University of Wisconsin Chancellor Biddy Martin may hire a consultant firm to look at the efficiency of the entire university, which may cost millions of dollars, but could potentially save tens of millions.

At 2:00 p.m. on Sept. 23 the UW will officially stop accepting proposals from firms hoping to analyze the efficiency of its administration and governance, according to the request for proposals obtained by The Badger Herald.

UW released the Request for Proposals Aug. 20, which University Committee Chair Judith Burstyn said has been on UC’s radar since its release.

The RFP lists eight major areas for the chosen firm to examine as a starting point, stating these suggestions “could include, but may not be limited to Information Technology, Business Service, Procurement, Financial Management, Grant Management, Energy Conservation, Facilities Management, Human Resources and Auxiliary Operations.”

Martin said in an email to the Badger Herald while she believes UW is already efficient, hiring a firm would help determine whether or not the university’s organization can be more effective.

The cost is still unknown, but Burstyn said she heard estimates of $3 to $4 million, while UW higher education researcher and Director of the Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Postsecondary Education Noel Radomski said the range could fall between $1 million and $4 million.

Savings uncovered by similar studies at other universities have been in the tens of millions, Burstyn said. 

University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill professor and special assistant to the chancellor Joe Templeton said the firm UNC hired found $166 million in savings.

UNC is not the only case UW officials are studying. The results of studies at the University of California-Berkeley and Cornell University – Martin’s previous employer – are also being examined.

In fall 2008 the consulting firm Bain & Co. started their examination of UNC, with an anonymous donor picking up the tab, Templeton said.

Unlike UW, which would pay the firm itself, UNC’s anonymous donor not only agreed to fund the endeavor but also brought the idea to Chancellor Holden Thorp.

When Thorp first proposed the idea, members of the faculty expressed concern over the decision, Templeton said, because they were worried the company would interfere with teaching and research.

However, when Bain & Co. presented an interim report many concerns were put to rest, he said.

“[Bain & Co.] did an excellent job of dividing operational activities and academic activities,” he said. “The folks […] pointed out that they make their living looking at large industrial organizations and they weren’t going to look at what happens in the classrooms or research labs.”

One of Martin’s main reasons for hiring an outside firm rather than handling the evaluation internally is also why UNC chose to outsource the study as well: their objectivity.

Faculty members are more likely to take criticism from an outside source than someone within their own university, Templeton said.

Radomski said he does not understand why Martin wants to outsource when faculty members at UW specialize in organizational management.

As a scholar of public research universities, Radomski said he thinks this move, coupled with Martin’s proposed change to UW’s partnership with the state of Wisconsin, is a move to gain more power.

“It’s an effort by the chancellor and the provost to centralize and […] gain more power over decision-making on the Madison campus, just as private research universities have,” he said.

Radomski pointed to section 3.3.I.A. of the RFP, which states the firm should include data about how both public and private institutions are organized to help UW understand all possibilities.

Focusing on private universities such as Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the California Institute of Technology is something Radomski said he does not support.

“My God, why did they do that? That is not logical and it has a strong likelihood of causing not only confusion on campus […] but anger,” he said.

Including private institutions as well as public ones is an error in the RFP or on UW’s part that could change everything UW was founded upon, Radomski said.

“This is either a fundamental mistake they made or a fundamental decision that goes against 160 years of how this campus has operated and I don’t know which mistake is bigger […] why they did this is really strange,” he said.

Should UW hire a firm, Martin said the results of the analysis would not “change anything about the distribution of institutional authority” on campus.

In addition, UC member Brad Barham will sit on the selection committee, to ensure UC remains involved in the process, Burstyn said.

Ultimately, UW professor and former UC chair Bill Tracy said the decision rests with Martin, but hopes any changes found by the firm would not interfere with instruction.

Martin said she plans to present the idea to the Faculty Senate at the Oct. 4 meeting.