Following is an update on Rising to the Next TIER, the transformation and efficiency study of Iowa's public universities commissioned by the Iowa Board of Regents.

Check the University of Iowa's TIER website for weekly updates, and submit recommendations for the study online.

Over the past three weeks, representatives of Deloitte Consulting have visited the campuses of the University of Iowa, Iowa State University, and the University of Northern Iowa and have interviewed a total of approximately 540 faculty members, administrators, professional and scientific, and merit employees, and students.

These interviews have allowed Deloitte to gather a wealth of information about campus operations and activities, as well as many substantive and thoughtful ideas for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of campus activities.

The Board of Regents and the Deloitte staff express their thanks to all members of the university communities who have taken time from their busy schedules to meet with Deloitte and share their thoughts in an open and honest manner. In addition, the Board and Deloitte thank all of the individuals who worked diligently to gather and compile the critical data for Deloitte's review.

"The Board appreciates the high level of cooperation and collaboration from all university stakeholders in launching this efficiency review," says Regent Larry McKibben. "We are off to a great start."

Now in the sixth week of the ten-week Phase 1 project, Deloitte is in the process of analyzing over 1,500 pages of data submitted by the universities covering all elements of their complex operations.

During the next four weeks, Deloitte will continue this analysis and review all of the information gathered in the campus interviews. This will lead Deloitte to develop a list of potential opportunities to be considered for implementation for the purpose of reducing costs, increasing revenue, and/or improving service within the three universities and across the entire system.

Once the list of opportunities has been developed and refined, it will be shared with the various campus stakeholders. Additional information will be provided in future updates.

The Board of Regents and Deloitte encourage the public to continue to submit comments on the TIER websites of the Board and the universities, all of which can be accessed from the Board's website.

The next TIER update will be available next Wednesday, April 30. Please check the TIER site every Wednesday for project updates.