Everybody's outsourcing: survey says outsourcing is up. (Stats Watch).

Outsourcing of services has increased significantly over the past two years at IHEs, according to a survey of colleges and universities by UNICCO Service Company (www.unicco.com). Driving this trend is the desire to improve the quality of services, reduce costs, focus on core competencies, and reduce administrative time spent on providing services.

The data is based on surveys completed by representatives of 112 schools who attended the 2002 NACUBO conference.

Ninety-one percent of respondents said they outsource at least one service, up from 82 percent in 2000. Eighty-six percent of schools use an outside provider for two or more services, versus 82 percent in 2000.

Food service tops the outsourced list on college campuses, with 61 percent of respondents reporting they use outside vendors--up 10 percent from 2000. But endowment fund management showed the most growth. While 23 percent of schools outsourced this service in 2000, a healthy 41 percent more respondents did in 2002. Other outsourced services on the rise include:

* Bookstore operations, up 12 points to 52 percent

* Copy center, up from 9 to 17 percent

* Debit card, up 7 points to 16 percent

When asked what services they would most likely outsource or renegotiate in the next 12 months, more schools identified housekeeping/janitorial services than any other. Bookstore operation led as the primary area of long-term outsourcing interest.