Improvement Projects

Below are major improvement projects facilitated by the Office of Organizational Excellence. Completed projects are at the bottom, with links to action plans and presentations.

Getting started
IT Purchase Planning Process
The aim of this project is to develop an improved approach for IT purchases that ensures collaboration, consultation, and coordination well before the point of a purchase request. With a launch date of March 22, the project begins with a thorough discovery phase to hear from customers, stakeholders, and SMEs – and to gather key data to understand the current situation. The project team will then design a proposed process, to be reviewed and refined by a leadership review group, that meets the needs of the units and the university as a whole.

The improved review process is initiated when the need is identified so it occurs early enough in a unit’s purchase planning to inform purchasing decisions and promptly meet their business needs.

The improved process leverages existing planning and purchasing processes.

The process is simple, standardized, documented, and repeatable.

The process is efficient, allowing units to respond to important business needs.

The process for acquiring IT solutions and services, and any associated procedures and policies, are clearly defined and communicated to all.

Improved coordination of purchases to make better use of resources – by leveraging common IT solutions and bringing visibility to IT implementation and maintenance needs associated with new solutions.

Over time, improved collaboration and coordination reduce duplication of systems and effort across the campus.

The process provides necessary information to the Controller’s Office to comply with financial reporting requirements for Subscription Based Information Technology Agreements (SBITA – GASB 96).

Donna Arnett, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost

Brice Bible, Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer

Ed Walton, Executive Vice President for Administration and Chief Financial Officer

Underway
Graduate School Application Process
The Graduate School is engaged in a project to improve the graduate application process and its coordination with programs. The project began with a close review of the current application process, followed by a survey to hear from applicants, graduate students, and partners. The information from this discovery process is now being used to develop an action plan.

Make the process visible to students, faculty, and staff.

Improve overall process time, and establish time frame guidelines for steps in the process.

Reduce duplication and ensure a coordinated process.

Ann Vail, Dean of the Graduate School

Nearing Completion
Student Disability Accommodations Registration
The number of students requesting course-related student disability accommodations continues to increase, and timely accommodations are essential to support student success. The Student Disability Resource Center and Office of Civil Rights and Title IX have partnered, with support from the Office of Organizational Excellence, to identify efficiencies to better serve students, faculty, and staff.

Provide clarity about the student disability accommodations process.

Reduce student disability accommodations process time.

Develop seamless coordination with HR for graduate students who need classroom and workplace accommodations.

Donna Arnett, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost

Rex Tolliver, Vice President for Student Affairs and Academic Support

Julian Williams, VP for Access and Opportunity

Completed in February 2024
The Academic Financial Planning Optimization team came together to coordinate, standardize, and enhance academic financial reporting and analysis. This report outlines the team’s plan to partner with academic financial managers to improve decision making and reduce time spent accessing, manipulating and validating data.

Read the report • See presentation slides • Watch the presentation

Completed in August 2023
The Purchasing Improvement Team presented its action set and has begun implementation. The aim is to make the purchasing experience more user-friendly and efficient for the Purchasing Department’s many customers.

Read the report • See presentation slides • Watch the presentation

Organizational Excellence

Improvement Projects

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