I. Executive Summary
UVM/Burlington COPC's UVM's Impacts on Employment and Purchasing Policies & Practices Report, Spring 2000
UVM/Burlington COPC and the UVM Impacts Project
This study is being conducted as part of the UVM Impacts Project of the newly formed UVM/Burlington
Community Outreach Partnership Center (COPC). The COPC is a partnership between UVM, Burlington local
government, community non-profits, and the private sector to benefit residents of lower income neighborhoods in
Burlington. This partnership is supported by a three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development and substantial in-kind contributions from UVM, the City, and numerous community organizations.
The COPC currently oversees three projects/partnerships: Community Leadership to increase the level and
effectiveness of community participation in a wide range of civic activities; Fair Share Housing to increase the
supply of, and access to, affordable housing; and UVM Impacts to increase local employment and business
opportunities. A major goal of the COPC is the development of lasting and effective partnerships such as the
UVM/Burlington workforce and business development partnership involved in this study.
The UVM Impacts Project is a partnership created to strengthen workforce and business development activities
that serve lower income Burlington households. This Partnership’s initial focus is to consider, and where appropriate
implement, ways to increase the opportunities for employment and advancement of low income residents living in
Burlington’s Old North End (ONE) and adjoining neighborhoods.
We specify that for the purpose of this study the Old North End (or “ONE”) refers to the Enhanced Enterprise
Community, consisting of census tracts 3, 4, 5, 6 and 10. Please see the end of this section for a map of the Old
North End.
The UVM Impacts Study
This study, conducted by students in the UVM field study class, “UVM and the Local/Regional Economy,”
represents the first phase of this project. It focuses on UVM employment and purchasing impacts on the
local/regional economy, and how UVM’s current employment and purchasing policies and practices directly and
indirectly affect local employment and advancement opportunities.
The theoretical rationale for the study is that employment and advancement opportunities will increase as a result
of systematic changes in UVM’s employment and purchasing policies and expenditures, carried out with the support
of other members of the Partnership. It is believed that the changes in employment and advancement opportunities
will arise directly from UVM employment-related decisions and indirectly from UVM purchasing decisions affecting
local businesses that employ local residents.
UVM’s direct employment impacts will be greater the more it offers employment opportunities that are
accessible to low income residents, provides reasonable wages and benefits, and includes helpful ways to advance
(both within and outside of UVM). This study examines UVM employment opportunities along these lines. It also
looks at UVM’s recruitment and hiring process to see if there are ways that this process can better reach and inform
lower income residents, including those who face language and other barriers to many employment opportunities.
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The businesses looked at in this study that might provide increased employment opportunities indirectly as a
result of UVM purchases are defined as those operating in Chittenden County since this approximates the labor
market area in which Burlington residents work. The study also separates out Burlington businesses since these may
be more accessible to Old North End residents.
In this study we identify local businesses that are more likely to employ low income residents in terms of starting
wages and required skill levels. Future research will go beyond entry level conditions to include opportunities for
advancement and other characteristics of higher quality jobs, and information on the nature of the business ownership
(local or outside) and size of the business.
We then look at the ways that UVM works with its current and potential vendors, and how purchasing decisions
are made internally by departments, to see to what extent UVM might increase the opportunities for local vendors to
sell to the university. We include companies that do and don’t do business with UVM to identify barriers that
businesses might face in dealing with UVM.
This study develops recommended changes in UVM policies and practices that increase employment and
advancement opportunities without increasing UVM costs substantially (and which may in some cases lower those
costs) and that can be carried out consistently with the other goals and constraints faced by the university. Special
attention is given to changes that may increase UVM’s efficiency of operations while supporting local businesses and
residents.
Since this is a partnership effort, attention is given to changes that reinforce or are supported by current policies
and practices of UVM’s workforce and business development partners. The hope is that UVM’s partners in this
project will work with UVM to determine appropriate concurrent changes in their policies and practices as well. In
the longer term, it is hoped that the Partnership will develop other ways of working together to support local
workforce and business development.
Findings: Highlights
Revenues and Expenditures

Revenues for year 1999 totaled $304,384,000 and were comprised of tuition and fees, federal and state
appropriations, gifts and grants, private gifts and grants, sales and services. 16% of these revenues came from the
Burlington area, 22% came from the rest of Vermont, 57% came from outside of the state and the origin of 5% of
revenues is unknown at this time.

For year 1999, 61% of expenditures were on compensation, 30% were on supplies and materials, 5% were on
equipment and acquisitions and 4% were on utilities.
Employment

UVM employs 2,986 people, making it the second largest employer in Burlington (after Fletcher Allen Health
Care) and the third largest employer in Chittenden County (after IBM and FAHC). Of these, 1,028 are faculty and
1,958 are staff.
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
Of the 1,958 staff employed at UVM, 25% live in Burlington. Of the UVM staff who live in Burlington, 35%, or
172 residents, live in the ONE.

UVM pays an estimated $4,652,778 in total annual salaries and wages to its staff employees living in the ONE.

The majority of UVM staff that live in Burlington (58.8%) are employed in pay ranges 1 to 10, while 69.2% of
staff that live in the ONE work within the 1-10 pay ranges. Out of a total scale of pay ranges 1 through 20, these
require the most supervision and least education.

For lower level jobs (typically pay ranges 1-6), no paid advertising is required, as job referrals from current
employees provide sufficient candidates.

The employment office tries to keep the eligibility requirements as open as possible to encourage as many
applicants as possible.

UVM offers employees a variety of in-house educational and training opportunities including the Individual
Development Program (IDP), a program implemented in 1999, English as a Second Language (ESL), and 15 hours of
tuition remission. During spring semester 2000, 15 staff employees have contacted IDP and 60 custodians are
enrolled in ESL.

Grade 3 custodial and housekeeping staff earn an average salary of $16,858, which is “not enough money to
subsist, especially with a family.” Many grade 3 employees work two full-time jobs, often with their spouses doing
the same. While the wage is considered low, both supervisors and employees feel that, with benefits, it is on par, if
not superior, to that offered by other local employers.

Employee benefits of working at UVM are considered to be “substantial.” The most significant ones are medical
and dental coverage, free education for both employees and dependants, the 403(b) retirement plan, flexible
scheduling and “job security.”

For the large number of non-native English speakers in low-skilled positions, language poses the main barrier to
their success. Although UVM offers on-site ESL classes, participation varies among different departments and the
reason is unknown.
Purchasing

In fiscal year 1999, UVM spent $28,225,623 on goods and services. Of these purchases:
10% were within the city of Burlington
16% were within the rest of Chittenden County
11% were within the rest of Vermont
63% were outside Vermont

Of the nearly $3 million spent in Burlington:
$1,252,000 (42%) was spent on utilities and services
$516,000 (17%) was spent on schools
$449,000 (15%) was spent with social and non-profit organizations
$293,000 (10%) was spent with government
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$139,000 (5%) was spent on financial services
$132,000 (4%) was spent on food/entertainment/lodging
$70,000 (2%) was spent on retail
$65,000 (2%) was spent on printing/publishing/office supplies

Of the $4.3 million spent in the rest of Chittenden County, $3.2 million (74%) was spent on
food/entertainment/lodging (this includes major contract with Marriott).

Data about commodities purchased outside Chittenden County cannot be sorted electronically and is therefore
not available at the present time.

Some products required by UVM (e.g., medical equipment) are not available locally, regionally or even in
Vermont.

The decision-making structure for purchasing is highly decentralized.

In practice, purchasing agents tend to use established business partners. Breaking into the system is potentially
difficult for smaller vendors.

Individual departments can use purchasing cards (called purcards) for purchases under $750 and Limited
Purchase Orders (LPOs) for buying goods under $10,000 and services under $25,000. A Request for Proposal (RFP)
is required for purchases that exceed these amounts. The majority of colleges and schools tend to spend their
operating budgets through informal processes (i.e., purcards and LPOs) rather than using an RFP.

UVM departments cite the following barriers to doing business locally: lower levels of availability of goods and
services, higher cost (sometimes), limited availability of computer goods and lack of scientific supplies and
equipment.

UVM departments cite the following benefits to doing business locally: increased convenience,
lower cost (sometimes), enhanced public image of UVM through positive interactions with the business community,
fast turn around of orders, immediate delivery and retention of dollars within the community.

Some internal policies act as a disincentive to purchasing locally. For example, even though a department may
feel a local business is the best overall choice and value, the contracted vendor policy forces them to choose the
business with the lower price. As another example, purcard policies force users to buy baked goods from large
grocery stores vs. local bakeries.

Among a dozen Burlington businesses surveyed that have supplied UVM, none have encountered any problems
in this relationship.
Conclusions and Recommendations
Employment
From our research we conclude that UVM’s employment-related expenditures provide substantial resources to
the regional and local economy; the monetary impact on lower income residents of the Old North End and
surrounding neighborhoods represents a relatively small, but not insignificant, percentage of total compensation
expenditures.
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We also conclude, based on our review of wages, benefits (especially tuition remission and pensions), in-house
educational programs, and access to higher level positions, that many of the UVM staff positions held by Old North
End residents represent good entry level employment and advancement opportunities. UVM is a major provider of
such positions and can play an important role, working with its local partners, in improving economic conditions for
residents with fewer work skills and/or facing language and other barriers to securing employment.
Viewing the entire process from recruitment to hiring to in-house development to advancement within and
outside of UVM, we found UVM’s current methods and practices to be commendable. There are, however, areas
where additional improvement may be possible.
First, we do not recommend that there be an unconditional preference for hiring of residents from any particular
geographic area within the region or beyond. We do recommend, however, that the university make a special effort to
reach, employ, and support residents facing economic, language, or other barriers to employment wherever they live.
In these recommendations we will focus our attention on the needs of Old North End residents.
Second, we recommend increasing the exchange and dissemination of information about employment
opportunities and potential employees within the university and between the ONE and the university. In particular:

Work with community partners that have close links to the ONE, so that more consistent referral systems and
direct links are institutionalized. There are numerous agencies, many represented on the Advisory Committee of the
Impacts Project, such as the Department of Employment and Training, that are in contact with residents of ONE and
that may be able to direct potential job candidates to UVM.

Increase information about UVM employment opportunities to ONE residents. Community partners may help
advertise that UVM has a web page listing current job vacancies, and assist residents in accessing it. Advertising of
job vacancies in the ONE Rag might also be effective in increasing the information flow. Job fairs and related
activities that are held in the ONE, such as Spring Up Day, would help UVM communicate information about job
openings, benefits, etc. to residents where they live. We recommend that within UVM’s recruitment and hiring
processes, information be provided in a variety of languages (with help from the two ESL teachers).

UVM may be able to provide services to help residents of ONE obtain jobs. For example, the employment
office helps job candidates with resumes. Community groups may be able to help UVM inform residents of ONE of
this and other UVM employment services.

Support education and advancement of ONE residents. Once ONE residents (and others) are employed, UVM
may be able to provide additional information about opportunities and support to encourage their development and
advancement. Information about UVM Training and Development packet, IDP information, benefits information, etc.
should be available in several languages.

Increase data available to help learn from experience. A centralized database tracking the enrollment of staff in
classes and movement of staff within and outside the university might enable supervisors to more adeptly help
employees who may not be aware of possible job ladders/classes or who feel intimidated. This would provide
further information about UVM’s capacity to be a “stepping stone” for more attractive jobs for employees.
Information obtained from exit interviews conducted with employees leaving their positions, either for another job
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within UVM or one outside of UVM, would be very helpful to understanding the high turnover rate of lower level
positions at UVM, the employment situation in general, and employee use of advancement opportunities within the
University.

Increase support to neighborhoods where UVM employees live. Our interviews of ONE residents employed at
UVM revealed a feeling that UVM, as an institution, might do more to build a better relationship with the Old North
End and surrounding neighborhoods, going beyond just the exchange of information. They felt this would improve
the experience for them of working at UVM.
Purchasing
Based on our examination of purchasing expenditures by location, we conclude that UVM purchasing brings
considerable resources into the regional economy, but that a majority of its expenditures are out-of-state. This offers
an opportunity to relocate some of these out-of-state expenditures into the region where this makes economic sense.
This will require additional research on the nature of non-Vermont purchasing and the capacity of the regional
economy to replace those goods and services locally.
We also conclude that the many of UVM purchases within Chittenden County and Burlington are to businesses
in sectors that have entry level positions that may be appropriate for the group of people we are trying to reach.
Further research is recommended, however, as to the benefits, training and development programs, and advancement
opportunities available in those sectors since our goal is to help create quality employment opportunities for lower
income local residents.
As with employment, we do not recommend a blanket preference for purchasing within the region versus
elsewhere; rather we emphasize improving information flows between UVM and all vendors to support more
informed decision-making. Having said this, we will focus our attention in the following recommendations on
information flows betweeen UVM and Chittenden County and Burlington businesses, and within UVM about local
purchasing opportunities:

Increase information to current and potential vendors. To increase vendors’ opportunities to compete for large
University purchases we recommend that the Purchasing Department’s webpage include a list of current goods and
services being sought (i.e. RFP’s). The webpage should also offer information regarding the types of goods and
services that are purchased by the University, i.e. the findings of this research. The website should be advertised,
possibly in the business section of the local newspaper to increase vendors’ access to it and knowledge of the
information it provides.

Increase UVM information about vendors. We recommend an enhanced vendor registration form, one that is for
potential local vendors (with whom UVM has not done business in the past), as well as for current and past vendors.
We also recommend that information pertaining to the types of commodities offered by vendors be added to the form
and thus, to the database. This information could help increase local purchasing by raising awareness about local
vendors within the University.
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
In another effort to increase awareness of local vendors we recommend an annual purchasing fair in which local
vendors and all UVM purchasing agents are invited to participate. We recommend that UVM work with its
Burlington partners to identify optimal local businesses to take part in the vendor fair.

Increase information within UVM about local vendors. We found that benefits to local purchasing were
recognized by some individuals in our departmental survey and we believe that if more information about local
opportunities were available to them, local purchasing would increase. We recommend that relevant information
from this study and a list of local vendors, arranged by type of good or service provided, be distributed throughout
the University.

We also recommend that a webpage be created for UVM department and office purchasing agents that provides
the above list of local vendors by type of good or service offered. Within the webpage purchasing agents should be
able to view the specific goods and services that local vendors offer, prices, sales and other appropriate information.
This webpage should be part of the Purchasing Department’s website.

We conclude that the use of purcards makes local purchasing more accessible and even likely for UVM
departments and offices, while at the same time reducing administrative costs. We recommend that greater
information about local vendors be provided to purcard users to increase their knowledge of available goods and
services (see above recommendations).
Figure i: Map of the Old North end, Burlington, Vermont
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