Summer Utilities Savings Program

As part of ongoing work to create efficiencies and to reduce costs, a Summer Utilities Savings Program has been developed for summer 2023.

The program builds on the success of the Summer 2022 Utilities Savings Pilot Program, which saved the university approximately $300,000, and the Winter Utilities Program, which resulted in $160,000 in savings for the university.

The goal of the 2023 Summer Utilities Savings Program is to reduce costs as much as possible through options for employee work schedules that will reduce the employee footprint on campus (including continuing the Telecommuting Policy) and reducing energy use in campus buildings and facilities.

The cornerstone principles of the Summer 2023 Utilities Savings Program are:

• Ensuring continuity of academic, research, and student services;
• Positioning employees and offices to become more student-focused;
• Maintaining the highest level of service to students, employees, families, and other important constituent groups to move the university forward;
• Meeting overall departmental needs and balancing all employee work schedules within departments.

The 2023 Summer Utilities Saving Program will be in effect Monday, May 8 through August 14 (14 weeks). The ending date was selected to allow for planning and preparation for fall semester instruction, which will begin on August 28.  Some departments may return to on-site work a week earlier, based on planned student-related activities. 

In order to accommodate the work of entering grades, faculty offices and other on-campus locations where this work will be done, will not have reductions in cooling on May 8 and 9.

Employee work schedule changes/Friday operations:

• Employees in some offices will have the option of a four-day work schedule during the Summer Savings Program time period.
• Employees may continue to work under the existing IUP Telecommuting Policy and Procedure.
• The four-day work schedule and telecommuting procedure may be combined for some employees.

All of these options must be approved by the employee’s supervisor and vice president of the division or department.

Like the summer 2022 pilot program, official IUP business hours for the Summer Utilities Saving Program period in 2023 will be Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

However, for the 2023 Summer Utilities Saving Program period, most on-campus offices and buildings, including the IUP Libraries, will be physically closed to the public on Fridays, but services will be available remotely. These compressed hours for public access to offices allow for earlier utility setbacks for temperature control settings. 

Employees with work duties that require physically working on-site, including on Fridays when many on-campus offices are physically closed to the public, will continue to do so. These employees include police officers, housing staff, facilities staff, and others, as directed by their supervisors.

On-campus offices remaining physically open to the public on Fridays during the Summer Utility Savings Program include:

• Athletics administration (Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex)
• Central Stores (Robertshaw)
• Facilities Planning and Construction (Robertshaw)
• Facilities Maintenance and Operations (Robertshaw)
• Housing and Dining (Ruddock Hall)
• Office of Public Safety/Police, open on a 24-hour basis (University Towers)
• Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex
• Postal Services (Folger Hall)
• W. Jack Cogeneration Plant, open on a 24-hour basis
• Vice President for Student Affairs Office (second floor of Sutton Hall)

Information about office operations will be posted on office web pages on the IUP website.

Vice presidents and division heads are responsible for approving and managing any remote or hybrid work for their employees and offices, based on the four principles of the program (noted above).

Based on university occupancy, unused or underused parking lots will be identified and closed during this period to allow for prioritized maintenance.

During the 2023 Summer Utilities Savings Program timeframe, there will also be a reduced need for campus-wide custodial coverage. This will allow for targeted mobile labor groups to concentrate on areas of continuing activity and to assist with spring to summer residential hall cleaning, maintenance, and room turnovers as well as focus on select summer projects.

The established university office holiday closures of May 29, June 19, and July 4 are unchanged.

In addition to contributing to cost savings for the university, the optional four-day workweek is intended to improve the quality of the work-life balance for employees.

This optional four-day workweek is outlined in side letters with AFSCME and SCUPA, which include the details of this option and job group eligibility.

Non-represented employees are also eligible for the four-day work week, as appropriate to department needs and supervisor approval.

During the 2023 Summer Utilities Savings Program time period, in addition to the default work schedule of 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, there are four available optional four-day employee work schedules. All of these schedules include a noon to 12:30 p.m. lunch break (unpaid) and 15-minute morning and afternoon breaks. They are:

Option 1, 2 – Work Monday through Thursday

Option 1: Work Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; work Thursday from 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

• Option 2: Work Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; work Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Option 3 and 4 – Work Tuesday through Friday

• Option 3: Work Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; work Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Option 4: Work Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; work Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Reducing The Building “Footprint” and Reducing Energy Costs

The energy needs and status of all buildings have been assessed.

Every facility will continue to be closely monitored throughout the summer in order to maximize energy efficiencies; appropriate changes will be made as building usage changes.

During this time period, the following general guidelines will be in place:

• Following past practice, scheduled classes and events will be offered in campus buildings during the summer months, with minimal Friday classes being offered in person.
• Buildings/building areas without classes or other instructional or essential work functions will be shut down during this time period; employees can still access the buildings as needed. 
• Occupancy in buildings will be reduced to the extent possible, without compromising services.
• Temperature settings in buildings will be standardized and controlled remotely (including during holidays, weekends, and evenings), making any necessary considerations for laboratories with animals, computers, and other highly sensitive equipment, and musical instruments.

In order for this program to be successful and to maintain planned student instruction and services, all classes, meetings, events, and other activities, both instructional and non-instructional, must be entered into the 25Live system, IUP’s system of record, so that appropriate planning can be done.

An intended added benefit to the Summer Utilities Savings Program is reducing IUP’s carbon footprint beyond campus energy savings, including travel and transportation costs of employees and others. Additional opportunities related to reduced energy use and environmental impact continue to be discussed.

Information about employee-related matters such as work schedule questions for the Summer Utilities Savings Program should be directed to Human Resources.

The Human Resources Supervisor Resources web page also provides additional information on Work Schedule Change Requests. If individuals have questions about work schedule change requests after reviewing those pages, contact Human Resources by email at human-resources@iup.edu or by phone at 724-357-2431.

Questions or concerns regarding individual buildings, air conditioning, or areas within buildings can be addressed by contacting the Office of Facilities Maintenance and Operations at facilities-maintenance@iup.edu or 724-357-2710.

Next Steps

The 2023 Summer Utilities Savings Program reflects our experiences and information gained during the 2022 Summer Utilities Savings Pilot Program and the Winter 2022 Pilot Utilities Savings Pilot Program.

As we refine and improve this program for full implementation for summer 2023, we will continue to work to develop and implement campus-wide efficiency measures that can be in place throughout the calendar year.

The university community has done an excellent job following program guidelines to achieve these savings. Thank you for all that you continue to do to make this initiative a success.