It’s Good, Let’s Make it It’s Good, Let’s Make it Better!Better!Office of Financial Aid, Student Employment and ScholarshipsRetreat 2010

It’s Good!It’s Good!Rolled Into Production a New

Student Information System◦“Radical Transformation”

3+ Years of Project WorkMilestones Reached:

◦Imported ISIR Records in March◦Award Offers In April◦Direct Loans Originated In July/August◦Disbursement On Schedule in August◦No Protests Outside of Chancellor’s

Office!

But Not Perfect!But Not Perfect!Actual Complaint Letter from Student

◦13 Contacts With Our Office◦Asked 3 Times to Sign 1040◦Checklist Wasn’t Completed◦Call Not Returned◦Email Not Returned◦Verif Completed 2 months later◦Adjustment to Aid for Less Than Full Time

was another month◦Disbursement schedule added further

delay

If We’re Doing A Good If We’re Doing A Good Job…Job…Why Did This Student Have This

Experience?We All –

◦Care About Students◦Work Hard◦Take Pride in Our Work

Where’s The Disconnect?Where’s The Disconnect?The Disconnect Occurred in the

Process◦“Fell Through the Cracks”◦Means the Process Has Gaps.

“Want – Got – Gap” ◦When What a Student Wants Is Not What

the Student Gets, Then There is a Gap◦All Processes Have Gaps◦Recognizing Gaps in a Process is Not Bad

Failing To Resolve Gaps in A Process Is Bad

Let’s Make It Better!Let’s Make It Better!Assembled An Expert Team for

Resolving Process Gaps◦YOU!◦The Experts Are Right Here In This Room

Continuous Improvement is Iterative◦We’re Not Going To Solve Every Problem

Today◦We’re Not Going to Solve Every Problem

This YearGOAL

◦Align Our Processes Closer to the Needs of Beneficiaries and Stakeholders

Today’s PlanToday’s Plan1. Continuous Process Improvement – What is

it?2. Who Benefits?3. What Is Value?4. How does Financial Aid Add Value?5. What do Beneficiaries Want?6. Key Processes – High Level Overview7. Key Processes – Current State (Small

Group)8. Key Processes – Future State (Small Group) 9. Reporting Out10.Key Performance Indicators11.PLUS, we’re going to have some fun!

Continuous Process Continuous Process ImprovementImprovementWhat is Continuous Process

Improvement? ◦Ongoing activities aimed at process

simplification, and reduction or elimination of process waste. An integral part of continuous improvement program.

Source: http://www.businessdictionary.com/

Many Programs for CPI◦TQM (Total Quality Management)◦LEAN◦Six Sigma◦BPA (Business Process Analysis)◦FOTM (Flavor of the Month)

Continuous Process Continuous Process ImprovementImprovementWhich Flavor Are We Sampling

Today? ◦“LEAN Lite”◦“Enhanced BPA”

Hybrid model◦Introduce the Concept ◦Make Formal What Has Been Ad-Hoc◦Validate What You’ve Already Been Doing

Get Creative◦Great Place to Generate New Ideas

““Cui Bono?Cui Bono?””Translation?...

◦Bono’s kid brother? No…◦Sonny and Cher’s son? No…

Literally “As a Benefit to Whom?”◦Often the first question asked in

murder mystery investigations ◦Who gains?

We Start With the Same Question◦Who Benefits?

Who Benefits?Who Benefits?Who Benefits from the Services

We Provide? ◦Financial Aid Recipients

We’ll call these “Beneficiaries”

Who Has a Stake in the Outcome?◦University◦Donors (includes U.S.E.D, State of

Colorado)◦Parent of Recipients

Competing InterestsCompeting InterestsAre the Interests of Beneficiaries

and Stakeholders the Same? ◦Beneficiaries Seek to Maximize Value◦Stakeholders May Impose

ConstraintsExamples of Constraints

◦University – Budget◦U.S.E.D. – Program Integrity ◦Donors – Program Objectives

Beneficiaries as Value Beneficiaries as Value MaximizersMaximizersCustomers seek maximum value

◦“Customers are value maximizers within the bounds of search costs and limited knowledge, mobility and income. They form an expectation of value and act on it.”

Expectations versus Experience◦“Whether or not the offer lives up to the

value expectation affects both satisfaction and repurchase probability.” Kotler, Marketing Management p. 34.

Views of ValueViews of ValueWhat is “Value”

◦Total Customer Value = The bundle of benefits customers expect

from a given product or service

◦Total Customer Cost = The bundle of costs customers expect to

incur in evaluating, obtaining, using and disposing of the product or service

◦Customer Delivered Value = TCV-TCC Source: Kotler, p.34

Other Views of ValueOther Views of Value“Value is anything for which the

beneficiary is willing to pay.” Balzer, Lean for Higher Education, p. 137

“The real price of anything is the toil and trouble of acquiring it.” – Adam Smith

Kotler, p. 35

““Added” ValueAdded” ValueWhat is Added Value

◦“Value is added when a process delivers the amount or level expected by the beneficiary, the quality the beneficiary expects, in as timely a manner as the beneficiary expects, where the beneficiary expects and at a cost the beneficiary is willing to pay.” Balzer p. 127

Opposite of Added Value is “Waste”

Brand ValueBrand ValueWhat is Brand Value

◦“A statement of the resulting experience customers will have from the offering and the relationship with the supplier.”

Kotler, p. 37

Brand Value examples◦Nordstroms

“Customer Intimacy”

◦Wal-Mart “Operational Excellence.”

UCCS Brand ValueUCCS Brand ValueWhat does UCCS Offer as Brand

Value?◦Knowledge and experience delivered in

a safe and supportive environment Personal summation

Knowledge◦Create/Transfer knowledge◦Compete strongly

Experience◦Not as strong

What is Financial Aid’s What is Financial Aid’s Role?Role?Help Maximize the Value of

Education ◦Reduce Total Student Cost

Deliver scholarship, grant, work and loan funds to reduce Total Student Cost

◦Reduce constraints to Value Maximization Increase limited knowledge Reduce search costs Increase purchasing ability of family income

(i.e. we offset the income constraint)

What Are Financial Aid’s What Are Financial Aid’s Constraints?Constraints?Limited Financial Resources

◦Personnel budget limits staff levelsProcesses with requirements set

by outside agencies◦All processes must comply with

federal and state laws, regulations and guidance

System Functionality◦Processes must be constructed to

address system deficiencies

What Do Beneficiaries What Do Beneficiaries Want?Want?What Would You Say?Here what T. wrote:

◦“Students depend on this department working well so that they can focus their energies on obtaining an education rather than worrying about how they are going to pay for rent and feed their families.”

They want the amount of aid for which they are eligible delivered with the least amount of rework and delay.

Key Processes from Key Processes from 30,000’30,000’

Pre-PackagingPre-PackagingIncludes

◦ Importing ISIRS◦ Suspense Management◦ MIL Letter Generation◦ Estimated Award Offer

Generation◦ Document Imaging◦ Checklist Management◦ Verification◦ OAR◦ SAR C = Y Resolution◦ Correction Processing

Pre-Packaging Team

MarkKimBrookeCrystal

Packaging and Packaging and DisbursementDisbursementIncludes

◦ Packaging Plan Assignment

◦ COA Determination◦ Scholarship

Awarding◦ Packaging Official

Aid◦ Over-commitment

Management◦ Budget Adjustments◦ Disbursement

Packaging and Disbursement Team

JenniferBradDrewShannonHeidi

Post PackagingPost Packaging Includes

◦ Loan Origination◦ Work Study

Activation/Cancellation◦ Overaward Resolution◦ Enrollment Status

Adjustments◦ R2T4◦ COA Adjustments◦ Overpayment

Resolution◦ Disbursement Error

Resolution◦ PJ Requests and

Decisions

Post Packaging Team

Amy MargieMichelleSandyRick

Small Group Assignment 1Small Group Assignment 1Develop a Process Map, Step List or

Process Timeline That Reflects the Current State of the Key Processes

Process Map/Step List/Process Timeline should reflect in chronological order the steps a beneficiary’s application goes through

View from 15,000’◦Detailed Processes Should Be ‘Rolled

Up’ at this stage

Small Group Assignment 2Small Group Assignment 2Looking at Your Current State

document, identify one or more key processes where we could increase alignment with beneficiary goals by reducing waste in the process and IMPROVE THAT PROCESS

Waste includes◦Waiting time to review/process◦Rework◦Manual intervention◦Multiple handoffs◦Data Entry Errors/Omissions, etc.

Key Performance Key Performance IndicatorsIndicatorsAs we consider ways to improve

processes we need to find ways to measure our improvements

Examples◦Days from ISIR Receipt to Official

Packaging◦Total dollars disbursed during 1st

week of disbursement◦Beneficiary satisfaction measures

Wrap up and Future Wrap up and Future ActivitiesActivitiesWas This Valuable? Do You Want to Continue?Would You Like to Have Teams

Meet Regularly?Other Ideas?

Thank YOU!!!!!