This chapter reviews four Texas Southern University's (TSU) general support services:
- A. Copying and Printing
- B. Campus Book Stores
- C. Campus Mail Services
- D. Security and Safety
CURRENT SITUATION
The university operates a full service United States Post Office, referred to as a Contract Postal Unit. Three full-time university employees manage the university post office. The university postmaster reports to the assistant vice president for Budget and Procurement. The university has a contract with the United States Postal Service authorizing the university to perform all postal services for the university and its students. Services include collection and distribution of mail, the sale of postage and postal products, and rental of individual post office boxes for faculty and students at TSU.
Without the designation of a Contract Postal Unit, the university would be required to handle all mail activities through an off-campus U.S. Post Office, including pick-up and delivery of mail. All other campus mail functions would still have to be performed by the university. The campus would be without on-campus mailbox service for students and faculty and other postal products. The Contract Postal Unit contract provides for a more efficient and effective method to providing mail services. The university has a high volume of bulk mail, such as student registration and admission material, alumni mailings, and housing applications, in addition to the regular incoming and out going campus mail.
The U.S. Postal Service provides postal equipment and supplies to the Campus Mail Service with U.S. postal products such as stamps, mailing, envelopes, and mail cartons. The postal service annually conducts on-site operational reviews of the university's financial controls and reports.
The U.S. Postal Service delivers mail to and picks up from the university twice daily. University post office employees sort general university mail and place it in boxes for pick-up. The university post office receives commercial delivery from companies like UPS and Federal Express. Faculty and students also may rent mailboxes.
FINDING
Public forum participants told the review team that the post office does not deliver mail to each university department and believed this caused a delay in receiving mail. The university post office is not staffed to make deliveries to departments or to university residence halls. Rather, departments send an authorized person to pick up mail from the post office located near the west perimeter of the campus.
As shown in Exhibit 10-1 only two institutions provide delivery to the departments and none of the institutions combine with other delivery functions.
Exhibit 10-1
Comparison of Mail Services with Peers
Delivered to Departments Departments Pick up Mail Post Office Staff Combine Mail With Other Deliveries TSU No Yes 3 FTE No Sam Houston No Yes 4 FTE, 2 PT, 3-6 students No Prairie View A & M Yes No 2 FTE, 2-3 PT students* No Stephen Austin No Yes 7 FTE, + students No UT Pan American Yes No 4 FTE No University of Houston-Downtown No Yes 4 FTE, 1 student Only delivery mail and large packages *Estimates depending on time of year
Source: MGT Survey of Peer Institutions 1998The university postmaster conducts workshops for university personnel to acquaint them with postal requirements and methods to improve the preparation of mail, such as using bulk mail handling, bar coding for bulk mail, and controlling mail weight, to reduce cost.
The U.S. Postal Service inspects the university post office. All postage sales are reconciled daily in accordance with U.S. Postal requirements.
Recommendation 101:
Calculate the potential saving to the university of combining mail delivery with other delivery services of the university.
The volume of mail varies considerably from the beginning to the end of the academic term. By establishing a log, the university can determine the personnel cost for mail pick up and determine the total full-time equivalent personnel used by the departments. Once this is established, the university can analyze the alternative of having mail delivered to the departments.
IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES AND TIMELINES
1. Selected university departments maintain a log from September through December of the time it takes their staff to pick up the mail. September 1999 2. The budget office and university postmaster analyze the results of the log and determine whether staff should be dedicated to mail delivery. December 1999 3. Based on the results of the review, the assistant vice president for Finance makes the appropriate internal staff reduction and staffing of the delivery function. January 2000 FISCAL IMPACT
This recommendation can be accomplished with current resources.
