09F+grp+2

PeopleSoft Enterprise Applications 333 W Camden St Baltimore, MD 21201 (410) 333 8888

November 3, 2009

Mr. Kirk Lazarus Advisement Supervisor Student Services 25 Lovett Ave Newark, DE 19711

Dear Mr. Lazarus,

While updating the University’s UDSIS database we received considerable feedback in regards to creating a new senior checkout process. We have a rough understanding of the current process, and are aware that many advisors and students find it to be very redundant and time consuming. We hope to conduct a thorough investigation into ways the process can be improved, and present you with a solution that is both easy to transition into and cost effective.

PeopleSoft already maintain a close relationship with the University. Your office can be assured that we are a reliable team that will conduct a thorough investigation and implement a solution that will improve upon the status quo. Our company has a great reputation of providing consulting in both IT and non IT related processes with the goal of increasing efficiency. The enclosed proposal has a more detailed outline of the current process along with the research methods we will use. We will also break down the specific steps we will take to solve the problem, detail a work schedule, and provide you with a budget.

I hope you find our proposal helpful and insightful. Please contact us if you have any questions at our phone number or by email at Delaware@peoplesoft.com.

Sincerely,

Alex del Rosario PeopleSoft Manager: Delaware Account

Enclosure- University of Delaware Senior Checkout Proposal


 * Introduction**

College graduation is a time of excitement, fear, and uncertainty. Students spend countless hours completing schoolwork, studying for finals, and preparing for their future careers. While professors and faculty advisors do their best to guide and counsel students, a confusing and involved senior checkout process for undergraduates only adds to the stress of this very important time.


 * Background of the Problem**

The Senior Checkout Process at the University of Delaware is a way for graduating seniors to view their progress, and prepare for completion of their degree. An official Senior Checkout is a list of a student's remaining requirements, including any special requirements, as well as the specific number of credits remaining to be completed. They are usually completed in the semester prior to the student's graduation term, so the student has adequate time to complete the courses required for graduation.

Prior to Senior Checkout, students are responsible for making sure the information in their UDSIS account is updated and correct. This includes their degree, major, minor, and expected graduation term. If any of this information is incorrect, graduation could be delayed. Students can use their Senior Checkout as a way to consult with their advisor and plan courses needed to fulfill their degree requirements. Due to the multiple sources of information that need to be accounted for, this process can become time consuming and confusing.

While students only need to reference UDSIS, the way they report this information for checkout purposes is inconsistent among the various colleges in the University of Delaware. For example, the College of Education and Public Policy does not have an official Senior Checkout process. Students in this College are simply encouraged to meet with their advisor to determine what needs to be done before graduation. On the other hand, the Senior Checkout for students in the College of Arts and Sciences is completed automatically and sent to them by email. They are then responsible for taking care of any discrepancies, and planning their courses accordingly. Contrarily, students in the Alfred Learner College of Business and Economics must complete a lengthy process, involving paperwork and deadlines. They are required to download and print a "Check Sheet" and two identical copies of a "Courses In-Progress Form" - making sure that the forms correspond to the year they entered the University - and then turn in the three documents to their faculty advisor before a specified date.


 * Objectives**

Our objective is to better understand the current process of senior checkout. We will get the thoughts of both advisors and students in order to better understand what they do and don't like about the current process. Our group will then propose a solution that helps to improve on the inefficiencies we find in the current process. We will strive to make the solution easy to transition into as well as cost effective for the University.


 * Procedure**

1. We will meet with you to: 2. We will prepare a survey concerning: 3. We will collect information from University of Delaware students by making an online survey available to: 4. We will analyze the information collected from the surveys by identifying: 5. We will collect information from other universities that have similar class sizes and college structure to Delaware. For example we plan to survey students from the University of Maryland as Maryland has comparable class sizes as well as multiple colleges like the University of Delaware. 6. Using our research and data, produce a solution. 7. We will meet with you again and present:
 * discuss your concerns with the current senior checkout process
 * discuss where you see this process in the future
 * the level of satisfaction students have with the process
 * specific problems students have with the process
 * positive aspects of the process
 * Current students from different colleges in the University. By surveying students from multiple colleges such as the Business College, College of Arts and Sciences, and the Engineering college we will be able to capture many different perspectives on the different ways Senior Checkout is done.
 * the most prominent concerns expressed by students
 * positive areas of the process
 * our findings involving the current process
 * our suggestion on how to improve the current Senior checkout process


 * Record of Service**

PeopleSoft has been in business for 22 years providing solutions to businesses, governments, and educational institutions. Our company solutions have a proven track record of increasing productivity, increasing business performance, and passing on low costs to our clients. We are very experienced in investigating processes currently in place by speaking directly with users. We use all information gained to reach a solution that addresses the problems of every party involved. Our clients are always treated as the most important player in anything we do. We pride ourselves in keeping users abreast of all work we do including accurate budgeting so you are never surprised by higher costs than agreed to.


 * Budget**

Throughout this project we will be researching and compiling a strategy to solve the issue of the complicated senior checkout process at the University of Delaware.  Throughout this process our team, consisting of 5 PeopleSoft representatives, will be performing these tasks to address the issue. As the length of the process tends to be objective and based on many external factors, we have determined it is in the best interest of the University of Delaware and PeopleSoft to charge a flat rate for the work performed. Our rate for the project will be a onetime payment of $20,000,  lus any expenses incurred by representatives of PeopleSoft relating to travel while working on this project. All travel expenses incurred will be itemized, detailed, and invoiced to the University for review before payment. We believe this offers the University of Delaware a competitive rate when compared with similar services within the industry.


 * Schedule**

1. Week One (starting 11/16): First Meeting

2. Week Two (starting 11/23): 3. Week Three (starting 11/30): 4. Week Four (Starting 12/7): 5. Final Meeting (12/9)
 * design and produce surveys
 * distribute and collect surveys
 * collect information from Universities
 * analyze information
 * produce solution

Report
These subheadings are the format suggested by the assignment. We can put our suggestions where we think they fit the best under them. If you add something to the report keep it in red so we can sort our ideas from the overall format.


 * Front Matter**

● Letter (or memo) of transmittal—addressed to the person that commissioned the report ● Title page ● Table of Contents ● List of tables and figures ● Executive summary or abstract—a very brief overview of the entire report including a summary of the report’s conclusions.

Some of these sections may be further subdivided if necessary: ● Introduction—give background info about the situation; provide the overall context ● Procedure and Results—detailed account of what you did; analyze the significance of findings ** Figures ** - maybe put an attachment of the survey that was sent out, also maybe some graphs or spreadsheets showing our findings from the surveys. This maybe be included in the survey/interview portion if we wanted.
 * The Report**:
 * History/Current Process ** - a summary/ briefing on the findings of how the current process is and its hardships

● Conclusions and Recommendations
 * We should include direct quotes about the process (if possible) from the advisors we interview. Also make sure in our graphs and analysis of the findings that we compare and contrast UD to the other universities.
 * New Process ** - a briefing on a new concept for this process.
 * Explain any technology involved with our new process that may need to be learned by employees.
 * Confirm/emphasize why our method will be more logical and efficient.

● Works Cited ● Appendices (if necessary)—additional information that relates to the report but that doesn’t belong in the report proper. For example, if you created a questionnaire as part of your research, you would include the actual questionnaire here). **Surveys created Interview documentation**
 * Back Matter**

18 November 20 Mr. Kirk Lazarus Advisement Supervisor – Student Services 25 Lovett Ave. Newark, DE 19711

Dear Mr. Lazarus:

I have enclosed PeopleSoft’s report pertaining to the streamlining of the senior checkout process at the University of Delaware. The report displays the findings of our consulting team on how the University can improve this process to help make it easier for both students and the University.

This report details the student body’s opinions on the issue and the subsequent recommendations on how the University should address these problems.

This report should provide an adequate assessment of the issues facing the University. If you have any questions or comments at all, please do not hesitate to contact us, as your satisfaction is our primary concern.

Sincerely,

Michael Morris

Michael Morris PeopleSoft, Inc.

Table of Contents List of tables and figures**
 * Title page

//Introduction//

This report’s purpose is to provide the University of Delaware with information and recommendations relating to the way in which it conducts its senior checkout process. This will be done through surveys of student populations at both the University of Delaware and other similar sized universities. These surveys will determine the satisfaction level of the student bodies and the shortcomings of the current system.

The current system the university implements in the senior checkout process places a large burden on the student to complete certain information. This burden is unnecessary given the technology that exists both in general and within the university’s UDSIS system that is already implemented. Given that class registrations and completed classes and grades are already held on the system, it would seem excessively redundant to force students to complete paper “copies” of information that is already available in the system.

The current UDSIS system contains all the information that is listed within the senior checkout forms, providing an already solid platform on which to correct the flaws within the process. The senior checkout process will ultimately involve the student merely going into the UDSIS system and confirming the classes he or she is planning to take during the last semester. All other information that must currently be filled out by the student will be simply generated online for the student to view and print out. This generated report will include the classes the student has taken, classes remaining, overall degree and minor progress, and any additional information the student would require for graduation.

The Qualtrics survey system was used to determine current opinions of students at the University of Delaware and similar universities relating to the senior checkout process. From these results, further research was completed concerning the processes behind the senior checkout programs that students were most satisfied with. These results led to the recommendations provided by PeopleSoft to improve the senior checkout system at the University of Delaware.


 * // Executive Summary

The various colleges that comprise the University of Delaware offer a service for graduating seniors called senior checkout. Students are able to get feedback from their advisor pertaining to if their senior year course load will fulfill their graduation requirements. The process varies from college to college and has been met with mixed feelings from students.

We thought the best way to gather student opinion on the senior checkout process was through an online survey. Students who have completed a senior checkout were able to voice their opinion, either positively or negatively, on the process. Common complaints from students were that the process was overly time consuming, there was too much paperwork to fill out, and feedback from advisors was slow. Students who had positive experiences with their senior checkout were all enrolled in colleges which allowed the process to be done automatically online. From our research students were overwhelmingly in favor of the senior checkout being done solely online.

Our survey made it clear that an automated online process would best serve the needs of both advisors and students. The College of Arts and Sciences already utilizes the University's existing UDSIS database to automatically notify students of their graduation status. Since the technology is already in place and has been met with positive reviews from students, we recommend that the University of Delaware adopts one standard online process for all colleges. //**




 * Procedures and Results

//Graduation Verification at Other Universities// **

In order to provide the best possible solution for the University of Delaware we found it beneficial to gather information on how senior checkout works at other institutions. While other universities may call the process by a different name the basic goal remained the same. We researched three universities that all had graduation verification processes in place. We also found it valuable to look at institutions smaller, larger, and about the same size as the University of Delaware. By doing so we would be able to see how universities with varying degrees of resources conducted their student advisement services.

Salisbury University is a four-year institution in Salisbury, MD that currently has 7,281 students. Though smaller than Delaware, Salisbury houses many colleges including a Business College, College of Education, and a College of Arts & Sciences. The university offers its students a full service advisement office, and assists graduating seniors verify that they have completed their curriculum. The graduation audit process first calls for students to review their given graduation requirements and reconcile those with the courses they have successfully completed at Salisbury. Students then must apply online by a deadline prior to their graduating semester for a graduation audit. Staff members in the advisement office verify if a student will be able to graduate by consulting a student’s course history. Every graduating senior will then meet with their advisor to discuss the results of their audit (Salisbury University). We interviewed a graduating senior at the University who was pleased with his experience noting that he enjoyed being able to discuss his graduation face to face with his advisor.

Ohio University was researched given its extremely close relation to the University of Delaware in terms of size, with 17,000 undergraduate students. Ohio University conducts its senior checkout in a fairly efficient manner. This school’s process involves the student submitting a graduation application to the registrar’s office, which indicates what term and with what major the student intends to graduate. Once this application is received, the registrar then researches the student’s current progress towards his or her degree. After a careful review is conducted, the registrar contacts the student if there are any issues that would prevent the student from graduating on time or with the proper amount of classes required for the major (Ohio University). A central idea of this checkout process is the shift in responsibility of determining graduation status from the student to the registrar. This releases the student from the large burden that is currently placed on them to determine their degree progress by sifting through multiple documents. It also allows a person like the registrar who has much more experience than the student with academic advisement issues to confirm the student’s status. One issue with Ohio University’s system is the registrar only makes contact with the student if they notice any issues with the proposed major or graduation date. This could cause some confusion with the students if they are not aware of when potential contact from the registrar will come.

We also researched graduation processes at the University of Maryland College Park. With a student body of 26,431 we wanted to see how a university larger than the University of Delaware served its graduating seniors. We found that Maryland offers its students a process much like that of the one in place at Ohio University. Members of the advisement office of the student’s college will contact seniors to inform them of upcoming graduation related deadlines including applying for graduation. Once a senior applies for graduation their information is sent to a staff member in advisement. The advisor will then consult the student database to verify that previous classes taken fulfill graduation requirements, and what classes a student must still take to graduate. Once the advisor finishes their review the student is contacted via email with one of two notifications. If the student is on track to graduate the email will notify them of the classes they should take in their graduating semester. If they are not on track their advisor will request a meeting (University of Maryland).

Through this research we were able to create and recommend a much more efficient process for the University of Delaware to implement. The other schools’ systems that were researched were all easier for the students to utilize than the University of Delaware’s current system. Based on the fact the schools were different sizes and thus had different allocations of resources, there is no reason the University of Delaware does not have the capability to enact such a system. —

//Demographic and Procedure//

We began our research by creating a survey using Delaware Qualtrics survey software, and distributed the survey to students, of senior status at a University or College, via facebook messages and emails. Delaware Qualtrics allowed the data to be collected anonymously. We used SPSS, a statistical software program, and Excel to analyze the data and generate graphs and tables. In order to gain an understanding of the positive and negative aspects of the current senior checkout process, we surveyed primarily University of Delaware students. However, we also distributed the survey to other seniors at various Universities, including Drexel University, Nuemann University, Salisbury University, and Unviersity of Maryland.

We distributed the survey to 50 University of Delaware seniors and 20 seniors at other Universities or Colleges; 70 surveys were distributed overall. Each of the members of this project, distributed the surveys to seniors they knew who attended a University or College, and had varying majors. We received responses from 44 students, making our total response rate approximately 62.86% (N=70, n=44). However, we had a higher response rate from University of Delaware seniors, as opposed to seniors from other universities. Of the 50 surveys sent out to University of Delaware senior students, we received 40 completed surveys – a response rate of 80% (N=50, n=40). We sent out 20 surveys to seniors from other Universities or Colleges, and only received responses from 4 students, a response rate of 20% (N=20, n=4). We attribute the low response rate to the idea that students from other Universities are less invested into the University of Delaware, and have less interest in completing a survey for the benefit of other University of Delaware students.

The 40 University of Delaware students we received responses from, belonged to the various collges of the University of Delaware:
 * College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
 * College of Arts and Sciences
 * Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics
 * College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment
 * College of Education and Public Policy
 * College of Engineering
 * College of Health Studies

//Data Analysis//

One of our main objectives of the survey was to capture the favorable and unfavorable attributes of the current process, so we could work towards a solution that maintains the favorable and improves the unfavorable. When asked what they liked about the current process, students responded with some of the following comments:
 * "The emails adviors sent were easy to understand"
 * "I was able to knock mine out in half an hour"
 * "It is a good idea to make sure students are on track, but I think advisors should check the students' status earlier"
 * "Helps me evaluate my position for graduation"
 * "It's easy to see what classes I need to take for graduation, but it would probably be better if they had a system online that kept track of it all"
 * "Not much, I feel advisors should be more involved in the process rather than just saying it's on us to do it all"

In evaluating how satisfied students were with the senior checkout process, more students disagree than agreed to the following statement, "You are satisfied with the senior checkout process." 43.1 percent (n=19) of those surveyed answered //Strongly Disagree// or //Disagree,// 36.3 percent (n=16) answered //Strongly Agree// or //Agree,// 20.5 percent (n=9) answered //N/A// because they have not completed their senior checkout yet. See Figure 1.1 for information on the satisfaction of students.

//Figure 1.1//

Of those interviewees who answered //Strongly Disagree// or //Disagree,// we asked them to specify why they were not satisfied. Students chose from the following choices: Too many paper forms to fill out, Lack of feedback from advisors, Process is redundant, Overly time consuming, and Others. Some students selected multiple reasons for their dissatisfaction. The most common concern reported was that the process was redundant (72%, n=13, N=19). See Figure 2.1 for information on the concerns expressed by students. //Figure 2.1// Values do not add up to 100% because students could select multiple concerns.
 * = **Concern** ||= **Number** ||= **Percentage** ||
 * > Too many forms ||> 11 ||> 61% ||
 * > Lack of Feedback ||> 11 ||> 61% ||
 * > Redundant ||> 13 ||> 72% ||
 * > Time Consuming ||> 8 ||> 44% ||
 * > Other ||> 1 ||> 6% ||

The last question we asked students, was "Would you rather the process be completed via computer?" Of those students surveyed, who already completed their senior checkout, 58.1 percent (n=25) answered //Yes,// while 18.2 percent (n=8) answered //No//.

//New Process//

At PeopleSoft it is our belief that something old can be fixed to evolve with the new and upcoming ways of tomorrow. This thought will help innovate the University of Delaware’s Senior Checkout process and give their graduating students an easier time getting through that last year of college. The team at PeopleSoft has come up with a new way for graduating students to complete their senior checkout. This new process is a solely online checkout with an option for students to meet with their advisors if need be. The new process will integrate with the University's UDSIS system to inform students of their graduation status. An email will be sent in the semester prior to all students who have indicated their expected graduation date. For example, if a student's UDSIS account indicates an expected graduation of Spring 2010, they will be sent an email in the Fall of 2009. The email will contain the individual student's current degree progress, highlighting which classes are still needed for graduation. At the bottom of the email, it will ask, "Would you like to meet with an advisor to discuss this information?", followed by a link if the student answers "yes". The link will take you to a message box, where the student will fill out his or her information. This will be forwarded through the system to the student's academic advisor, who will then be required to contact the student and schedule a time to meet. This eliminates the problem of redundant paperwork, and unnecessary meetings.

There will be no new technology for faculty to learn, because the program will function on its own once installed. The only difference faculty should be aware of is their responsibility to contact students who wish to discuss their degree progress or who have concerns about graduation. Students should be aware of the change in the checkout process, and be encouraged to keep up with their degree standing on their personal UDSIS account. If they do not have an accurate expected graduation, they will not receive an email at the right time.

//Conclusion//

As seen in the survey results, most students prefer to complete their senior checkout online. Also, from the survey it is easy to see the scattered results on how many different kinds of checkout procedures there are. The team at PeopleSoft believes that if the University develops a standard for their checkout process, then it can be modified as necessary to meet the needs of the student body in the future.

Most of today’s student body tracks their curriculum online before meeting with an advisor every semester. This shows that most students already have an idea of what classes they need to graduate and also what their concerns are about graduation. Since all records are kept electronically, it will be easier and less time consuming for advisors if those records are made available to the students when they do their checkout online. As stated before, an option should be given to meet with an advisor for students who have concerns about their upcoming graduation. Not all students need a meeting, so making it a requirement is unnecessary for both the student and advisor. It is our belief at PeopleSoft that a new online checkout process is more logical and economical for the University, and also a more preferred method by the student body.

—


 * Back Matter

Works Cited** "Graduation." //University Registrar//. Ohio University. Web. 05 Dec. 2009. . //Undergraduate Advisement Handbook//. Salisbury University, 2009. Web. 5 Dec. 2009. . "University of Maryland | Testudo | Records And Registration | Graduation Candidate Application." //Graduation Candidate Application//. University of Maryland. Web. 05 Dec. 2009. .

Appendices (if necessary)—additional information that relates to the report but that doesn’t belong in the report proper. For example, if you created a questionnaire as part of your research, you would include the actual questionnaire here).

//Student Survey//


 * 1) What College/University do you attend?
 * 2) What is your graduation date (Just the year)?
 * 3) What is your major?
 * 4) Have you completed a senior checkout?
 * 5) You are satisfied with the senior checkout process.
 * 6) Strongly Disagree
 * 7) Disagree
 * 8) Agree
 * 9) Strongly Agree
 * 10) What do you dislike about the process (Check all that apply)?
 * Too many paper forms to fill out.
 * Lack of feedback from advisors.
 * Process is redundant.
 * Overly time consuming.
 * Other
 * 1) If you answered "other" to Q7, please describe below.
 * 2) Please tell us what you specifically like about the process.
 * 3) Would you rather the process solely be done via computer?