Partnering Within the Institution and Beyond Copyright CAUSE 1994. This paper was presented at the 1994 CAUSE Annual Conference held in Orlando, FL, November 29 to December 2, and is part of the conference proceedings published by CAUSE. Permission to copy or disseminate all or part of this material is granted provided that the copies are not made or distributed for commercial advantage, that the CAUSE copyright notice and the title and authors of the publication and its date appear, and that notice is given that copying is by permission of CAUSE, the association for managing and using information resources in higher education. To copy or disseminate otherwise, or to republish in any form, requires written permission from CAUSE. For further information: CAUSE, 4840 Pearl East Circle, Suite 302E, Boulder, CO 80301; 303-449-4430; e-mail info@cause.colorado.edu PARTNERING WITHIN THE INSTITUTION AND BEYOND A. Wayne Donald Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA July, 1994, marked the beginning of an aggressive campaign at Virginia Tech to replace approximately 30 core administrative applications -- moving from a mainframe to a server-based environment in a 3-5 year period. This presentation describes the reasons Virginia Tech officials felt this aggressive implementation schedule was essential, and how the institution is approaching the many project management issues associated with such an effort. The initiative involves partnering with several different university offices, users, state agencies, and both hardware and software vendors. Redirecting personnel and providing a comprehensive training program dedicated to the administrative systems project has been a major factor for implementation. In addition, re-engineering efforts to promote change in business processes to better "fit" software solutions is important in meeting project goals. This is a project that will impact how Virginia Tech functions, and is projected to provide more efficient and effective processes to better serve customer needs. It's an exciting project that will have its obstacles, but Virginia Tech officials are confident of success. Challenges for Higher Education Institutions of higher education are facing some of the most challenging times in the history of their existence. Each meeting of system boards, university boards, federal and state education officials, and state legislators brings with it an air of anticipation -- what will we be asked to do this time? This situation is forcing colleges and universities to change, and the change most often becomes a major issue on campuses "because it alters the power bases and comfort zones of people" (O'Leary, 1992). Academic leaders and administrators are being challenged to evaluate (1) how they can respond to escalating costs with decreasing resources and (2) what management techniques are most effective in working environments for productive change. As was so well stated by Dean Robert Bates, of the College of Arts and Sciences at Virginia Tech, "The three R's in education these days aren't reading, 'riting, and 'rithmetic. They are reviewing, restructuring, and renewing" (Bates, 1994). The challenges facing institutions of higher education are overwhelming, but if they are to survive and maintain their role in society, they must face the reality that fulfillment of their missions must be accomplished in different and more efficient ways. All constituents associated with these institutions need to be involved in planning and implementing the needed changes. Working together with students, professors, counselors, staff, administrators, researchers, and even outside constituents such as the local, state, and federal governments, other institutions, and business and industry can create a productive team environment that will greatly impact all responses to the challenges of change. The State Impact on Local Change Fiscal belt tightening and the continued decline in state financial support are demanding that colleges and universities examine the way business is conducted (Bates, 1994). Since early 1990, Virginia Tech has been feeling the impact of budget reductions from the state government. The results have been a reduced operating budget, increases in tuition and fees, layoffs, and elimination of positions. These measures have impacted overall business operations, academic and research programs, outreach opportunities, and the spirit and morale of faculty and staff, and yes, even the students (Donald and Naff, 1992). Virginia Tech felt that it was facing what appeared to be a continuing trend for the Commonwealth of Virginia, so the university began a series of initiatives to review, restructure, renew, and reallocate resources that would prepare it for the apparent declines in support. Phase I was designated as the actual budget reductions, and administrators initiated a Phase II effort in 1993 for each academic and vice presidential unit to develop specific goals and objectives. The most recent action at the state level has been a request from the Council of Higher Education and the Secretary of Education that each state institution submit a "restructuring" plan. The Governor and 1994 General Assembly requested these plans "to effect long-term changes in the deployment of faculty, to ensure the effectiveness of academic offerings, to minimize administrative and instructional costs, to prepare for the demands of enrollment increases, and to address funding priorities as approved by the General Assembly" (Restructuring Virginia Tech, 1994). Fortunately for Virginia Tech, the Phase II initiatives that the administration had already requested positioned the university to prepare a rather detailed plan that, in the words of President Paul Torgersen, would position Virginia Tech to "become the model land-grant university for the 21st century." The Restructuring Virginia Tech document contains numerous actions and initiatives for restructuring -- several that emphasize delineating innovative ways for harmonious teamwork with both internal and external resources. Partnerships for Progress Partnering is a management technique that has been recognized for quite some time. However, the concept has now found its way into the management issues facing higher education today. For example, the 1994 CAUSE Annual Conference has a track dedicated to partnering and a pre-conference seminar that focuses on partnering concepts. Whether the partnering concept is viewed as a consortium, collaboration, team, or actual partnership, it is a method for gathering parties working on a common goal. The Restructuring Virginia Tech document emphasizes partnerships as one of the central themes for restructuring and lists several examples of existing partnerships with public schools, community colleges, other universities, private industry, and local and state government (Restructuring Virginia Tech, 1994). Another possible partnering concept is not mentioned in the list -- partnering within the institution. Because Virginia Tech has been involved in total quality management efforts and has used teams for the last few years, the idea of "internal" partners was probably overlooked in the list, but this method is a very productive way to manage change. Administrative Systems Initiative A major project to improve the University community's work/service environment has been approved at Virginia Tech. The effort would not be possible without both internal and external partnerships or using team concepts for innovative productivity. A description of the project is included here from a recent article that appeared in the campus newspaper for faculty, staff, and graduate students (November 3, 1994). It also gives some background information while introducing Project ENABLE to the general university community. Project ENABLE is the name selected to identify one of the most significant and aggressive endeavors ever undertaken by Virginia Tech. As an integral part of the Virginia Tech restructuring, the University has recently committed to a major initiative dedicated to improving the University community's work/service environment. The Project ENABLE initiative focuses on replacing all of the University's major administrative computing systems with new state-of-the-art systems. A special feature of this replacement strategy is the intention to complete the project on an aggressively accelerated and fast-tracked schedule. Project ENABLE also focuses on redesigning the fundamental business processes underlying administrative functions targeted for replacement computing systems. Aside from the fact the state has mandated all higher education institutions to develop and implement major initiatives to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their operations, the need for a major restructuring at Virginia Tech has become apparent. Decreased financial support from the state combined with generally diminishing resources, obsolete information systems, and ineffective automation tools have resulted in a work environment characterized by overpowering workloads for employees and a general inability to provide efficient and effective quality service. The objective of Project ENABLE is to provide a multifaceted response designed to address these problems directly and aggressively. Since Project ENABLE's objective is indeed aggressive, it should not be surprising that the primary goals for Project ENABLE are equally aggressive and ambitious. The project's goals include: * enhancing the quality of services provided to the University community, * increasing efficiency and productivity of the University's resources, and * improving the collective work environment. Other initiatives are underway at Virginia Tech that clearly support the Project ENABLE goals. Information Systems is in the process of developing more effective philosophical and practical approaches to overall information management. This will enhance accessibility to information and impact the way everyone interacts with administrative processes and systems. Other projects include the Faculty Development Initiative and the Administrative Workshop and Literacy Project, both designed to provide financial, technical, and educational assistance to faculty and staff making the transition to new hardware and software systems; and, an ongoing communications infrastructure improvement program designed to accommodate the enhanced computing systems. Several University initiatives that complement Project ENABLE have been described in the recently published document RESTRUCTURING VIRGINIA TECH. The complementary role of these initiatives will become increasingly more apparent as Project ENABLE moves forward. One particularly interesting feature of Project ENABLE is the unique approach being used to organize and manage the project. Project ENABLE is organized around cross-functional and multidisciplinary teams. The team approach greatly enhances management and organizational flexibility and provides the project with a variety of benefits that would not be possible working in a traditional work environment. Project ENABLE teams are composed of both technical and functional/operational personnel. The latter provides the opportunity to get those most familiar with the day-to-day operations and special needs of the processes being redesigned directly involved in the project. Project ENABLE will realize the benefits of more productive thinking, increased coordination, greater levels of employee satisfaction and development, and enhanced organizational productivity. These teams are being staffed through a reallocation of resources within the University. One final note of curiosity - an answer to the question "Why the name Project ENABLE?". The word ENABLE was chosen because it so accurately reflects the overall intention of this innovative project. The dictionary defines ENABLE as the process of "supplying the means, knowledge, and opportunities to be or do something". That is exactly what the people of Project ENABLE will be doing as they proceed with the work of redesigning the University's administrative processes and computing systems. They will definitely be "Enablers of innovation E enabling the University to be its best!" (Spectrum, 1994). A point early in the article suggests the need to consider partnering. Having a replacement strategy designed to complete the project in an aggressively accelerated and fasttracked schedule requires considering any cooperation effort that can contribute. This might involve vendors, other institutions, or even state agencies that initiated regulations or schemes that created the situation. Another significant point from this article of introduction is the reallocation of resources to form cross-functional and multidisciplinary teams. The team approach is one method of partnering across the various institutional structures that creates an environment for harmonious interactions. Establishment of Project ENABLE When the higher education administration committed to this major administrative systems initiative, it was clear that a strategy needed to be put in place that would be aggressive but yet attainable in a short timeframe. The strategy adopted by management to establish Project ENABLE quickly has several key directives. * Secure University-wide approval and support * Assemble an aggressive and productive staff * Create a team concept that instills motivation * Establish a communications structure that will garner support * Utilize a "fast-track" implementation schedule * Implement a shift in technology architecture * Emphasize the need for business process analysis and redesign * Focus on the project as a "period of transition" Space constraints of this paper do not permit covering each of these directives in detail, however, the key directives that have impacted partnering efforts at Virginia Tech are discussed briefly. Securing Approval and Support Once the key administrators (President, Executive Vice President, and Provost) agreed to the initiative and the strategic directives, other constituents were updated through a series of presentations by the Vice President for Information Systems. A project of this magnitude could never be done in a vacuum, nor could it be done with only the limited resources in one segment of the University, such as Information Systems. The inclusion of all appropriate segments and personnel at the earliest states of the project made it possible for all to understand that sacrifices appropriate to each might be required in order to ensure success. Project accountability has been placed with the Vice President for Information Systems. The overall project leader was chosen for experience in leading a major project and as someone without a lot of "baggage" in the administrative systems areas. The individual selected came from the communications area and was a leader in the successful installation of a major communications systemsat Virginia Tech in the late 1980s. The Executive Vice President at Virginia Tech has always acknowledged that personnel from the administrative offices should be involved in any systems work since they are the ones who use the systems daily and are, in most cases, the ones most affected by any changes. The Executive Vice President is a champion of Project ENABLE and he and other key administrators have been able to secure broad campus approval for the goals and objectives. Creating a Team Concepts and Partnerships When this initiative was approved, the area of Information Systems had 20 people dedicated to administrative systems -a far cry from the number of people needed for the project. It was made clear that for the project to succeed, the Vice President for Information Systems and the project leader would be allowed to "go after" any person as a participant - yes, any person. Key administrators where willing to listen when they were approached with the concept of partnering. People began to understand the importance and advantages of using crossfunctional teams in this aggressive project for administrative systems. Support staffs had been established for a number of years in many of the key administrative areas (mainly finance and student systems) and they became targets for the new project from the start. However, these established support staffs were not the people needed to lead many of the administrative projects that would be part of Project ENABLE. Consequently, the University Controller and the Personnel Director were two of those asked to partner with the project. The result has been that an Associate Controller has been assigned full-time to lead the finance effort, and the Assistant Director of Personnel Services will lead the human resources effort full-time. In addition, personnel from the budget office, the office of institutional research, the registrar's office, admissions, the office of internal audit, the information systems areas, and other key areas have been assigned either full-time or part-time to Project ENABLE. A project of this size obviously needs tremendous support. Some areas of support may not require full-time effort, yet the participation is critical for success. The Vice President and project leader again were able to work with different organizations to establish partnerships for support teams. For example, an Administrative Client Team in the Computing Center is working closely with Project ENABLE to place new Apple Macintosh computers in administrative offices. The Server/DBMS Team, also in the Computing Center, maintains the Oracle database software, helps define server needs, maintains server hardware and software, and provides professional training to Project ENABLE personnel and customers. There are other such partners that work with security, workflow, public relations, training, and so on. Fast-tracked Implementation and Partners Strategies for a fast-tracked implementation of "core" administrative systems include purchasing application software from an approved vendor or vendors, using an open systems UNIX operating environment, and utilizing a relational database engine. These strategies have already led to partnerships with outside vendors and laid the groundwork for opportunities with other. * Virginia Tech currently has a site license with Oracle and is constantly examining ways to improve the partnership in both the academic and administrative arenas. * A contract has been signed with the SCT Corporation for a human resources system. Project personnel are continually researching ways to work more closely with the vendor to relate the needs of a large research institution. * Apple Macintosh computers have been selected as the hardware for faculty workshops, administrative offices, classrooms, and labs. Apple continues to work with Virginia Tech to enhance its relationship. * Apple and Virginia Tech are partnering on the AOCE software and the way it can be used for workflow applications. * Virginia Tech is a member of the Mandarin consortium and is gaining experience while contributing to future development on the product. * Financial personnel are partnering with NACUBO on benchmarking information for establishing various measurements for improvement. This list could be enlarged, but the point is made that outside partnerships are very helpful in any endeavor. In most cases, both parties have something to offer and something to gain from the experiences. Another opportunity that exists for outside partnerships is with other institutions and with state agencies. The University of Virginia and Virginia Tech are teaming to offer graduate courses in Northern Virginia, while Penn State and North Carolina State are working with Virginia Tech to share extension specialists and other resources (Restructuring Virginia Tech, 1994). Virginia Tech is currently involved with particular state offices to secure more decentralized administration. If successful, such decentralization could be carried over to internal partnerships among the colleges. Efforts are also underway to utilize the State Council of Higher Education, the Secretary of Education, and others. A Period of Transition Project ENABLE provides a major period of transition for Virginia Tech. In a reasonably short period of time, new administrative systems will be installed in a client/server environment that will eliminate a dependency on proprietary hardware; a new technology architecture in all administrative and academic offices will provide increased desktop capabilities; and business processes will change to provide more efficient and effective administrative operations. None of these achievements can be realized unless significant partnering occurs within university departments, rank and file staff, faculty, state agencies, other institutions, vendors, private industry, and others. The partnering and team concept will be essential to ensure that the future environment will be acceptable and will "enable" the institution to be its best. References Bates, Robert C., "Dean's Message," Arts & Sciences Newsletter, Fall, 1994. Donald, A.W. and Naff, M, "Facilitating Change for Survival," Proceedings of the CAUSE 1992 National Conference, 1992. O'Leary, Meghan, "Waves of Change," CIO, June, 15, 1992. "Project ENABLE Will Change Computing," Spectrum, Volume 17, Number 11, November 3, 1994, p. 1. "Restructuring Virginia Tech," President's Office, Virginia Tech Press, October, 1994. A special appreciation is extended to other members of the Project ENABLE Staff Support Team for their efforts in promoting the project, and for contributing to the November 3, 1994, Spectrum article. Members of the team are Anna Dickerson, Becky Glazener, John Krallman, and Richard Stock.