Audit Report
What led to this audit?
Ohio is in the midst of an economic boom, attracting large employers to the state that will help create new jobs in emerging and expanding industries. In order to meet the expected workforce demand, state leaders have been diligently working to increase the number of residents with the education and training necessary to hit the ground running. At the same time, most higher education institutions have been facing declining enrollment, and innovative and creative methods, including sharing of services, are necessary to reach these goals.
The co-located campuses offer a unique opportunity for universities and technical colleges to work together to increase opportunities and cut costs for students looking to advance their education. We chose to conduct this audit to identify opportunities to improve collaboration and improved efficiency and effectiveness.
What did we find?
We found that collaboration and sharing of services and facilities exists to varying degrees across the campuses. There are opportunities for collaboration in a number of operational areas, including facilities management and utilization, security, and staffing. Overall, leadership at each institution should work together to find opportunities to improve educational outcomes and reduce costs for students where possible. This will be particularly important as enrollment and learning trends continue to shift away from traditional on-campus methods.