Awards

2003 Quality & Productivity Awards

Sponsored by RBC Royal Bank, NORDX/CDT and Watson Wyatt.

RBC Royal Bank, NORDX/CDT, Watson Wyatt and Canadian Association of University Business Officers are pleased to announce the following winners of the sixteenth annual CAUBO Quality & Productivity Awards Program:

This year, nineteen universities have submitted a total of 29 projects to the CAUBO Quality and Productivity Awards Program. By region, three projects come from the Atlantic region, two from Québec, eleven from Ontario and thirteen from the West. These numbers are very much in keeping with those of recent years. The members of the selection committee all agree that the overall quality of the submissions was very good and regretted that more awards could not be given. In addition to the nine winners, the selection committee has extended an invitation to three other universities (Toronto, Wilfrid Laurier and Windsor) to present their project at the poster session to take place during the main conference. This is a new initiative to showcase the best projects and give added visibility to those who work so hard at improving the qualities and productivities of administrative services. While there can only be a few winners, all projects this year would certainly be worthy of local recognition as they definitely should contribute to the quality and productivity of the operations of those universities.

An important goal of the program is to encourage the transfer of knowledge and ideas. To this end, the winners will not only be showcased in University Manager and on the CAUBO web site, but will also appear, along with all other submissions, on the effective practices web site of the Council of Higher Education Management Associations, a consortium of all major associations such as CAUBO, NACUBO, APPA, CUPA, SCUP and many others. Look for the site at www.chemapractices.org.

Once again, our sponsors, RBC Royal Bank, NORDX/CDT and Watson Wyatt have contributed much to the program, through their financial contribution and their involvement in the selection process. We are grateful for their continued support.

York University (First Prize)

"BLACK CREEK REGIONAL TRANSPORATION MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION"

Several years of consultation and partnership building with the local community led to the founding at York in September 2001 of the first university-based Transportation Management Association (TMA) in Canada. As the single largest generator of car traffic in Toronto, York has faced several challenges, including the rising costs related to the movement of its students and employees.

The University responded to an opportunity to take a leadership role in developing a TMA - a public-private partnership bringing together area businesses, local government and transit agencies to pool resources and expertise in order to tackle traffic, smog and costs to members. With leadership provided by York's parking and transportation staff, the Black Creek Regional TMA was initiated and has collaboratively contributed to the following for the University and its surrounding community:

• 3,000 fewer cars coming to campus in 2001, and less than a 1 per cent growth in car traffic in 2002, even with a 10 per cent growth in population;
• Deferral of plans to build two large parking garages, at a cost savings of up to $33 million;
• Freeing land from parking use to allow creation of new additional academic space to be constructed on former parking lot sites (i.e., new School of Business building and the York/Seneca Technology Enhanced Learning Centre);
• Freeing peripheral land from parking use to allow a 35.5-acre private sector residential development of 600 townhouse units marketable to University members;
• Reducing an estimated 68.37 tones per day in vehicular air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions.

The TMA has enabled York University to achieve:

• A GO Transit train stop (for York Region commuters) near the campus and natural gas shuttle service;
• Express bus services for inter-regional commuters;
• An increase in the number of local buses serving campus to 877 buses daily;
• An internet-based service to help students and employees find carpool partners, and special parking vouchers for carpoolers;
• A Guaranteed Ride Home program in the event of an emergency for carpoolers, transit users or cyclists.

York has started sharing information with McMaster University, University of Ottawa, and University of Toronto (Mississauga) on the TMA concept and its portability.

For further information relative to this project, please contact:
Nicole Arsenault
(416) 736-5866
narsenau@yorku.ca

Saint Mary's University (Second Prize)

"HEALTH CLINIC: FUNDING MODEL TO PROVIDE ENHANCED SERVICE AT LESS COST"

The Student Services Department at Saint Mary's University develops and delivers a broad range of programs and services for a diverse population. An integral part of that mandate is the operation of an on-site health clinic that is maintained for the benefit of students and accessed by alumni, faculty, staff, and their families as well as disabled students on campus. While the clinic is a general practice, the environment has been extended to include educational sessions and wellness seminars in a holistic approach to well-being.

The clinic was experiencing long waiting lists and students were giving up class time to wait hours to see a doctor. The student representative on the University Budget Committee was pushing for more resources to be put into health services. It was obvious that we needed more coverage and faster service. However, due to financial constraints, funds were not available to improve or increase services under the previous model, where the University provided the premises and support required in addition to paying the doctors a stipend. The driving force for the change was the clinic's Nurse-Educator Manager, Jane Collins who recommended the new funding model. The Budget Committee seized the opportunity and set the process in motion.

A Request for Proposals (RFP) was issued. The objectives were to provide enhanced service at less cost, while ensuring that a revised model of care would continue to support the needs of the diverse cultural community with particular focus on the student population, and including support for physically challenged students. Some upgrades were required to provide for direct billing by the University to Nova Scotia Medical Services Insurance (MSI). Most importantly, the model requires physicians to compensate the University with a percentage of billings in exchange for the provision of space, utilities, medical supplies, and administrative support.

The results of the new model have been exceptional. Physician coverage has increased and services have been enhanced. Students wait minutes rather than hours. Waiting lists are a thing of the past, and student visits to the clinic more than double in only one year. All this, while reducing the Health Centre budget by 30%.

For further information relative to this project, please contact:
Keith Hotchkiss
(902) 420-5608
keith.hotchkiss@smu.ca

Consortium of Ontario universities (Third Prize)

"ONTARIO UNIVERSITY - FACILITY CONDITION ASSESSMENT PROGRAM"

The Ontario's 17 universities manage some 70 million square feet of facilities with a replacement value of approximately $18 billion. Most of these institutions face serious deferred maintenance and capital renewal issues. Previously, attempts to compile data on the magnitude of the problem were frustrated by the fact that each university used different methodologies and criteria to measure facility conditions. Without reliable data, lobbying efforts to obtain funds to deal with the problem were only moderately successful.

In the spring of 1999, Ontario universities banded together to undertake a comprehensive facility audit to provide accurate data to be used both at an institutional level and on a system-wide basis. A steering committee comprised of members from Council of Senior Administrative Officers (CSAO) and the Ontario Association of Physical Plant Administrators (OAPPA) issued an RFP to select a common facility database and common audit methodology. As a result of this process, VFA was selected to be our partner organization. Through the implementation of Capital Planning Management Solutions (CPMS) software, each university now has access to a comprehensive condition assessment (methodology) and a structured systematic approach to building inspection, 'best practice' business processes, and a web-based data management tool.

The first phase (20%) of the comprehensive audit was completed by January 2001. The results were dramatic. Whereas earlier studies had estimated the system-wide deferred maintenance problem to be in the range of $700 million; the 2001 Facility Condition Audit revealed it to be a staggering $1.8 billion. The software is able to forecast the increase in deferred maintenance at different funding levels. This also had a powerful impact. That spring, the provincial government awarded Ontario universities $93 million for deferred maintenance, an increase in funding of $52 million from 1999/00. At an institutional level, the use of the comprehensive facility audit program provides a management tool for each university to systematically gather accurate information in order to maximize and prioritize maintenance expenditure on campus. This data provides critical information to convince senior management of the importance of life-cycle planning to the future of the universities.

For further information relative to this project, please contact:
Darryl K. Boyce
(613) 520-4475
darryl_boyce@carleton.ca

Acadia University (Atlantic Regional Award)

"RESIDENCE ADVANTAGE"

Residence Advantage is a comprehensive initiative designed to renovate in a high quality and consistent fashion the entire existing stock of university residences, add new buildings to the system, and revitalize the entire residence system. The initiative marks the first time that a Canadian university has converted its entire residence stock to a "college-based" model, while ensuring that these buildings will be maintained in a "like new" condition by use of a 30 year preventative maintenance plan.

The original plan was developed using a 30-year spreadsheet-based financial model that is fully portable. A capital renewal database for each building is also nearly complete, the concept and structure of which is also portable.

The resulting product is a top-quality, fully wired residence system that is equal to any in the country. In order to promote an atmosphere of collegiality and homeliness in the residence system, one of the renovated buildings was split into two and all new buildings will house approximately 100 students. All renovated buildings boast full occupancy and the first new building was over-subscribed by a ratio of 2.5 to 1.

Each building boasts entirely new bathroom facilities with improved ratios. All of our residences include custom designed furniture, as well as high speed internet access, which complements the notebook computer that each student receives. All students are provided with local phone service. The first of all new residences is air-conditioned and features a double bed for each student. Of hotel quality, it will help enable the university to utilize its residential buildings on a twelve-month basis.

All of the renovations completely eliminate the deferred maintenance backlog associated with the structure. As they are renovated, they are made more energy efficient by enhancements to the building envelope, improved windows, and more efficient HVAC systems. The twelve-month use will aid in the recovery of operating costs, and a capital renewal database for each building will ensure operating cost efficiency, as the buildings will be maintained in peak condition.

The design of the Residence Advantage program included stakeholder input from across the university. A twelve-person committee, which includes three students, oversees the projects, and we are now utilizing our third "set" of students. These students, and others, have been involved in the building design, furniture design and selection, and even the fee structure for the residence operation.

For further information relative to this project, please contact:
Gary Draper
(902) 585-1627
gary.draper@acadiau.ca

Université Laval (Québec Regional Award)

"THE COLLECTION OF ELECTRONIC DISSERTATIONS AND THESES"

Université Laval recently launched its Electronic Dissertations and Theses collection. This project, which began with the creation of a work group in 1997 and immediately gave rise to a great deal of consultation within the university community, has several objectives. First of all, it fosters an "information culture" in our students, by encouraging them to exploit the full potential of information technology. A course offered on the WebCT platform introduces them to some of the more advanced functions of the word processor (" ulaval " style sheet, links and bookmarks, image insertion, etc.). This training allows them to structure their assignments in a more standardised way; this, in turn, makes it possible for us to develop converters that lead to richer and more perennial formats than MSWord. Participation in the electronic deposit programme is voluntary, but it has attracted the interest of many students. We believe that it meets several needs: a need for training in text-based technologies, and a need for greater visibility for our dissertations and theses. The project has also helped streamline the many steps of dissertation and thesis production, from initial and final deposit, through distribution to larger library networks, and, ultimately, to archiving.

In only a few minutes, dissertations and theses are converted from MSWord to a valid XHTML format, for rapid distribution, and to PDF, for printing. At the request of students and colleagues from our faculty of Sciences and Engineering, we have also developed another process that accepts documents submitted in LaTeX format. In the not-too-distant future, as soon as a DTD or XML protocol (dissertation- and thesis-specific protocols) is approved at the international level, we plan to convert all computerized dissertations and theses to XML format. Meanwhile, we continue to test conversions with the DTD XML Docbook protocol. The compatibility of our files with the Open Archives Initiative (OAI) allows us to distribute our dissertations and theses, as well as all knowledge generated at the Université Laval, more effectively.

For further information relative to this project, please contact:
Guy Teasdale
(418) 656-2131 ext. 3918
guy.teasdale@bibl.ulaval.ca

Consortium of Ontario institutions (Ontario Regional Award)

"COMPUTING TOMORROW'S SOLUTIONS: THE SHARED HIERARCHICAL ACADEMIC RESEARCH COMPUTING NETWORK"

Power, Partnership and Performance are the three adjectives that most accurately describe the Shared Hierarchical Academic Research Computing Network (SHARCNET).

SHARCNET is a world-leading computational facility that enables the highest quality of research in critical areas of science, engineering and business, as well as provides a research platform for studying and implementing shared High Performance Computing (HPC) resources.

The power of SHARCNET lies in our ability to drive internationally competitive research with over 400 HP/Compaq Alpha processors, 128 Itanium2 processors, 48 Zeon processors, and large symmetric multiprocessor computers.

SHARCNET's active academic-industry partnership, which includes The University of Western Ontario, The University of Guelph, McMaster University, Wilfred Laurier University, The University of Windsor, Fanshawe College and Sheridan College, and its corporate partners, Hewlett Packard/Compaq Canada, Nortel Networks, Platform Computing and Quadrics Supercomputing World, ensures SHARCNET's collaborative research environment is globally-competitive.

Funding agencies like the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), Ontario Innovation Trust (OIT), and the Ontario Research and Development Challenge Fund (ORDCF) have demonstrated their confidence in SHARCNET's ability to effectively manage the human, technical and financial resources that enable this world-class collaborative research.

The sharing of information across this high performance computing network increases performance by eliminating redundancy and facilitating ground-breaking research among world-renowned experts.

SHARCNET accelerates the production of research results, attracts and retains some of the world's most highly qualified personnel, and links academic and industrial environments to continue the development of Canada's knowledge based economy.

For further information relative to this project, please contact:
Carmen Gicante
(519) 850-2550
c.gicante@sharcnet.ca

University of Alberta (Western Regional Award)

"ACHIEVING THE UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA'S VISION THROUGH INTEGRATED STRATEGIC PLANNING"

As a large research-intensive institution with a rapidly growing national and international reputation, the University of Alberta had a broad range of planning activities. These included the university's academic, research and capital plans, as well as various strategic plans developed independently by the academic units. This approach created several distinct challenges as none of the plans or planning activities linked effectively to each other or to the resource allocation process.

In May 2000, the University of Alberta established the Office of Resource Planning. The mandate of the Office was to develop and implement an integrated planning framework that would achieve the following stated goals:

• To build on and improve existing planning activities within a common four-year planning framework.
• To ensure integration of institutional academic priorities and goals with Faculty academic, ancillary and administrative unit priorities.
• To become more strategic in decision-making and resource allocations.
• To respond more rapidly to emerging strategic opportunities and challenges.
• To demonstrate to the University community, government and the public the University's commitment to accountability and continuous improvement.
• To assist the University in achieving its vision of being indisputably recognized. In January of 2001, the Board of Governors approved the University's integrated planning framework followed by full implementation of four-year strategic business plans as of April 1, 2002.

The University's integrated planning framework incorporates:

• Fully integrated senior executive decision-making structure and processes.
• A four-year institutional strategic business plan supported by four-year strategic business plans at the Faculty and major administrative unit levels with fully integrated annual budgets and three-year forecasts.
• Elements of top-down and bottom-up planning.
• Elements of both strategic and business planning.
• Comprehensive forecasting, risk and environmental assessments.
• Performance measures as a tool for enhanced decision-making and process improvement.

The University's integrated planning process has greatly enhanced the coordination and strategic decision-making across the senior administrative portfolios. As well, it has brought significantly improved due diligence to the review and approval of major proposals and initiatives. Furthermore, there has been enhanced alignment of Faculty, ancillary and administrative unit activities with the University's strategic priorities. Finally, the framework provides the University with the ability to realign resources strategically in an open and transparent method.

For further information relative to this project, please contact:
Philip Stack
(780) 492-4676
philip.stack@ualberta.ca