Neil Goldschmidt and state Board of Higher Education members warned Tuesday that chancellor's office employees face potential layoffs as the board launches a top-to-bottom review of the university system administration.

In his first formal action as board president, Goldschmidt and the board's executive committee voted to alert 152 employees in Eugene, Corvallis, Portland, Beaverton and Salem that the defeat of Measure 30 might mean elimination of some of their jobs at the end of the fiscal year in June.

The move would be part of a broader strategy by Goldschmidt and the new board to build public and political support for higher education. He said in an interview that the best way to persuade lawmakers to spend more on universities and community colleges is to reduce administrative duplication and increase productivity across the system.

"Is there a way that the investments Oregonians make in their post-secondary schools can be made more productive for the student consumer and ultimately for the taxpayer?" Goldschmidt asked.

Other initiatives the board will pursue are making it easier for students to get a four-year degree in four years, boosting financial aid and creating jobs across the state through campus programs such as nursing, information technology and tourism.

Richard Jarvis, chancellor of the university system, said looking for administrative cuts is a necessary first step.

"We felt it was important for the chancellor's office to share the budget cuts precipitated by the defeat of Measure 30 so that the effect on undergraduate education would not be as severe," Jarvis said.

Goldschmidt and board members emphasized in a teleconference that the potential cuts would not affect faculty or staff at Oregon's seven campuses. University presidents are expected next week to present initial plans for cuts triggered by Measure 30's defeat.

Voters' rejection of Measure 30 means the university system faces $7.5 million in budget cuts. After the vote, Gov. Ted Kulongoski said the state would try to reduce administrative costs to make up for the shortfall before considering tuition increases.

Though Measure 30's defeat was the impetus for the warning, Kulongoski and Goldschmidt earlier said they would seek a review of the chancellor's operation. The office, which centralizes a variety of services for the universities, has seen its role shrink in recent years as more duties have been shifted to the campuses. Since 2001, the chancellor's office has shaved about $6 million, including about 30 full-time positions.

152 positions remaining Of the remaining 152 positions, 125 are full time. The largest number of employees -- 64 -- work at Oregon State University in Corvallis, which houses the university system's controller, internal audit and information technology divisions, including employees who provide computer support to the smaller universities. Another 62 work at the University of Oregon in Eugene, home to finance, general counsel, human resources, institutional research and planning and academic affairs.

In the Portland area, 15 employees work at the Capital Career Center in Beaverton, mostly providing advanced technology education to professionals. Six are housed at Portland State University to handle communications and federal government relations and to support Jarvis and the board. Three Salem employees also handle government relations.

Goldschmidt, other board members and former Sen. Neil Bryant, R-Bend, have begun the review with interviews of chancellor's office employees and others. Goldschmidt said Bryant, who the board is paying $195 an hour, will interview lawmakers and others to evaluate the effectiveness of the office.

The board and Bryant will look for potential savings in the office's $20.5 million operations budget for 2003-05, which accounts for about 3 percent of state funding to the university system.

Matching money to priorities In an interview, Goldschmidt said the review will seek to better match the money that flows to the chancellor's office with Kulongoski's priorities and to sharpen the university system's ability to compete with other state agencies for money.

Calls to scale back the chancellor office, from lawmakers who question its value and university presidents who want more autonomy, are not new. In 2002, the presidents lobbied for more independence from the state system, including their own governing boards and authority to set tuition and faculty pay.

The chancellor's office review is one of several goals set for the board. Last fall, Kulongoski appointed Goldschmidt and six other new members to the 11-member state board to raise higher education's profile in the state.

Goldschmidt said the board will seek to resuscitate Kulongski's plan for a scholarship fund that would provide a stable source of student financial aid. At the same time, the board will try to win over skeptical legislators with no-cost and low-cost strategies to increase access to higher education. For example, he said, it should be easier for community college students to transfer to universities.

The board also has begun to tackle another goal: identify university and community college programs that could create more jobs. As an example, Goldschmidt cited nursing education, where more money could stanch a statewide nursing shortage and provide medical care in rural communities, making them more attractive to employers.

Easier transfers proposed Goldschmidt and the board vice president, Geri Richmond, a University of Oregon chemistry professor, sketched out steps in a recent interview. Among them is the concept of a "single transcript," a mechanism that Goldschmidt says would allow a student to transfer among the 17 community colleges and seven public universities with greater ease.

Dual enrollment agreements exist between most universities and one or more community colleges, which help students map a smooth path between campuses.

But snags remain. Nationally, students who received bachelor's degrees in 1999-2000, who began at public two-year institutions before transferring to four-year schools, took about a year and a half longer to complete their degrees than students who began at the four-year institutions, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

"It ought to be possible for somebody who knows what they want to do to get through faster," Goldschmidt said.

Susan Wilson, who coordinates academic advising at Portland Community College's Cascade Campus, said PCC students who chart their path with advisers can transfer with ease from community colleges to several universities. But students aren't required to consult with advisers, and many don't.

Wilson said she would support measures such as those recently taken in the California State University system, for example, where community college students will be required to declare a major by the end of their freshman year. Transfer students must finish all prerequisites for the major before they enter a university.

But Rylee Keys, a student at PCC-Rock Creek, said smoother transfers and more advising won't help students graduate in four years. For those who must work one or two jobs to pay for their degree, finishing in four years is rare, especially when state budget cuts have reduced the number of class sections each term, she said.

"I think it's just reasonable to see that it takes some people longer -- especially if they have to work through it," Keys said.

Before Measure 30, the university system's share of the 2003-05 state budget was $687 million. Community colleges received about $423 million. Together, they account for about 9.7 percent of the state budget and will face about $14.2 million in cuts as a result of Measure 30's defeat.