CUMREC 2003 Budget Cuts - Meeting the Crisis Head On! Cheng H. Khoo Director Admissions & Records...

CUMREC 2003 Budget Cuts - Meeting the

Crisis Head On!

Cheng H. Khoo

DirectorAdmissions & Records and

Student Systems Development

West Virginia UniversityMonday, May 12, 2003

Copyright Cheng Khoo, May 2004. This work is the intellectual property of the author. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the author. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from that author.

News Report

• WV – proposal to reduce appropriations to state colleges and universities by about 13%. This, combined with mandated expenditures for insurances and other costs, presented us with a combined university possible deficit of about $28 million.

– President Hardesty, Remarks to the WVU Board of Governors, April 4, 2003

News Report

• Leaders of Maryland’s public university system are preparing a proposal that would raise tuition by nearly 20 percent over last fall’s charges to make up for roughly half of the $60 million of cuts they expect Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. to order soon, according to sources close to the system.

– Amy Argetsinger and Lori Montgomery, Washington Post Staff Writers, May 8, 2003

Budget Cuts - Meeting the Crisis Head On!

• Presentation Outline

– Introduction

– Vision, Mission, Values

– Background

– Issues to Consider

– Examples of what we did

– Lessons learned


West Virginia University


• West Virginia University

– Founded in 1867 as a land-grant institution

– 169 degrees offered in 13 schools and colleges

– Home of the PRT (Personal Rapid Transit) people-mover that transports students from campus to campus



– The only university that offers a degree in forensic identification

– WVUp All Night includes free concerts, food, and activities for students every weekend

– More than 270 student organizations.



– Morgantown, located about 70 miles south of Pittsburgh, was named the “Best Small City in the East”

– West Virginia’s low crime rate and campus safety efforts make WVU one of the safest campuses in the nation



– Introduction


– Background



– Lessons learned

WVU Vision• West Virginia University is a student-centered

learning community meeting the changing needs of the people of West Virginia and the nation through teaching, research, service, and Technology


Student Affairs Mission• The Student Affairs Division supports West

Virginia University’s student-centered learning environment, allows students to fully develop, and in partnership with our University colleagues, offers the highest quality programs, services, and opportunities, based on a foundation of values and the Mountaineer Creed.


Student Affairs Values• Absolute integrity -- honest at all times: Always tell the truth

• Commitment to excellence -- set and adhere to high standards: Do the right thing

• Wisdom -- competent in your job: Know your job and do it well

• Respect human dignity and cultural diversity: Respect for others

• Compassion and humility -- a little tolerance of others never hurts: Be kind, understanding, and humble

• Communicate clear and concise information: Pass on the right information


Admissions and Records Mission• Admissions and Records strives to process

applications for admissions accurately and timely, and facilitate matriculating students’ education and progress towards graduation by providing student-centered services.




– Introduction


– Background



– Lessons learned


ADMISSIONS & RECORDS STUDENT SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT

Cheng H. KhooDirector

Diane O'ConnorSecretary

ADMISSIONSMarilyn Potts

Assistant Director(24/28 staff)

RECORDSSteve Taylor

Registrar(15/16 Staff)

DATA COMMUNICATIONSKenton Colvin

Assistant Director(7/8 Staff)

STUDENT SYS. DEV.Donna Hylton

Associate Director(13/14 Staff)


• Inefficient Processes – Lots of Rework and/or Non-Productive work in office

• Divided Staff – Lack of Cooperation among Units

• Poor Staff Moral


• High Absenteeism - Stress

• Poor Customer Service

• WVU possible deficit of about $28 million (Have announced elimination of 5 varsity sports programs this FY2003-04 year)

Budget Cuts: Meeting the Crisis Head On!

• Office Budget Cuts– FY 2000-01 - $53,000

– FY 2001-02 - $100,000

– FY 2002-03 - $30,900

– FY 2003-04 - $23,700 / $47,400 projected

• Processing Backlog – continuing requests for overtime hours, hiring of temporary staff



– Introduction


– Background



– Lessons learned


• Support from Upper Management

• Articulate Goals to Staff Clearly– Meet budget cuts

– Improve processing efficiency

– Improve customer service – students, faculty and staff


• Provide tools, training and better working environment to staff

• Goal is NOT to target staff for elimination

• Increase Use of Technology


Roads to failure - pack your bags?

Danger Signs

Landmines to look for?


• Lack of support from Upper Management

• Complaint of micro-management

• Grievances


• Traditions in the office– We have always done it this way– It is not in my job description– Are you paying me for this higher pay grade task?

• Solution does not have to solve 100% of problem

• Poor communication with external constituents



– Introduction


– Background



– Lessons learned


Our Solution

-------------------------Office/Staff Reorganization

Procedural/Policies Changes

Increase Use of Technology


Office/Staff Reorganization• Relocated Freshman Admission Unit from another building

back into the main Admissions Office

– Increased supervisor productivity by eliminating travel between two offices

– Improved processing efficiency of one staff in satellite office – half of her time was spent as “receptionist” for building

– $$ savings in copier cost– Additional printer in main office benefits rest of the unit– Ready access to FAX machine in main office


Office/Staff Reorganization• Reduced two supervisors in Admissions Unit by

combining:

Freshman Unit & Transfer Unit into

Freshman/Transfer Unit

Graduate Unit & International Unit intoGraduate/International Unit


Office/Staff Reorganization• Reduced Graduate/International Unit by two staff due to

retirement and medical leave

– Work reassigned to remaining staff in unit

– Two staff position upgraded because of additional responsibilities


Office/Staff Reorganization• Reviewed and rewrote job description of Receptionist in

Admissions

– Training on use of Student Information System• Improved customer service to prospective students and

families• Improved efficiency of processing staff with less interruptions

from prospective students and families– Changed procedure in creation of student folders – Former receptionist retired, replaced by receptionist from another

unit


Office/Staff Reorganization• Reviewed and rewrote job description of staff in the

Records Unit to be half time in Records and half time in Admissions. Pay grade upgraded.

– Improved processing efficiency of staff by installing modem on PC

• fax enrollment verification instead of printing and using fax machine

• Fax software allows for archive of verification sent


Office/Staff Reorganization• Create Data Communication Unit to streamline processing

and improve staff productivity

– New unit made up of data entry operators from Admissions, telephone operators from Records, and ad hoc reporting unit from Student Systems Development

– Data entry operators and telephone operators cross-trained

– Assistant Director from SSD transferred to supervise new unit


Procedural/Policies Changes• Four admissions staff (freshman, transfer, graduate,

international) making daily application fee deposits in the student union

– One admission staff and one transcript staff make daily deposit today

• Recalculate transcript GPA from colleges/universities using +/- grading scale for admissions (minimum GPA of 2.0 for transfer students)

– Eliminated practice today



• Post transfer work after delete for non-payment of fees – a contradiction

– We now post transfer work immediately on admissions to facilitate advising and also provide a professionally printed transcript of transfer work instead of handwritten form for advisors

– Students now have access to transfer information on the Web


Procedural/Policies Changes• Recalculate undergraduate cumulative GPA for graduate

applicants from domestic colleges and universities


• Post high school core courses into BANNER/STAR for all domestic freshman



Procedural/Policies Changes• Beginning of each semester, setup PC and printer in the

Student Union and E-Moore Hall to allow students to print their schedule

– Eliminated lines in Admissions and Records



• Board reporting required extensive manual adjustment to file in the past and took over a month to complete

– Fingers pointed in every direction

– GIGO - garbage in, garbage out - main source of problem Records now run edit programs regularly and routinely cleans up inconsistent data

– The Fall 2002 report was submitted -- A DAY EARLY


Procedural/Policies Changes• Duplicate records in BANNER/STAR - almost one FTE

used to clean up duplicate records in the past

– Retrain data entry staff in Admissions to identify students already in system, eliminating the manual creation of duplicates

– Duplicates created by tape loads (ACT/SAT) are cleaned up within a week of the load

– Report of possible duplicated created regularly and staff is expected to clean up the duplicates regularly

– Average of about 10 complex duplicates daily now


Procedural/Policies Changes• The data entry unit prints labels for all new applications

entered into system to create the application folder instead of staff typing the application folder.

• Removed most typewriters from office, saving cost of maintenance, and forcing staff to change work habits


Procedural/Policies Changes• Implement new processing procedures in international

student application processing

Game Plan – Admit early, send I-20 immediately

– Modify International Application form to request e-mail address

– Evaluation of missing application fee and application documents is done together now

– If e-mail address is provided, student notified of missing items by email -- $$$



student application processing (cont.)

– Required application documents are now entered into the computer. If students e-mail or call, staff will no longer have to look for the application folder to respond

– Student staff responds to e-mail requests for application status or requests for information - standard replies created, cut and paste




– No longer stamp “Application Fee Paid” on application form

– Notify students when application folder is complete and sent to graduate department for admission decision - use e-mail whenever provided -- $$$. Eliminates correspondence from students about admission status and requests for graduate assistantship

– Financial documentation is now requested in US currency - saves staff in conversion to US currency before we can issue the I-20




– Eliminate posting previous college work in BANNER/STAR until student is admitted.

– Revised Department Decision form to include graduate assistantship award information and if department will admit for future term




– Contact Graduate Departments if application folder was sent over a month ago

– All requests for information and application forms are directed to web sites. In the past, we mailed out thousands of International Brochures -- $$$ savings in printing, postage and handling

– Two students hired to respond to international e-mail requests for information and application status



• IVR Upgrade and Web for Student Implementation

– 96 phone lines on IVR generated complaints during pre-registration.

– Fall 2000 first day of Pre-registration for Freshman moved from

Monday to Saturday - Telecommunication reported we received

111,328 calls. Only 1800 of those calls were completed calls.– Web Registration - Spring 2002, maximum of 1200 students

registering at one time - NO COMPLAINTS :=)



• IVR Upgrade and Web for Student Implementation (cont.)

– IVR phone lines upgraded and reduced from 96 to 24 lines - savings in telephone monthly line cost and 800 telephone charges. Allows student to access grades and pay tuition and fees with a credit card.

– Students have access to demographic information, academic history (transcripts), financial aid, student accounts, courses registered, housing assignment, etc



• Implemented Web for Faculty

– Grade entry by faculty

– Up to the minute class roster

– Release restriction to course enrollment for student by primary faculty

– Information on students registered in faculty’s class



• Implemented Mountaineer Information Xpress (MIX)

– Web portal for students

– E-mail, calendar, targeted messages for all students

– Chat room and Bulletin Board for faculty and students

– One sign on to MIX and Web for Student product

• Schedule Printing in Mountainlair and E-Moore Hall


SUMMARY

• Savings of $175,000 in personnel cost - 5 positions eliminated

• Savings in telephone charges on both office and IVR• Savings in international postage, printing of International

Brochures• Increased International Student Enrollment

– Fall 2001 -- 1,180 students– Fall 2002 -- 1,315 students


SUMMARY

• Processed more applications with less staff in admissions, no overtime, comp time or temporary employees

– Fall 1999 -- 17,341 applications





SUMMARY

• Increased staff moral• Lower absenteeism due to stress• Increased processing efficiency of office

INCREASED SERVICE TO STUDENTS



– Introduction


– Background



– Lessons learned


• Empower Supervisors and Staff– Permission to make exception

– Transfer Packets - $$$

– Transient Forms

• Listen to staff input

• Treat staff with respect and dignity– Be flexible when necessary

• Provide training and retraining if necessary


• Continue to monitor staff productivity– Processing 4 folders a day to 20 plus folders a day

• Be on the alert for unnecessary work and rework

CUMREC 2003 Budget Cuts - Meeting the

Crisis Head On!

Cheng H. Khoo

DirectorAdmissions & Records and

Student Systems Development

West Virginia UniversityMonday, May 12, 2003

CUMREC 2003 Budget Cuts - Meeting the Crisis Head On! Cheng H. Khoo Director Admissions & Records...

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