Excellence in Administrative Information Systems 2002 Award Winner

University of Minnesota

The Paperless Financial Aid Office, inaugurated in the summer of 2001, allows the University of Minnesota and its 33,000 students who receive financial aid to perform all transactions and process all information without a single piece of paper. The University built a Web-based front end to PeopleSoft Financial Aid and Student Financials, linked it with the U.S. Department of Education, and became one of the first schools in the nation to offer paperless financial aid. The 17-month project, which supports 700 simultaneous user sessions, was fully implemented on the first try with no technical or functional glitches.

The Office of Student Finance worked with the Enterprise Web Development team to create a defect-free product, based on existing, proven user interface designs used throughout the university's Web-based student services-so familiar that 87 percent of students used the Web to process aid during the inaugural fall semester. The business logic is based in the foundational system, with only navigational logic in the Web front-end; the system could be applied to any backend system.

Innovations include a promissory note process and signatory feature that links with the Department of Education's e-signature process, and online award notification that allows students 24/7 ability to accept, reject, or adjust loan amounts. The program, which was seamlessly integrated with the existing registration system, has reduced financial aid processing time from six weeks to four days; reduced temporary help, overtime, printing, and mailing expenses by $80,000 annually; eliminated waiting lines in the Student Service Center; and saved 500,000 pieces of paper per year. The close involvement of central help-desk staff in project development allows them to serve as knowledgeable front-line support for users. Project organizers estimate a three-year return on the $250,000 investment, with less than $5,000 needed to increase throughput by another 100 concurrent users if need be.

This project is exemplary in its leveraging of existing resources, partnerships between contributing departments, attention to developing an effective business model, alignment with the overall strategies of the university, and value and applicability to other higher education institutions of all sizes.

Professional Development Award Winners Excellence in Administrative Information Systems 2002 Award Winner Excellence in Administrative Information Systems 2003 Award Winners Excellence in Administrative Information Systems 2004 Award Winners Excellence in Administrative Information Systems 2005 Award Winner		Excellence in Administrative Information Systems 2002 Award Winner University of Minnesota Paperless Financial Aid Office The Paperless Financial Aid Office, inaugurated in the summer of 2001, allows the University of Minnesota and its 33,000 students who receive financial aid to perform all transactions and process all information without a single piece of paper. The University built a Web-based front end to PeopleSoft Financial Aid and Student Financials, linked it with the U.S. Department of Education, and became one of the first schools in the nation to offer paperless financial aid. The 17-month project, which supports 700 simultaneous user sessions, was fully implemented on the first try with no technical or functional glitches. The Office of Student Finance worked with the Enterprise Web Development team to create a defect-free product, based on existing, proven user interface designs used throughout the university's Web-based student services-so familiar that 87 percent of students used the Web to process aid during the inaugural fall semester. The business logic is based in the foundational system, with only navigational logic in the Web front-end; the system could be applied to any backend system. Innovations include a promissory note process and signatory feature that links with the Department of Education's e-signature process, and online award notification that allows students 24/7 ability to accept, reject, or adjust loan amounts. The program, which was seamlessly integrated with the existing registration system, has reduced financial aid processing time from six weeks to four days; reduced temporary help, overtime, printing, and mailing expenses by $80,000 annually; eliminated waiting lines in the Student Service Center; and saved 500,000 pieces of paper per year. The close involvement of central help-desk staff in project development allows them to serve as knowledgeable front-line support for users. Project organizers estimate a three-year return on the $250,000 investment, with less than $5,000 needed to increase throughput by another 100 concurrent users if need be. This project is exemplary in its leveraging of existing resources, partnerships between contributing departments, attention to developing an effective business model, alignment with the overall strategies of the university, and value and applicability to other higher education institutions of all sizes.
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