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7/22/2006

BIELEC, AT DREXEL: Bringing IT benefits to
his
university and its campus partners, via an ASP model.
Challenge Met
A majority of the over 3,500 colleges in the US have fewer than 2,000 students. Realizing this, Drexel University (PA) has partnered with more than 50 colleges in an application service provider (ASP) arrangement in which Drexel hosts the software and services on its campus. Through the ASP arrangement, headed by John Bielec (Drexel CIO and VP for information resources and technology), the partner campuses now fund 27 percent of Drexel’s central IT costs, and 20 percent of central IT staff. This has enabled the university to maintain its IT spending costs at a constant level since 1997, and if annual cost-of-living adjustments are considered, IT spending has declined.
The ASP arrangement, which began with a single school five years ago, benefits both Drexel and its partner schools:
Today, it's clear to almost every campus executive that moving an institution from the traditional purchasing model to a strategic eProcurement program can greatly increase staff efficiency and save the institution money. Because eProcurement automates so many purchasing processes, it eliminates reams of paperwork and allows procurement staff to refocus their efforts on cutting costs and improving strategic partnerships.
Mary Jo Gorney-Moreno didn't start out in IT. She joined San Jose State University (CA) in 1981 as an assistant professor in the school of nursing. But somewhere along the way, she realized her energy was focused on academic technology, and how it could help a variety of learners gain knowledge.