Process Simplification Advisory Committee
August 26, 2009
Review of the University Review of the University Telephone DirectoryTelephone Directory
Methods of Data Collection
Analysis of current University
practices
External benchmarking
User Surveys
Analysis of Current University Practices
Departmental contacts update information and place directory orders
Communication Services conducts spot check and sends contact information to the publisher
Communication Services also places its directory order at this time. Last year’s order was for 22,000 print directories, based on 11,819 departmental orders, 4,500 student dorm rooms with telephones, and anticipated future requests.
Analysis of Current University Practices (Continued)
After securing advertisers for the directory, the publisher submits a set of electronic proofs to Communication Services for review
Upon approval of the proofs, the publisher prints the directories, delivers them to U.Va., and sends a check to Communications Services
Part of the proceeds from the directory is used to pay for directory distribution and storage.
Out of date, unused, and undistributed directories are eventually recycled
Telephone Directory Revenue and Costs FY 2008-09
Item Description Revenue Generated
Payment from University Directories $46,533
Item Description Cost Incurred
Communications Services Staff Time to Check $920
Facilities Management Delivery Fee $7,250
Undistributed Directory Storage per year $1,260
Directory Recycling $3,381
ESTIMATED NET REVENUE $33,722
External Benchmarking
Officials at 4 institutions interviewed Reasons given for discontinuing print
telephone directories: Budget cuts/Constricted resources Sustainability – move to “go paperless” Redundancy – online directory already existed Short “shelf-life” Decline in usage Decline in advertising revenue
Alternatives Formats Searchable Online Directory Full PDF Directory
User Surveys: Students
A walk-up survey was administered to a convenient sample of current U.Va. students over the course of 3 days in 2 different locations
A total of 280 students were surveyed Assuming a student population size or
21,057, this sample size yields a 90% confidence rate and a margin of error of +5%
User Surveys: Faculty & Staff
An online survey was administered to individuals in academic, operational, and medical units across grounds
Stratified sampling was used to ensure appropriate representation of all unit types
318 total units across Grounds – 80 units sampled 103 academic units – 26 randomly sampled 71 operational units – 18 randomly sampled 144 medical units – 36 randomly sampled
User Surveys: Faculty & Staff (continued)
A total of 1,817 individuals participated in the electronic survey
Assuming a population size of 13,922, this sample sizes yields a 99% confidence rate and a margin of error of +2.85%.
Sample Demographics: Unit Classification: 49% Academic, 35%
Medical, 15% Operational Personal Classification: 29% Faculty, 71% Staff
Who’s Using the Print Directory?Respondent Categories
Two Main Respondent Categories: Print Directory Users – respondents who
reported using the print directory “often” or “very often” 19% of all respondents fall into this category
Print Directory Non-Users – respondents who reported using the print directory “sometimes,” “rarely,” or “never” 81% of all respondents fall into this category
Who’s Using the Print Directory?Respondent Categories (continued)
Print directory users can be divided into two sub-categories:
Dual-Users: Print directory users who use the electronic directory “often” or “very often” 6% of all respondents fall into this category
Sole-Users: Print directory users who use the electronic directory only “sometimes,” “rarely,” or “never”13% of all respondents fall into this category
Recommendations
In light of the previous results, Process Simplification offers the following options for improvement:
1) Eliminate Print Production Entirely & Enhance Electronic Features
2) Print Only Departmental Listings3) Eliminate Production Overruns
Process Simplification has provided a final report to the Vice President & Chief Information Officer