NIU has saved almost $1 million in the past three years by implementing special summer operations.

This summer, the university continued its efforts to save money by shutting down certain buildings and rearranging faculty schedules.

“We had zero increase in our budget,” said Bob Albanese, associate vice president of finance and facilities.

One program the university continued this summer was changing faculty schedules from five eight-hour days to four ten-hour work days.

In 2003, the four-day work week saved NIU about $300,000, said Eddie Williams, executive vice president of operations.

In 2004, NIU’s savings were between $200,000 and $300,000, Albanese said.

This summer, the program is expected to save NIU about the same amount, which will make the university’s estimated total savings about $1 million.

Much like the summer of 2004, NIU is embracing a four-day work week, which mean days begin as early as 7 a.m. and end at 5:30 p.m.

The same amount of work is going to be done as the regular hours in the semester, Albanese said.

The change in work hours affects building operations personnel, students and employees.