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Students CHAPTER FOUR: RECOMMENDATIONS

Table of Contents | Main Students First! Page

This chapter describes the changes the Students First! Redesign Team recommends to improve services to students at Lane. To develop these recommendations, the Redesign Team conducted careful analysis of the findings developed through the research steps described in Chapter Two. The work of the Redesign Team also was guided by the following overarching principles of redesign.

Redesign Principles

  • translate Lane's mission, vision, and goals into results using new and strengthened cross-functional linkages
  • ensure the focus of the redesign is on process rather than traditional organizational structures
  • service providers have the authority, responsibility, and accountability to disseminate accurate information and to make decisions
  • design processes so that service requests are processed once at the point of origin
  • provide technology and training to enable easy access to timely and accurate information

In addition to these principles, as the team developed their recommendations, they took into consideration each of the five dimensions redesign. These five dimensions are: organization/people; information technology; policies, legislation and regulations; physical infrastructure; and cross-functional workflow. These dimensions are illustrated in the following graphic.

Redesign Dimensions Graphic

Format of Recommendations

To facilitate understanding of the recommended changes, the Redesign Team developed each recommendation according to a consistent format. The format consists of:

  • a description of the current situation that necessitates improvement
  • a description of the desired situation that Lane aspires to achieve, in contrast to the current situation
  • a description of the proposed solution, or the specific approach that the Students First! Redesign Team recommends for getting from the current situation to the desired situation
  • performance measures that will be used to demonstrate the effect of the recommendation, once implemented
  • the coach(es) who will be the individual from the Students First! Redesign Team available to provide perspective and insight during implementation; and who will serve as an advocate for the recommendation, helping the college understand its implications, why it is needed, and how it will improve services to students
  • the sponsor(s) who will be the individual from the Executive Leadership responsible for ensuring implementation of the recommendation by removing barriers and securing resources; and who will serve as an advocate for it, helping the college understand its implications, why it is needed, and how it will improve services to students
  • an estimated due date for when the recommendation will be completely implemented
  • an action plan that details:
    • the tasks that need to be executed to make the recommendation happen
    • The individuals who need to be involved in each task
    • a start and end date for each task
    • an estimate of technology, professional services, or programming resources required to support the conduct tasks.

List of Recommendations

Below is a list of the twelve recommendations developed by the Redesign Team. The recommendations are organized into six categories, according to the type of services they address. It is important to note that these categories do not correspond with departments or other organizational units at Lane, but rather with a type of service from the perspective of the student. This list of recommendations is not in order of priority: the Redesign Team considers each recommendation to be of equal importance. However, those recommendations addressing service delivery and information dissemination represent overarching changes that will affect all services to students at Lane. This chapter concludes with the detailed recommendations according to the format described above.

Service Delivery

  • Develop a one-stop approach to providing information and delivering enrollment, financial, and advising services to students. Create a new organizational structure that utilizes cross-functional teams to deliver services to students. Students will receive services at a centrally located Students First! Center and other College locations. The new structure will be supported by a coordinated system for the dissemination of information and the delivery of services in a variety of formats to both students and employees. In addition, managed college- wide advising teams, a comprehensive career and work information center, and strong alliances with support services will strengthen the students' experiences and ensure their success.

Information Dissemination

  • Coordinate the collection and distribution of information available via cable television, College Wide Area Network (WAN), student database, printed materials, and telephone. An 'information support team' working closely with the Students First! Center will be responsible for ensuring that information pertaining to student administrative transactions, instructional programs, facilities, and services is easily understood, consistent, accurate, and accessible by both students and employees.
  • Cable television: Make full use of the capabilities available on cable Channel 12.
  • College Wide Area Network (WAN): Establish a coordinated, on-line information system that is accessible to all employees and students, regardless of location.
  • Printed materials: Ensure that information about services to students in the class schedule, student handbook, college catalog, and student services department brochures, is consistent and easily understood by students and employees.
  • Student database: Integrate student database information to reduce duplicate entry and maintenance of multiple databases. Provide all employees with easy access to student information.
  • Telephone: Integrate and make full use of the capabilities of Lane's phone systems. Routinely revise the automated phone scripts so that students have better access to services and information and can use the systems more effectively.

    Financial Transactions

    • Modify the billing statement. Create an improved statement of charges and credits that is clear, understandable, and detailed.
    • Review student charges, payments and adjustments, and cashiering. Regardless of the location of service provided, employees will be able to transact charges, payments and adjustments directly to a student's account. Move the cashier function to the Students First! Center so that it is in closer proximity to other services to students. Provide students with access to their appropriate records via an account on the WAN.
    • Revise policy for extending credit. Students with a current account balance will be allowed to register and charge other services at any time. Students with non-current account balances will be required to pay cash for any services until the account balance reverts to a current status. Internal collection of delinquent accounts will be emphasized in order to minimize referrals to external collection agencies and bad debt write-offs.
    • Change Federal Student Loan processing. Create a Student Loan team in the Students First! Center to administer the entire process for the Federal Perkins Loan and Federal Direct Stafford Loan. Determine options for servicing Perkins Loans in order to address the loan default rate.

    Enrollment

    • Develop a standard admissions application and streamline admissions processing. Utilizing self-service capabilities with the WAN and simplified on-line entry of the master files and/or admissions information, develop one user-friendly data entry format and standard admissions form accessible to all employees and students. Recommend an examination of the inconsistent information and requirements of programs with selective or limited admissions.
    • Broaden the new student information session. Create incentives to improve student attendance at new student information sessions in order to enhance student success and retention. Provide alternative ways to deliver information describing new student processes and related policies and procedures.
    • Increase access to and revise administration of placement tests. Reallocate resources to expand the location, hours, and availability of employees for administered placement tests. Continue to research the feasibility of computerized placement testing. Investigate opportunities to increase WAN access to testing information and study materials.

    Advising, Counseling, and Career Development

    • Establish a revised college-wide advising system. Create advising teams composed of counselors, advisors, and instructional faculty and staff to deliver program information and advising and career development services to academic clusters (including outreach and community learning centers), Support and Diversity Services, and the Students First! Center Team. Expand program orientation sessions to include participation of all advising team members.
    • Create a Career and Work Information Center (CWIC). Consolidate career and job related services (i.e., Career Information Center, Job Placement Center, Federal Work-Study) and include representation from Cooperative Education and Training and Development. Co- locate all services so that they can share resources and jointly contribute to student success.

    Support and Diversity Services

    • Create a Support and Diversity Services Team. Students will be served at multiple points of entry to the College. In addition to receiving customized service and support, students can access advising, full enrollment services, and referral for other college services.

    Additional Recommendations

    In addition to the twelve major recommendations, the Students First! Redesign Team developed a number of recommendations that can be implemented relatively quickly and easily since the recommendation has one or more of the following attributes:

    • has a person with the authority and desire to do it (willing to take the risk)
    • eliminates non-value-added tasks
    • has few steps involved
    • has minimal budget impact to implement
    • is an interim step to an ultimate outcome
    • will be 'visible' soon
    • has minimal complications

    These 'quick wins' are described in Appendix G. Also, in Appendix H is a list of ideas and issues outside the Students First! Redesign Team's project scope that they recommend be addressed by others.

    A Day in the Life of a Staff Person at the New Lane

    When these recommendations are implemented, they will create a new and better Lane for students and services to students employees alike. Below is a hypothetical 'day in the life' of an employee who works at the centrally located Students First! Center in 1998. The scenario describes some of the changes that will have taken place as a result of implementing the Students First! recommendations, as well as other advances that Lane may anticipate in coming years.

    At 7:30 a.m., Resource Representative Anne Doe begins her day by reviewing the priority items in her computerized calendar. She then pulls up her bulletin board on the WAN containing notes from other Lane employees who work outside of her "Flex Time" hours. This flexibility has allowed Lane to offer classes and services from 6 a.m.-11 p.m. for the convenience of more county residents than anyone thought would be practical or cost effective, even as recently as 1996. She reviews the Daily On-Line, taking note of the twelve percent increase in this year's admissions applications and a compendium of student satisfaction survey data showing ninety- six percent of respondents rating the services to students as "very good" or "excellent."

    From 7:45-10:45 a.m., Anne attends directly to current and prospective students who access the Students First! Center in person or by phone. Because of the training she received in customer service, Anne feels confident that she can deal with even the most disgruntled student. Since a new term is about to begin, many of the students Anne serves are interested in getting assistance with the admissions process. Some visit to learn about the services at Lane Community College and potential courses of study. Others need to resolve errors in their automatically entered application, through which a computer program automatically identifies missing, inaccurate or incomplete information. Records of these contacts with students are automatically attached to their account information for future follow up, as appropriate. Specific corrections are made directly into the computer while a log is made and correspondence initiated to send brochures and other information to those making routine inquiries. Requests for instructor contact are forwarded via the computer bulletin board to the specific instructor or department for a direct response.

    Anne takes her break while walking to her 11:00 a.m. Implementation Team meeting. This Team is working on refining some of the changed advising processes that were recommended by the Students First! Redesign Team in 1996. Since Anne is cross-trained in enrollment, financial transactions, support services, and other services to students, she is a key member of the Team.

    From 12:00-12:30 p.m., Anne takes part in a strengthening and conditioning class on campus. Since her back surgery in 1994, she has continued to make this a regular part of her work week and has had little trouble since then. Since her job has changed so much in the last two years, she feels less work-related stress, which she feels has also contributed to addressing her back problem. She stops at the Taco Time for a Veggie Burrito and a soft drink at the cafeteria on her way back to the Students First! Center.

    Anne arrives back at the Students First! Center at 1:00 p.m. and talks with a dislocated worker who received a GED from Lane in 1976 but now must consider going back to school to gain more marketable skills. Just two years ago, this prospective student would have had to make visits to the Financial Aid Department, the Computing Center, the Counseling Department, and Training and Development to have his needs met. Today Anne is able to address all his needs at the Students First! Center.

    At 1:15 p.m., Anne gets a call from College Finance asking her to help with a staff shortage in that department. Since the other Students First! resource representatives assure her that they can handle the volume of students that afternoon, Anne agrees to help them out. Having been cross-trained in billing processes, Anne pulls up error audits, identifies errors, and either makes corrections to remove registration holds or downloads letters with appropriate instructions to the College Finance printers. Work-study students fold and mail the letters prior to the afternoon mail pickup.

    From 3:45-4:30 p.m., Anne handles end of the day chores that include insuring that all notes and information have been handled or passed on to other campus personnel. She leaves bulletin board messages for those working early morning flex hours and posts messages in her "Public File" regarding students who may call her back after she leaves for the day. As time permits, she also works on computer-based, interactive and self-paced learning modules dealing with interdepartmental cross-training or self-improvement programs such as conflict resolution.

    Detailed Descriptions of Each Recommendation

    Details regarding each of these recommendations, in the format described above, follow. While the recommendations were developed by the entire Students First! Redesign Team, the following recommendations were written by one or more members of the Team who worked intensively in their respective recommendation area.

    Service Delivery

    • Services to Students Organization

    Information Dissemination

    • Plan for Unified Collection and Distribution
    • Cable Channel 12
    • Unified On-line Information System (WAN)
    • Printed Materials
    • Student Database Linking
    • Telephone

    Financial Transactions

    • Billing Statement
    • Charges, Payments and Adjustments, and Cashiering
    • Credit Policy
    • Federal Loan Processes

    Enrollment

    • Standard Admission Application and Processing
    • New Student Information Session
    • Placement Testing Services

    Advising, Counseling, and Career Development

    • College-wide Advising System
    • Career and Work Information Center (CWIC)

    Support and Diversity Services

    • Support and Diversity Services Team

    Read the Change Proposals and Action Plan section of this report.

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