What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word “outsourcing?”

Tech support jobs in India? Apple factories in China?

Put those feelings and initial biases aside when you read this section. This month’s In Focus deals with outsourcing on campus. Your campus.

At first, I was skeptical. I earnestly thought that if the University, like America, can provide its own services to students, they should try to.

But this is far less black and white. It’s not about good and evil, but rather weighing the effects of the University’s decision making.

It comes down to three things.

First, does it save the University money? After all, if a private company can save us money, can’t the University spend that extra money on further programs?

Secondly, does it improve the product in ways the University wouldn’t have been able to accomplish?

And lastly, does it make the product or service more efficient, because a larger company with better resources and manpower can handle it easier than we can?

A couple of quick thoughts: the question of whether or not money should make a difference is a good one. After all, the University is a public educational institution, not a business.

Also, is saving money that worth it when the University, claiming economic necessity, is required to cut dozens of faculty members regardless?

How about if there’s a technical issue with the service — if there’s problems, how efficient does it become if we can’t even handle it ourselves?

These are all good questions, ones we hope to answer when looking at the various programs and institutions on campus which have been outsourced in the past several years.

But again, I stress to you to have an open mind. Don’t assume the University is outsourcing out of laziness, inability or “cheapness.”

Weigh the options: is it worth saving money if the product isn’t very good? Alternatively, should we invest the money in something in order to get a better product?

There are definitely cases of outsourcing in our country one should be weary about. As far as the examples outlined in this section, we make no claims to support the University’s decisions or to condescend.

Admittedly, as you may decide, some decisions may be better than others. But that is up to you.

Keep an open mind— you have a right to learn of the decisions the University makes which affect you. Decide yourself if it was worth the change, and if you feel strongly one way or the other, I encourage you to write in to The BG News to voice your opinions in our Forum section.