Technology can certainly assist in simplifying business processes and providing management information, and savings can be made in these areas. Fundamentally, significant savings from the use of technology are likely to come only when restructuring is built around the capabilities of the technology, not when the technology is simply used to do the existing tasks within the existing structure. State and federal regulations contribute substantially to our costs, but are outside our direct control. Some states, such as Oregon, have provided some relief, but much more is needed. Many of these address important issues, but often in unnecessarily costly ways.
Universities are often inefficient in their use of facilities in a variety of ways.
Departments claim ownership of certain classrooms, leading to even lower utilization. Units are reluctant to share common spaces, such as conference and seminar rooms. Faculty members who have become inactive in research are reluctant to relinquish laboratory space. Under the RCM model at Indiana University, the cost of space was included in the budgets of units, with appropriate credit given if space is returned to the central pool. In general, decreasing costs and increasing productivity might be considered as simply two sides of the same coin.