One small change can make a big difference.
Consider this: 500,000 sheets of paper saved per year. More than $10,000 saved annually in copier toner. Some 30 hours of staff time saved per month.
That’s how research teams at West Virginia University benefit from a new electronic administration and funding tool run by Information Technology Services.
It’s just one of dozens of ways WVU is streamlining processes and procedures across its campuses to save time and money.
“Excessive policies and processes encircle large universities like ours and squeeze like a boa constrictor,” said WVU President Gordon Gee. “We live in a society that creates roadblocks that hinder execution and efficiency. At West Virginia University, we are moving beyond bureaucracy. We are moving from nonsense to common sense.”
Gee established a Bureaucracy Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats Committee in 2014 with the sole mission of cutting bureaucracy to create savings, which can then be redirected into the core mission of the University.
“I am delighted on how swiftly we are moving forward with this initiative,” Gee said. “Along the way, this will allow the University to operate as a chorus instead of a cacophony. In other words, when you have too many moving parts and they are not moving in sync together, you run into problems.”
The committee members, led by Vice President for Administration and Finance Narvel Weese, have become known as “Bureaucracy Busters.” Their primary goal is to identify existing policies and processes which are overly complicated and limit WVU’s ability to think big and be strategic. A new Bureaucracy Busters website details a number of policies, processes and procedures which have already been identified and changed.
Those include: * Eliminating the requirement for all employees to complete a driver training course, instead offering the course as an online resource. * Replacing paper receipts with electronically generated receipts in Student Accounts. * Eliminating the pre-approval process for some dues and memberships
Others are in progress or under review, Weese said.
“The committee remains focused on continuing to find ways to infuse technology, standardize and simplify policies, processes and practices as well as transitioning to a post-audit strategy as a means to reduce red tape,” he said.
The website also provides a place for faculty, students, staff and the public to submit suggestions for future improvements, comment on how recent changes are being implemented and share stories about how Bureaucracy Busters initiatives have helped save time and money.
“The old expression that time is money is never more important than today,” Weese said. “I would encourage each of us to think about what we do each in our work environment to determine how we could enhance our level of engagement and efficiency.”
Suggestions, comments and a review of policies, processes and procedures is available at the Bureaucracy Busters website at http://bureaucracybusters.wvu.edu.
-WVU-
ak/08/24/15
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