After a 13-year pattern of underinvestment, higher education operating budgets are now funded at only 80% of where they should be if they had increased at the rate of inflation, according to Gordian’s 2023 State of Facilities in Higher Education. Ongoing budget constraints can put the campus at risk for future operational or building failures, it notes.
Despite these budget constraints, facilities managers have made strides in improving service levels at colleges and universities by deploying technology, the report says. For example, it attributes a 10.7% expansion in maintenance coverage at baccalaureate campuses to the use of technology that makes routine service activities smarter or predicts service needs before they require “catastrophic recovery.” The report warns, however, that larger increases in maintenance coverage at doctorate and master’s institutions could indicate an overreliance on the capabilities of technology-based service improvement “that stretch facilities staff beyond their limits.”
Against that backdrop, some higher ed institutions have opted to enter into contracts with facilities management firms or diversify their FM vendor partnerships. Here are a few universities that have announced new FM contracts in 2024.
Tuskegee University
The private, historically Black land grant university selected JLL to provide integrated facilities management services across its 5,000-acre campus in Tuskegee, Alabama, according to a March 18 news release. JLL’s scope of work involves maintaining and preserving the university’s grounds and more than 1.7 million square feet of space across 100 buildings.
JLL’s services at the university will span building engineering; electrical, elevator and HVAC maintenance; fire and life safety; landscaping and grounds maintenance; and janitorial, waste disposal and recycling services, the real estate services firm said.
Tuskegee University, the only historically Black college and university designated a national historic site, serves approximately 2,800 students and hosts 807 employees, per the release. JLL said it intends to deploy its computerized maintenance management system, Corrigo, to manage and monitor tasks while helping the university generate savings.
Baylor University
The Waco, Texas-based university announced in January that it has selected five new vendors for campus facilities services: HES Facilities Management, AHI Facility Services, TDIndustries, Sports Field Solutions and Texas Urban Enterprises. HES will oversee Baylor’s main campus grounds, while AHI will provide main custodial services. TDIndustries will manage facility maintenance, including all mechanical, electrical and plumbing, and the Baylor Energy Complex.
Texas Urban Enterprises will oversee athletic facility custodial needs, including during events and competitions, with Sports Field Solutions chosen to maintain practice and competition fields.
The agreements, effective June 1, replace a previous multi-services relationship with Aramark, which handled facilities, custodial and other campus services. The transition from its engagement with Aramark had been “under consideration for some time,” the university said, noting that it issued requests for proposals to separate vendors for its next contract cycle to “allow for a more focused and customizable delivery of services.”
Baylor separately announced in January that it has selected Chartwells Higher Education as its new dining services provider in a contract also set to take effect June 1.
The university said its request for proposals stipulated that potential vendors must detail their plans for retaining current Aramark employees as well as proposed work-hour structures and fair market compensation.
Emory & Henry College
The Emory, Virginia-based college, which serves more than 1,100 students, recently entered into a 10-year partnership with Sodexo, which has provided dining services at the institution for 15 years, for a facilities management program beginning this spring. The agreement, which aims to elevate campus facilities management, will expand Sodexo’s responsibility to a “wide range of facility-related functions,” according to a Feb. 2 news release. Sodexo’s facilities management capabilities, according to its website, include plumbing, HVAC services and handyman jobs.
“The seamless integration of dining and facilities management services ensures a holistic approach to enhancing our campus environment, contributing to our goals of recruitment and retention," Emory & Henry President John Wells said in the news release.
