Models of Efficiency

As the December issue was going to press mere days after Hurricane Sandy ripped through the Northeast, we were already hearing of colleges and universities in the region beginning to put the pieces back together. While the monstrous storm caused power outages and damage to many institutions, the effects likely would have been far worse, and even deadly, if not for effective disaster preparedness planning.

One of the ways we spread the word about our Models of Efficiency program stories—and honor the campus administrative departments who have recently gotten recognized for their efforts—is in person at the NACUBO Annual Meeting in July. This year’s conference was held in National Harbor, Md., and the Models of Efficiency awards dinner, hosted by program sponsor Higher One, took place at the Westin Washington National Harbor hotel’s Sauciety American Grill.

Picture two overworked accounting clerks, their desks completely covered in paper register receipts, and an accounts payable manager who needs a wheeled hand cart to deliver 5,000 paper checks to the mail room for distribution to students so they could buy books for classes. This is what the business office at Macomb Community College (Mich.) looked like prior to 2008, before the start of classes, says Bobbie Remias, director of finance and investments.