Earlier this year, Gov. John Kasich asked a nine-member task force to figure out how to make higher education more affordable. StateImpact Ohio's Amy Hansen sat in on the group's meeting at Cleveland's Cuyahoga Community College on Tuesday, where education and private-sector leaders discussed how universities can streamline services to potentially save money.
In the scheme of the state’s more than $1 billion higher education budget, a $40 FedEx shipping fee may not seem like much.
But over time, those fees can add up.
In fact, the task force found that 18 of the state’s campuses collectively spend $1.7 million in overnight shipping costs every year.
If colleges can figure out a uniform way to make those types of relatively minor processes more efficient, committee chairman Geoff Chatas says the possible savings can eventually make a big impact.
“Often I’ll think to myself, ‘wow, does it really make sense to look at overnight shipping,’" he said. "But the answer is yes, and what happens is you start with a small project, and get people to realize that those savings are real, and then those small projects keep adding up, and those pennies all of the sudden add up to significant savings.”
The group will present their overall recommendations to Kasich at the beginning of October.