide feedback, and carry a shared vision back to the campuses. Additionally, plans are in
development for the formation of a community college team. The community college team will engage
with the SSSC, the Office of Shared Services, and the Shared Services Team to determine how
community colleges can benefit from a shared services environment.
SUNY will continue to engage stakeholder and peer groups to obtain feedback and develop shared
vision. In the summer of 2013, SUBOA will participate in a brainstorming session at its Executive
Meeting. System Administration staff will also work with SUBOA and New York State to investigate the
feasibility and value associated with using the Statewide Financial System (SFS).
Under the leadership of joint CIO, Dr. Hao Wang, SUNY and the Research Foundation will continue IT
transformation planning efforts as Dr. Wang moves further through his 100-Day Plan. SUNY’s other
large-scale initiatives, including Open SUNY and Degree Works, as well New York State’s IT
transformation efforts and the advice of our strategic IT partners will be considered throughout the
development and execution of IT plans.
Finally, SUNY will give careful consideration to the expert work being performed by a management
consulting firm in the assessment and planning of SUNY’s shared service environment. The data set
collected and compiled by SUNY and a management consulting firm will be used to create a baseline to
provide SUNY with new insight about the size and structure of each campus, as well as the foundation
for a data-driven decision making.
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