Academic and Administrative Support Reviews
Cornell University is committed to conducting ongoing review and evaluation of support activities across campus. It is a continuing stewardship challenge to establish and sustain agile and responsive support operations at the lowest possible cost.
Reviews
Under the oversight of the Institutional Assessment Steering Committee, reviews are conducted periodically in all major support functions on the Ithaca campus. The primary purpose of such reviews is to ensure the efficient and effective use of resources in the delivery of support services for both short-term and long-term needs. The common objectives for each review are:
- Clearly define major roles and responsibilities.
- Optimize efficiency and effectiveness.
- Eliminate low priority work to enable use of resources for higher priority needs.
Workforce Planning
From 2001 through 2004 the university conducted a eight specific functional reviews under an initiative called Workforce Planning. The Workforce Planning pages provides more information regarding this initiative as well as the final progress report issued in April 2005.
The workforce planning effort highlighted the fact that support operations, both centrally and at the unit level, can suffer if responsibilities and activities are not well coordinated or integrated across organizational units. The result can be wasted resources, inconsistent perceptions of quality and responsiveness, and a lack of mutual trust and respect between operating units and central university functional offices. Progress made was made in several workforce planning reviews and, but continued focused effort is essential.
Key Principles
As we continue to move forward with implementation activities and future reviews, we must strive to develop a deeper understanding of the similarities and differences in support requirements across units. Efforts to improve support systems and operating practices should be driven by the following key principles learned from workforce planning:
- Unit-specific needs and university needs are inextricably linked, and neither can be fully satisfied separately.
- The integration of support activities across organizational boundaries and functions should be optimized. Rigid one-size-fits-all approaches are generally not the solution in our complex
environment. - Accountability must be based on clear expectations jointly defined and regularly evaluated by all relevant stakeholders.
For More Information
For more information, please contact Paul Streeter, ps33@cornell.edu, 607-255-2676, in the Office of Institutional Planning and Assessment.