Integrated approach to managing capital assets
Brigham Young University'sCapital Needs Analysis Project won the 2008 Leveraging Excellence Award fromthe National Consortium for Continuous Improvement in Higher Education.
Accepting the award for BYUwas Douglas Christensen, administrative solutions advocate for the BYU PhysicalFacilities Division and one of the founders and developers of the Capital NeedsAnalysis project.
"While many award programsrecognize innovation and improvement, this award recognizes cases whenthoseimprovements have been actively leveraged for greater impact," saidRoderick Wallick, NCCI president and vice president for finance andoperations at Wheaton College inMassachusetts.
The Committee on Institutional Cooperation, a consortium of Big Tenuniversities and the University of Chicago, was also honored for its strategiccollaboration, which saved the institutions millions while also streamliningprocesses.
BYU's CNA project, a program for managing capital assets in anintegrated way, began as an innovative approach to managing capital assets andresulted in significant savings. This process was adopted by other BYU campusesand by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints facilities division worldwide.Its robust design is now being introduced at a number of other educationalinstitutions and government entities.
University of KentuckyPresident Lee T. Todd Jr., chair of the judging panel, said, "This award alsorecognizes a new trend in higher education. It acknowledges higher educationefforts that resonate with business leaders, legislators and donors. Suchrelationships play an increasingly significant role in higher education today,as colleges and universities strive to build collaborative partnerships thatadd value to the various publics in which they serve."
NCCI represents a wide rangeof member institutions, with many individuals working in organizationaldevelopment, quality assessment, planning and institutional improvement. Itsprograms promote sharing best practices and supporting professional developmentof individual members. NCCI's Leveraging Excellence Award Program is sponsoredby the Follett Higher Education Group.
The winners were recognizedat the NCCI co-sponsored pre-conference at the Annual Meeting of the AmericanCouncil on Education on Feb. 10 in San Diego. In addition, they will beinvited to present their accomplishments as featured speakers at NCCI's AnnualConference in Chicago in July 2008.
Writer: Cecelia Fielding
