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Overview of service outsourcing in higher education nation-wide
[19] Greaver (1999, p. 3) defines outsourcing as "the act of transferring some of an organization's recurring internal activities and decision rights to outside providers, as set forth in a contract." Over the last ten to 15 years, a major shift has taken place in American universities as they have accelerated the outsourcing of operations which are considered beyond their core competency of creating and disseminating knowledge. Partner firms are providing specialized services in specific functional sectors, and many institutions have experienced the benefits that outsourcing has to offer. Outsourcing has become a widely accepted practice that provides substantial cost-saving benefits for institutions; this has become particularly important as the growth in funding for higher education has slowed and in some respects declined. (See for example [39] Van Horn, 2004; [23] Kezar, 1999). Many universities have responded by outsourcing a number of non-essential functions that were traditionally carried out internally (see for example [20] Gupta et al. , 2005; [11] El-Sherbini, 2002; [30] McNeill, 2004; [28] Martin and Ingles, 1995; [24] King, 1997; [5] Claver et al. , 2002a, [6] 2002b). When successful, outsourcing provides better service, higher quality, and lower costs for the institution.
Outsourcing can also have a positive impact on the academic values of the institutions that adopt it. Successful outsourcing helps maximize staff effectiveness and strengthen the focus on education. Universities need to maintain a clear sense of their values and ethics and outsourcing can provide this. Other factors that can influence a university's decision to outsource include the political environment, student expectations, and increased competition. Jeremy [14] Fisher (n.d.), from the Office for Assessment and Quality Improvement at Auburn University, cites "budget reductions, downsizing, and the ever-growing public demand for accountability and quality services" among the reasons why universities and other institutions look to outsourcing as a way to improve their services while controlling the associated costs. (www.auburn.edu/administration/horizon/outsourc.html)
Outsourcing has become widely accepted by public and private universities alike in the face of reduced government funding coupled with increased demand for financial accountability. [20] Gupta et al. (2005) reports that, at universities in Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia, almost half of the bookstore operations were outsourced and about one in five...