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LDR 506: LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY: THE NETWORKED LEADER

WORK SYSTEM ANALYSIS: PART I

PROFESSOR J. IAN NORRIS, PhD

SEPTEMBER 28, 2015

Defining the Work System

The Work System I will explore is the admissions process at Union Institute & University. The admissions process consists of Enrollment Counselors guiding prospects from the inquiry stage to the admitted stage. The primary role of the Enrollment Counselors in the admission process is to give the applicant a brief description of the program and school, answer any questions they may have and follow-up with them to assist them with completing the admissions process. This process for the applicant involves submitting an essay, application, transcripts and completing a FAFSA. One of the issues that arise after an applicant is admitted is in relation to Financial Aid.

As Enrollment Counselors, we have no access to Financial Aid information and must rely on the Financial Aid Department to make sure the student is educated on Financial Aid. However, my suggestion would require Financial Aid be involved in the admissions process in the early stages. Later on, we explore possible recommendations to support this. The portion of the paper will discuss the many components of the work system such as the participants, customers, information, technologies, products/services produced for the customers, environment, infrastructure and strategies.

Customers		Products & Services
Prospects Newly Admitted Students		Admitted or denied into Union
Work Practices (Major Activities or Processes)
Enrollment Counselors reaches out to prospect via phone and email Discuss the program and school offerings to the prospect Collect documents (application, essay and transcripts) Provide draft degree plans if requested Submit documents for admissions
Participants	Information		Technologies
Enrollment Counselors Financial Aid Advisors	Student profile (contact information) Applications Essay Information from admissions interview FAFSA Admissions letter		Email Phone Jenzabar EX Website

Participants

The participants in the work system include Enrollment Counselors (ECs) and advisors from the Financial Aid Department. “The efficiency of the work and the quality of the outcome depends on the participants” (Alter, 11). As ECs, the more skilled and knowledgeable we are about program offerings and transfer credits, the better we can decipher amongst quality prospects who we can guide through the admissions process as efficiently as possible. Also, the more information we are able to provide for the prospect on the front end will help to prevent issues that may occur on the back end like once they are admitted and are then transferred to a Program Advisor. The second participant in the process would be financial aid advisors. The financial aid advisors are responsible for packaging the students once they have submitted their FAFSA. They also inform students of missing documents in order to complete the financial aid aspect.

Customers

The customers of the work system would include the prospects who inquire about a particular degree program at Union. The prospects are guided through the admissions process by the Enrollment Counselor, this guidance can be viewed as a service to the prospects. Newly admitted can also be viewed as customers in the work system, as financial aid advisors must service them in regards to their financial aid information.

Information

Throughout the admissions process information about the customers regarding their contact information and colleges previously attended is gathered through the application . There is also email correspondence between the customers and participants in reference to questions regarding the program or the school. Information can also be gathered through admissions interviews. These interviews are usually conducted via phone or in person. These interviews allows the participants to learn more about the prospects needs and wants from a university.

Technology

There are different types of technology used internally and externally. Technology used internally amongst participants in the work system include phone, email, Union intranet and database systems such as Jenzabar EX. Phone and email is the most efficient way of communicating with other individuals throughout the organization. The Union Intranet provides useful information primarily from the HR Department. Different departments throughout the organization have access to these forms of technology. On the other hand, there is technology that is used externally between participants and customers. Common forms of technology used externally include phones, email and Union’s website. Phones and email are also the most efficient way for an Enrollment Counselor to communicate with prospects and newly admitted students. “Web site providing information that anyone can access” (Alt, 46). The Website serves as a great reference point for prospects to find helpful information such the program curriculum as well as the catalog.

Products/Services produced for Customers

The admissions process can be considered a service oriented system. As enrollment counselors we are guiding the prospect through the admissions process. Many of our prospects who working adults are returning to school after a long period of time. ECs are also educators in the sense we discuss very briefly on how credits are transferred into the program as well as the fundamentals of returning to school and higher education. We are taught to be very service minded and do what is in the best interest of the student. How well the prospect has been briefed on the programs and what to expect when coming to Union is dependent on the skills and experience of the enrollment counselor.

Similar to admissions, the Financial Aid Department primarily goal is to assist students understanding their aid that has been provided to them and any financial aid issues that may arise. Students are expected to receive the most accurate information as advisors in this department are considered to be experts in Financial Aid. This piece is vital to whether or not prospects and new admits will register for classes.

Identifying Issues and Possible Improvements

Customers		Products & Services
Prospects Newly Admitted Students		Admitted or denied into Union
Work Practices (Major Activities or Processes)
Enrollment Counselors reaches out to prospect via phone and email Discuss the program and school offerings to the prospect Collect documents (application, essay and transcripts) Provide draft degree plans if requested Submit documents for admissions
Participants	Information		Technologies
Enrollment Counselors Financial Aid Advisors	Student profile (contact information) Applications Essay Information from admissions interview FAFSA Admissions letter		Email Phone Jenzabar EX Website
Infrastructure	Inadequate number of staff in Financial aid department Improve skills of new ECS through training Better communication of ECs processes
Environment	Manages expectations of new enrollment goals with limited resources Compete with other schools for students Maintain quality by adhering to accrediting organization rules and regulations
Strategies	Clear and concise strategy on increasing new inquiries for the admissions department
Work System as a Whole	Establish strong relationship between admissions and the Financial Aid Department

Customers		Products & Services
Provide the best experience for inquiring prospect Make the admissions process as smooth as possible
Work Practices
Make the process as efficiently as possible, reduce amount of follow-up Address financial aid issues in the beginning of the admissions process
Participants	Information		Technologies
Skills and knowledge of the participants fit the task Clearly defined roles with the admissions department	Provide most accurate information to the customers		Technology could be used to perform some of the tasks by ECs
Infrastructure		Maximize resources to make the work system as effective as possible
Environment		Minimize conflict amongst other departments and external environment
Strategies		Support Union’s strategy through admissions
Work System as a Whole		Collaborate and coordinate with other work systems

Justifying Recommendation

One of the recommendation I suggest is getting the Financial Aid Department involved earlier in the admissions process . This will allow for any issues that may arise in relation to financial aid to be addressed earlier in the process. I suggest hiring more advisors in the Financial Aid Department to accommodate students across the five centers. I would also suggest assigning one Financial Aid Advisor to a specific center to assist new and current students with their financial aid.

Another recommendation is incorporating a training component and an Enrollment Counselor handbook for newly Enrollment Counselors. This handbook can be divided into two components, one discussing the process of admissions and a technical manual describing how to use the software, Jenzabar EX, (Guastellos,19). This will allow for new Enrollment Counselor to learn the steps in the admissions process and help to develop the skills and knowledge they will need to perform their job tasks. This training will also expose them to the aspect of multitasking involved in an EC’s role. Not only are ECs expected to recruit and admit students, we are also expected to do some marketing for the degree programs.

The more knowledgeable the Enrollment Counselor is the better they are able to provide the prospect with the most accurate information possible. Another part of the process is inputting the same information in different databases . I would suggest reducing this by creating a database where all of this information is housed. “…a wise systems engineer should consider whether some of the redundancies are really necessary” (Guastellos, 18). In the case of admissions, redundancy prohibits counselors from performing other task such as recruiting.

My recommendation in regards to technology is investing in technology can perform some of the job tasks Enrollment Counselors perform such as emailing older leads through mass email blasts . I would also like to see how the email system, Outlook and the information database be more connected. It would be nice to set up admissions appointment in Outlook and have them automatically saved in Jenzabar.

Good overall. I would like to see you choose one of these, perhaps, and provide a bit more detail as to how the recommendation will affect the overall system.

References

Guastello, Stephen J. (2014). Human Factors Engineering and Ergonomics. (2nd Edition).

Florida: CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group

Alter, Steven. (2006). The Work System Method: Connecting People, Processes, and IT

For Business Results. California: Work System Press.