About the Consortium - Focus on Administration

Building on the campus of the University of Richmond

Courtesy of University of Richmond

The development of administrators and staff members also commands the attention of the Associated Colleges of the South. Presidents, academic deans and vice presidents, chief student affairs officers, chief financial officers, library directors, international program directors, public relation directors, registrars, career planning directors, directors of admissions are just a few of the groups that meet under the auspices of ACS. The purposes of such meetings include sharing information, problem solving, examining issues, and undertaking benchmarking projects to identify "best practices" that may be adapted by member institutions.

An area of special interest for ACS continues to be efficiencies and cost containment. A myriad of cost containment initiatives have been made possible by funding received from The Lettie Pate Evans Foundation (1996-99) and from the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation (1999 to present ). For example, in 1996, Rollins College conducted an energy conservation study, which resulted in an energy audit model for all ACS institutions. In 1997 the Registrar and Admissions offices participated in a "Process Improvement Project," designed to demonstrate how benchmarking and reengineering analysis techniques could be used to improve the quality and service delivery of processes, while reducing the cost of these functions. Purchasing officers began meeting together as a group in 1998. ACS campuses benefit considerably from cost containment through joint purchasing, identification of best purchasing practices, and exchange of information about new products and pricing structures. In 2002, the chief financial officers completed a ratio analysis and made plans to conduct a benchmarking and "best practices" study in the areas of financial reporting, accounts payable, budgeting, and financial operations.