Consultants say Idaho could save $38 million over the next ten years should the state’s higher education system consolidate certain services and functions, and optimization strategies at its four-year college and universities.
Huron, a Chicago-based consulting firm, delivered its report to the State Board of Education Thursday in Boise. Starting in September, Huron conducted an in-depth review of services and personnel at each institution in such functions as purchasing, information technology, and human resources.
The Board hired Huron to conduct the review as part of the recommendations made by Governor Butch Otter’s Higher Education Task Force, which met late last year.
Meanwhile, the Board also heard the presidents of all eight colleges and universities discuss student mental health concerns on their individual campuses, calling it “a crisis” in Idaho and at institutions throughout the country. The presidents described in detail how they are struggling to provide counseling resources to large numbers of students who are suffering primarily from anxiety and depression, and how it is affecting academic performance and student retention.
Board Vice President Debbie Critchfield will lead a series of work groups, which will develop recommendations to bring back to the Board next spring. (Idaho State Board of Education)
