| University Business presents Models of Efficiency, a national recognition program honoring institutions whose innovative solutions have solved higher education business and technology challenges. |
Under the Hood
Creighton University
Enterprise Applications
The Division of Information Technology moved Creighton's time-consuming process of registering freshman students' and faculty's vehicles and applying for parking permits online, reducing the time frame from three weeks down to a few days, saving $2,800 in printing and personnel costs. See full story. |
Coordinated Communications
Johnson County Community College
Admissions Department, Administrative Computer Services
Johnson CCC's manual admissions communications were uncoordinated, slow and peppered with a lot of waste. Admissions worked with Administrative Computer Services to develop a personal admission plan, providing MyJCCC, a centralized location online where students can go to see the status of their application and identify missing documents. In addition to providing a better, real-time admission experience for students, JCCC is saving approximately $57,000 annually. See full story. |
Online Marketing Alternative
Miami Dade College
Miami Dade College Television
In seeking an effective, yet affordable, means of marketing to prospective students, Miami Dade found a win-win when it created MDC-TV. Acquiring 14 hours of weekly air time from a local community access channel, MDC engaged six students each semester from the School of Entertainment and Design Technology to operate the channel, giving them practicum coursework while giving MDC million-dollar programming on a $36,000 budget. The real win: applications to the TV production program have significantly increased. See full story. |
Record Time
University of Wisconsin-Stout
Registration and Records Office
Students who graduate want their transcript as quickly as possible, but U Wisconsin-Stout's verification and auditing system was anything but fast. The university automated the process, from verifying student information to processing credit cards, even providing PDF downloads upon completion as one option. Now 1,500 graduate records that used to be handled gradually over 45 days are being processed in five minutes, and nearly two-thirds of diplomas are awarded within five days of grades being entered. See full story. |
|
|
|
Under Their Noses
University of Wisconsin-Stout
Registration and Records Office
Getting that sheepskin at University of Wisconsin-Stout meant waiting weeks after graduation for an internal verification audit. Automating the process allowed the university to run all degree audits simultaneously and electronically. The querying capability allowed staff to get fast answers to their questions so they could keep the process moving forward. Now, all graduates' records are processed in five minutes, and nearly two-thirds of diplomas are awarded within four days of grades being entered. See full story. |
Video Recruiting
Miami Dade College
Division of Human Resources Employment Department
With budgets tightening and a limited staff, off-site career fairs, which cost MDC $14,150 annually, were becoming a significant drain on the budget. Having six HR staff members process 400 employment applications a day was draining resources, as well. MDC switched to creating one- to two-minute videos showcasing different aspects of life at MDC, and posted them on the website. The videos are now reaching more than 15,000 people, compared to the 1,000 they used to reach with career fairs, and the cost has dropped by nearly $11,000. See full story. |
Emulating the DMV
Student Services Division
Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College
Long waits in the student services department and the need for students to return multiple times led Asheville-Buncombe officials to purchase software to manage wait times. Now students can be added to the virtual queue and visit adjacent areas such as the school bookstore while waiting without losing their place in line. Average wait time has been reduced from 21.5 minutes to 8.5, while the new automated program has saved the institution $40,000 in staff costs. See full story. |
Capture the Flag
Valdosta State University
Data Warehouse, Enrollment Management
To increase its student retention rate, Valdosta needed deeper access to information in its database that wasn't readily accessible. By adding Oracle's Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition, the team built an application that would provide the actionable intelligence they needed and used the information to create a packaged intervention strategy for students at risk of defecting. It's too early to gauge retention rates, but the proactive communication program, which keeps at-risk students engaged, has already improved midterm and final grades by 10 percent to 15 percent. See full story. |
|
|
|
The Check's in the Mail
Loyola University Chicago
Accounts Payable Department
Loyola's accounts payable department sought a way to reduce the 50,000 transactions it processed annually, with 80 percent using hard copies. Through a newly acquired document imaging system, A/P has been able to store electronic versions of procurement documents and move them smoothly throughout the institution. Average check release time has dropped from 12 days to five, and other turnaround times have been cut by 40 percent. Even the assistant controller's email inbox has been emptied out as a result, dropping from 200 to 40 emails per day. See full story. |
Visit the MOE pavilion
at UBTech June 10-12
and meet the honorees! |
|
|
|
