The Miami Student Oldest university newspaper in the United States, established 1826
VOLUME 139 NO. 27
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2011
MIAMI UNIVERSITY OXFORD, OHIO
TODAY IN MIAMI HISTORY In 1997, The Miami Student reported that Spring Street Market food prices were higher and rising more frequently than local grocery stores. The manager of the market said high prices were due to the market’s small purchasing bulk.
Miami spends millions, hopes to save more By Taylor Dolven Asst. Campus Editor
IT Services has a goal of saving $3.7 million by July 1, 2012. Because of the short timeframe of the deadline, the university turned to an outside consulting firm called Accenture for help with the project, according to Debra Allison, vice president of information technology. “Assistance from consultants is necessary,” Allison said via email. After a study performed by Accenture last spring, the university will undergo an overhaul of the internal operations of IT services, Allison said. Accenture is currently conducting similar projects at Yale University and the University of Michigan. Accenture was paid $3.1 million to come up with the transformation project, Allison said. Senior Director of Strategic Communication Cathy McVey said the savings will be repeated every year. “If we hit our goal, in the first year we will pay off the expense,” she said. “Every year after that we will save $3.7 million.” The company has worked at other universities and contributed to similar projects. “It is very expensive,” McVey said. “But we feel it is necessary to get the return we need.”
The project is broken into four main initiatives that began implementation in September, according to McVey. The first is governance, which aims to create one university body in charge of big changes in IT instead of the different departments making these decisions individually. “Right now with everyone making their own decisions, there is no way to look at the big picture,” McVey said. The second is data center consolidation, which hopes to identify all data servers that are not located in the main Hoyt Hall center and relocate them. McVey estimated about 200 servers are currently located outside the main center. The third is application rationalization, which will eliminate excess software use. Accenture surveyed different departments across the university to determine what major software packages are being used and for what, according to McVey. “The more complex, the more difficult,” she said. “We want to figure out places we can be simple.” The last initiative is the IT support organization and process design which will make IT services more efficient but still meet the needs of faculty and students, McVey said. “Right now the Farmer school has a number of positions that support their faculty and students, while IT in arts
and science are supporting way more people,” she said. “Should we be more fair in how we portion support?” Allison said the university reviewed several proposals from outside consultants and Accenture was not the most expensive. The university put out a request for proposals in the summer, according to Allison. One other company called Bain was much more expensive because of different transformation methods, including more time spent on campus. The other company was less expensive than Accenture. “It seemed clear to all of us that they didn’t have the expertise to make an engagement like this successful,” she said. The reason this kind of help is so expensive is because the university is paying for all of the Accenture consultants’ travel, lodging and meal fees as well as the company’s hourly rate while they are on campus, according to Allison. “Built into [the cost] is the company’s intellectual property,” Allison said. “The expertise consultants have gained through their experience in having other universities and organizations make these same kinds of changes. We checked with IT colleagues at Yale University and University of Michigan
before the final decision was made to select Accenture.” Alan Ferrenberg, associate vice president of business and infrastructure services, said the transformation is a team effort between Miami and Accenture. He thinks the change will be a big advantage for Miami. “Without a big effort like this and the external assistance, we would not be able to implement these changes,” he said. “In the end, it is going to be good savings.” Thirty people in IT services are working alongside the Accenture consultants.
“That involvement will grow as this effort picks up more steam,” she said. Funding for the consulting firm came from a part of the university budget set aside for unexpected problems or opportunities, Ferrenberg said. “The price tag is high but the savings are high,” he said. “All and all it is worth it.” The $3.1 million price of Accenture covers on site assistance and travel costs, but Ferrenberg said the most important part is the expertise. “If we knew how to go about this we would have already done it,” he said.
Construction delays push new high school opening to August By Catherine Ubry
For The Miami Student
Faculty and students in the Talawanda school district will have to wait a little longer than planned to move into the new Talawanda High School. The opening has been pushed back from January to August 2012. Due to critical project delays including wiring technology, temperature controls and classroom locations, the school will not be ready by Jan. 17, the original opening date, according to District Superintendent Kelly Spivey. The delays are due to various projects not being completed on schedule, including completion of cement work, cleaning, building inspections and various other projects, according to Spivey. Unfortunately the setback will cost more money due to the fact that the district will have to pay operating costs for two high schools, along with other factors including transportation. The transportation schedule will change and more minutes will be added between the middle and high school routes, which will cost more money, according to Spivey. “Talawanda School District hired a construction management team to schedule the work and monitor the progress of the construction,” Spivey said via email.
“Two weeks ago, it became obvious to the owners that the certificate of occupancy may be on schedule, however, critical projects that would impair the instructional practices (wiring for technology) could take several weeks.” “It is extremely important to continue to focus on the success of our students and staff,” Spivey said via email. Talawanda High School currently has 1,023 students, according to Spivey. All students and staff will
the positives,” she said. “We are so excited to have a new state of the art building.” As for what will happen to the old high school once the new one is completed, the building will be kept until construction for the new elementary school will begin, according to Spivey. “The Board determined last spring to keep the building until we know when we can construct the new Kramer Elementary School,” Spivey said. According to Spivey,
We want to focus on the positives. We are so excited to have a new state of the art building.”
Kelly SPIVEY
SUPERINTENDENT, TALAWANDA SCHOOL DISTRICT
make the move to the new facility on the first day of school in August 2012. Miami University sophomore Rob Schaepe said he feels the move will be better in August. “I feel like it’s better to start the school year in August,” he said. “If it were me, it wouldn’t really make sense to start in the middle of the school year, I’d rather just have it be the full year in a new building.” Spivey said the setback isn’t setting back the district. “We want to focus on
the Ohio School Facility Commissions will notify Talawanda when the funding will be available for construction of the new school. The Talawanda Board of Education also is willing to consider a lease option during the transitional period, although as of now, no interested party has yet come forth. “The majority of the staff, students and community are disappointed that the move is delayed,” Spivey said. “However, no one wants to move into a building that isn’t complete.”
SINGING IN THE SNOW
“This is expertise that we don’t have.” The other advantage to outside support is that the advice is impartial, according to Ferrenberg. “It is a lot of money, everyone wishes it was less,” he said. “This is what it costs if you are trying to get this kind of expertise and we really do need it.” Ferrenberg said there is talk about getting student input at some point, but most of the changes will be invisible to
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ANDREW BRAY THE MIAMI STUDENT
Miami University’s Collegiate Chorale and Glee Club performed for a sold-out Hall Auditorium Tuesday night. Tuesday also marked the first snowfall of the winter season.
ASG passes resolution in support of restructuring Miami Plan By Matt Levy
Senior Staff Writer
While Miami University students begin to prepare for finals and winter break, Associated Student Government (ASG) met Tuesday night to discuss some far-reaching legislation that could change what students learn and when they learn it. On the table were a large revision to the Miami Plan for Liberal Education and major changes to the academic calendar. Student Body President Nick Huber and ASG Secretary for Academic Affairs Tyler Sinclair presented a resolution that would gauge ASG’s support for a global restructuring of the Miami Plan. According to Huber, the Miami Plan was first adopted in 1992 but did not see its first revision until 2010. The new revision will attempt to address flaws with the current Miami Plan and focus on incorporating and considering credit for “high-impact” educational experiences into the academic environment that take place outside the
classroom, including Living Learning Communities, internships and study abroad experiences. “I think this is the most important bill we’ve discussed all semester,” senator Peter Dougherty said. “We’re not just saying we approve the change, but with the student body behind us we could show we’re behind change at Miami University. I’ve seen firsthand the problems that have come with the current Miami Plan requirements. There needs to be a shift with how we implement it here.” Many senators voiced their agreement with the pitfalls of the Miami Plan. “I think there’s obviously flaws with the current Miami Plan. I can’t think of anybody who hasn’t had some kind of problem,” senator Cole Tyman said. Some senators felt merely expressing support for change would not be enough, and that any changes should be given student consideration before going into effect. “Once this starts rolling, we’ll need to pay attention to it,” senator Amber Myhal said. “If we’re going to
suggest something once this all gets started, we need to be aware of what we are getting ourselves into.” Sinclair and Huber stressed the collaborative nature they hoped to have with the university as it begins to consider the proposed changes. “We’re not going to be blocked out of discussion on this,” Huber said. “We’re just making a simple statement, but this simple statement is going to open the floodgates for what’s to come,” Sinclair said. “We’re going to be behind this all the way and have our input heard all the way until this is implemented.” The resolution passed with unanimous support. ASG also discussed a resolution in support of the coming revisions to Miami’s academic calendar. According to Calendar Subcommittee Chair Maria Cronley and University Registrar Dave Sauter, who first presented the proposed changes to Miami’s academic calendar at the Oct. 11 ASG meeting,
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