Administrative process forums planned

A pair of forums designed to update the campus community about the Administrative Process Redesign (APR) project and how it is working to improve business practices and customer satisfaction will be held this month.

The first session will be held from 8:30–10 a.m. on Friday, April 18, in the Ebling Symposium Center at the Microbial Sciences Building, and the second will be held from 2:30–4 p.m. on Wednesday, April 23, in Great Hall at the Memorial Union.

The forums will feature presentations by Scott Converse, of the School of Business’s Executive Education unit, and Carl Vieth, of the Department of Engineering Professional Development. The two have provided project teams with specialized training in performance improvement.

APR was designed to bring people together to build new, streamlined administrative systems based on campus needs, best practices and data analysis.

As part of the project, process teams spent several months identifying business practices in need of improvement. Now, redesign teams are tackling the assignment of finding solutions.

Converse and Vieth will provide an introduction to their methods — sometimes referred to in industry as Lean Six Sigma, in addition to other process improvement skills and change management concepts.

Staff members may attend the forums without loss of pay after receiving approval from their supervisor.