Aug. 21, 2001
Putting Students First
New University Initiative Takes Aim at Improving Customer
Service
By Thomas
Kohout
With the arrival this week of the largest freshman class in GW history,
administrators, faculty, and staff are mobilizing to ensure the University
provides the quality of service students deserve. Focusing on words
like service, information, and collaboration, the Students First initiative
aims to improve the quality of the educational and living experience.
The initiative began at the end of the 200001 academic year, when
administrators became aware of the size of class of 2005. President
Trachtenberg turned to Vice Presidents Donald R. Lehman, Robert Chernak,
and Michael Freedman, the administrators responsible for student life,
to develop a collaborative task force to review all the services impacting
the undergraduate experience. Two staff members were chosen to represent
each vice presidential department.
According to GW Mt. Vernon Campus Executive Dean Grae Baxter, who chairs
the task force, just because the freshmen enrollment prompted the self
evaluation doesnt mean the initiative is directed solely at the
incoming class. The record enrollment impacts all the way up the line
and Students First seeks to maintain a positive educational experience
for the whole student body.
Baxter says the group immediately turned its attention to the front
line offices and departments such as financial aid and student accounts.
After interviewing staff as well as students, the task force determined
one key to their mission is alleviating stress from misdirected phone
calls and waiting in line.
This task force is not a management group, reassures Baxter.
Its designed to work with and support departments, share
ideas and get together with other departments and help the University
deliver its expectations.
Baxter, and the task force that includes Cheryl Biel, director of academic
planning and assessment; Gretchen King, director of media relations;
Bob Ludwig, assistant director of media relations; Craig Linebaugh,
associate vice president for academic planning and special projects;
Helen Cannady-Saulny, special assistant to Vice President Chernak; Jonnie
Osborne, executive director of budget, finance, and personnel administration;
Cecilia Hamilton, senior adviser for finance; and Michael Peller, managing
director for property management, merely want to help departments help
themselves.
What we can assume is that people do their best given what they
know, but we can always be better. This is a University-wide look at
all departments that actually or potentially affect the student experience.
Were coming up with collaborative, cross-departmental solutions.
Among the observations that came to light was the volume of misdirected
phone calls and questions.
Once students got their tuition bill they had questions about
housing or financial aid or adding classes, says Gretchen King,
and theyre standing there with a bill in their hands with
the phone number for the cashiers office on the front so they call the
office and start asking questions.
After speaking with staff and students, the task force developed a two-pronged
plan of attack. They suggested staggering the billing cycle to spread
out the flow of paperwork. They also decided to send a pre-emptive letter
with frequently asked questions, providing the appropriate contact information
to questions such as third-party billing, financial aid, and student
accounts.
We want to avoid callers being bounced around the University,
being referred multiple times, says Baxter. By getting the
information out there
we hope this will ease the load of questions and keep the calls to a
minimum.
Unlocking Answers
A key development of Students First is the creation of a Web site,
studentsfirst.gwu.edu, to answer questions and get feedback from students
about potential issues. The first two or three weeks of any semester
can be confusing and stressful, even for upper classmen. The new site
provides one-stop shopping for key information and FAQs. This information
seeks to redirect questions to the most appropriate departments.
We didnt want to reinvent the wheel when we were developing
the content for the Web site, says King. We wanted to cover
the basics and direct people to the Web sites of various departments
and services.
The site contains links and answers questions covering everything from
academics, such as add-drop, registration, advising, and academic technology;
to campus housing, to health and safety issues.
One of the neatest aspects of the site is an electronic comment
card, where students can send questions and comments, says Baxter
adding, Each question will be answered and followed up on, without
fail.
Associate Director of Student Activities Peter Konwerski will manage
a team of Presidential Administrative Fellows who will be closely involved
in the outreach aspects of Students First. Konwerski believes as recent
graduates the PAFs are uniquely qualified and could end up the programs
MVPs.
Theyre the perfect hybrid, says Konwerski. They
just graduated so they know what its like to try and navigate
the University, but theyre also serving in administrative capacities
so they have experience on all sides.
Academically Speaking
A new year offers more challenges than just answering questions and
improving the flow of work in some of the administrative offices. Three
hundred additional students means more course sections need to be created
and more faculty members need to be hired, creating new challenges with
scheduling class space and advising.
Were really focused on students, says Craig Linebaugh.
The efforts toward enhancing operations in the registrars
office, adding computer labs, and providing more course sections will
help enhance the student experience.
According to Linebaugh the University added more than 50 lectures, 18
discussion sections, and nine or ten labs. We felt it was important
not to rely on part-time faculty, so we hired nine new full-time contract
positions (eight in the Columbian school and one in the business school).
These are not tenure track or research positions. The main function
of these new employees is to teach. Theyll teach three courses
each semester.
Whats really been gratifying is discovering the truly high
level of competency and caring that exists throughout the University,
Baxter says. What happens is that sometimes the pressures or technical
issues prevent people from doing the kind of job they want to do. Relieving
this is part of the solution.
Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu