Guest Blog: New Employee’s Perspective

I have a treat for you! You don’t have to “listen” to me on today’s blog post! Okay, okay, try to keep the cheering down to a polite level – sheesh!

I’m very excited to introduce a guest blogger this morning. Emily Greenhalgh has worked in the Registrar’s Office for the past two and a half years as Associate Registrar. Her primary areas of responsibility are in records and graduation. She has been relentless in pushing us towards higher standards of excellence, but best of all, we have been achieving them because of her work!

Emily is married and has two kids. She manages a number of staff in our office, and you can follow her on Twitter as @orange_hippo . This is the first of three guest posts from her, describing what it’s like to move into the Registrar’s Office.

Emily:

So, like, really?  You WANT to be a Registrar?

That was the question (accompanied by dumbfounded stares) that I heard over and over when the announcement came that I had taken the position of Associate Registrar.  Yes, it was MY choice.  I actually applied for the position of my own free will.  I happily came in from vacation to attend the ’sensitive’ interview (I was an internal candidate).  I was the one who got my boss in some political hot water for ’stealing’ me from his boss!

Why did I even apply?  I had been at the University for almost 5 years at that point, and was working as the Executive Assistant to the Provost – a position which I really enjoyed.  I understood enough about the University by that point to know that I really believe in what we do here.  When the position of Associate Registrar came up, I felt I was ready for a new challenge.  I saw it as an opportunity to be more directly involved in the education of students.  In particular, it was a position that would seemingly have no end of need for my ‘attention to detail’ (read: me = perfectionist… what better place to work than in the records office?!)

So, armed with my perfectionist tendencies, I walked into the Registrar’s Office ready to take on the world! [Ahem... it didnt take long to be taken down a peg]  I learned pretty quick that while details are very important the big picture is also crucial,  in terms of students’ academic careers, and also in terms of our office goals.  There were constant reminders to lift my eyes up from the details to see the bigger picture.  It’s not something I do well naturally, so I was grateful for the patient reminders from those around me.

In some ways, I was dropped in the deep end of the pool… I overlapped for about 4 days with the outgoing Associate Registrar.  That was long enough to learn that our office uses a database called Jenzabar… and that’s about it!   Those people who reported to me had a good handle on their jobs, which helped a lot.  But they started to disappear… short-term disability leaves, maternity leaves, getting married and moving away.  All of this forced me quickly to learn the details of their work – something which I am grateful for now!

Well, that’s a little background as to how I got here.  I’ve been asked to blog about what I do and some lessons I’ve learned as well, but will save that for Part II. . . .

Catch you later,

Emily

First Nations University

I was saddened to hear that First Nations University of Canada may lose its provincial and federal funding over allegations of misused funding and inappropriate firings.

I think this institution has been a constant news story since its inception, and sadly, the news hasn’t often been good. When I was  Registrar at Briercrest College, in Saskatchewan, I had the privilege of touring the campus shortly after it was built. The architecture is beautiful. I remember one interesting tidbit from our tour guide: there are no sharp corners in the building. Every corner is a curve. Apparently it is built this way to keep evil spirits from having a place to hide. As a result, the sight-lines in the building are exceptional, and the hallways have a real feeling of flow and movement. I’ve never been in a building like it before or since. From the outside, the building stands out because it is adjacent (maybe on?) the University of Regina campus, which is dominated by 1960’s and ’70’s style concrete construction. It’s a little like a 2007 VW Bug parked in a lot full of 1984 K-cars

All that aside, the reason I’m commenting on this latest news story is because I am pleased to see that the government is concerned about the students, and is taking action to protect their interests. Students almost always lose when a school loses funding or is shut down. Advanced Education Minister Rob Norris has met with the University of Regina to ensure that students will not be disrupted if they pull the funding. As the First Nations University of Canada is a Federated College of the U of R, students graduate with a U of R degree and their courses are on the U of R transcript paper, so their educational options are safe.

It’s too bad it’s come to this. Saskatchewan has a huge and growing First Nations population, and the First Nations University of Canada could be leading the way for their own people. I wish them well and hope they get this sorted out very soon – for their own good, but mostly for the good of students, for the good of their own people, and the good of the Province.

Grant

Humans or Technology?

In the Registrar’s world, we’re rapidly moving forward with technology. We work with an ERP (if you’re lucky), an SIS (at minimum), and web portals, online workflows, etc. We schedule classes with tech solutions that take into account things like class size, location, time, faculty availability, student demand, etc. Students register online, get their invoices via the student portal, pay by going to their bank website and transferring the money.

It’s getting so the student doesn’t ever need to come into the office anymore. With all this technology available, why do we bother hiring humans?

We hire humans because we serve humans.

But the nature of our work has certainly changed. When I started in this business, we used to do everything by paper. Students would choose their classes on paper and stand in line to see a Registration clerk, hoping there would still be room in the class by the time they got to the desk. Often, there wasn’t, and we would send the student away to select different classes, and stand in line and do this all over again. We used to post lists of full classes every half hour, and you could hear the groans from students as a new full class would make it on the list.

As you can imagine, this was a very busy time for staff. We used to hire extra staff during this time. Line-ups would stretch outside the office, down the hall, outside the building and into the parking lot. If it was raining, it was a pretty rotten experience for all. Students would be drenched, carpets would be soaked, and patience was stretched thin. The goal was to get the pain over with as quickly as possible. Students often settled for less than the ideal classes and schedule because the process was so awful.

Even though this was a human-to-human process, no one liked it. Staff and students dreaded Registration Day(s). Technology has improved this situation immensely. Staff can work ahead to get everything ready, while students can choose classes from the comfort of their own homes or dorm rooms, or while sitting in the local coffee shop.

All this is great, but it fundamentally changed the nature of the Registrar’s Office front line staff role. No longer are we simply processing paperwork and getting students through the line as quickly as possible. Now we are trouble-shooters, problem solvers, and we point students to resources and people who can help.

In short, we have become consultants, solving simple to complex problems – the ultimate in personal, human service.

When you have the choice of buying technology or hiring a human, consider the important difference. Buy for processing; hire for consulting.

Both are more human.

P.S. Thanks to Stefanie Ivan at Grant MacEwan University for the idea behind this.

Difficult Decisions

At Trinity Western University, the Registrar (me) is responsible to respond to student appeals regarding matters of Academic Probation. In reality, this means that when students are suspended for poor academic performance, they can make an appeal to the Registrar. Most of the time, these are relatively pro forma because we have clear criteria for what qualifies as an appeal.

What are our criteria? We have two. Students can appeal if:

1. we screwed up (e.g., if we calculated their Grade Point Average incorrectly); or,
2. something happened in their life over which they had little or no control and it messed up their academic life.  An example of this might be if the student was injured in a car accident and couldn’t hand in a major paper. In both cases, students must produce documentation to support their appeal.

So, appeals are usually fairly straightforward. We never screw up (not that I’d tell YOU anyways) and if students can document a legitimate situation beyond their control we make accommodations. Easy.

But every now and then something not-so-easy challenges me. This time, a student was suspended, and given the normal deadline to appeal. The deadline passed with no word from the student. But then the student came to one of my staff and said, “I didn’t think I needed to appeal because I was still waiting for one more grade to come in which raised my GPA over the threshold.”

Quick check – yes, it’s true – his grade did raise his GPA over the threshold.

Hmm, what to do?

Knee-jerk-response: tough beans, buddy! You missed the deadline. The decision was made and you didn’t follow through. You could have appealed but you didn’t. You may reapply in 6 months. See ya later.

5 minutes later response: wait – didn’t I just write a blog post about bureaucracy gone bad? Is this an example of unnecessary rule-mongering? His grade is good enough to keep him here. He is a paying student and will contribute to our full time equivalent numbers (as a private university with no financial contributions from government, that’s important to us). There is still time before the course add/drop deadline so we can get him registered.  Maybe I should re-consider…

6 minutes later: will I undermine the process if I overturn his suspension? We were very clear in our letter to him about how his grades are taken into account and when, why and how he should make an appeal, but he didn’t do anything. As you might have suspected, this is not unusual behaviour for him – this is a pattern.

15 minutes later: what is the right and good thing to do? Even though the student should have followed the process, he didn’t; however, he could still be a student. The only thing keeping him from being a student is the important matter of the deadline. Another question I’m considering: is it possible to rule in favour of the student in a case that is a little unclear without there being a travesty of justice?

And the decision is… [drum roll, please]… Appeal Granted!

Why did I rule this way?

1. It is possible the student could understand that because his grades were not all in at the time of our decision, that we would review the decision when they did come in. We’re very clear about this, but still…
2. The student ultimately met the spirit of the policy, and almost the letter of it except for the matter of the deadline.
3. If I upheld the original decision, the student could complain rather convincingly that it was only the matter of the deadline (and his  misunderstanding of it) that kept him from being able to continue. Could I argue against that to the 6:00 News? To the rest of the student body? To my boss? I’m not sure I could.
4. I can sleep at night after making the decision in his favour.

What would you do? Did I make the right decision?

Grant

Dilbert & the Registrar

Bureaucracy.

The very word makes me shudder.

Why? Because it holds a lot of negative connotations: red tape; a lack of responsibility; hiding behind ‘rules’ that some shadowy committee created; poor service; and a lack of personal attention or care.

Obviously, I’m not the only one who thinks this way. My Oxford Reference Dictionary defines it thus: “government by the officials of a central administration; such officials, often regarded as inflexible or unimaginative; excessive official routine.”

But it hasn’t always been this way. Max Weber, a social scientist writing in the early 1900’s, described and defined bureaucracy in very scientific, rational terms. Weber had philosophical and practical reasons for why bureaucracy is needed.

• There should be a clear division of labour. This makes the organization efficient by eliminating duplication.
• It should be impersonal which keeps you from getting better service than me just because you know, or are related to the staff.
• There should be a clear hierarchy and chain-of-command so that you only have one boss who can tell you what to do (I once had two bosses. What a gong-show!).
• The officers do not own their office: it can’t be bequeathed to their family members and it can’t be inherited (it is not a monarchy).
• Official business must be conducted in writing. This holds me accountable, and it prevents you from getting what you want just because you can yell louder than another customer.

Really, bureaucracy is about being rational, logical, and fair. So why do we have such a visceral response to the word? In a word: Dilbert!

Students have come to despise bureaucracy because we sometimes take its principles too far:

• Impersonal becomes a lack of care and attention to student needs.
• Centralized decision-making means too much distance from, and not enough knowledge of the student or the problem.
• Official business only in writing means long delays in response.
• What should be simple becomes ridiculously complex. The rules become excessive and prevent action or solutions.

In short, they don’t feel the love. To be fair to Max Weber, he anticipated all these issues. The Dilbert-like Registrar’s Office has just ignored his warnings.

What’s the solution? Three words:

1. Leadership
2. Goodness (or fairness)
3. Responsibility

Watch for future posts on these three topics. In the meantime, share your personal stories of Dilbert-like bureaumania with us. Post your story as a comment.

The Benefits of Membership

As I’ve said before, being a Registrar is a rare thing. No one seems to know who we are or what we do outside of our own institution. So, if you find yourself in the position of being one, how do you figure out what you’re supposed to do?

Well, you can do one of two things: 1) make it up as you go along; or, 2) join a professional association and learn from experienced people.

I’ve had the benefit of doing both. When I started being a Registrar, it was in a small, private college with around 800 students. The previous Registrar and Assistant Registrar had left for greener pastures and there was no one to really explain what it was I should do. So I kind of made it up along the way. I distinctly remember seeing a budget line for memberships in ARUCC, AACRAO, PACRAO, and WARUCC, and I was a little shocked at the amount of money required for membership in these organizations. As our college was under some financial strain at the time, I went to my boss and said, “I think I know where we can save some money” and pointed at this line. He said no, I couldn’t cut those out of my budget. And he went one further – he made me promise to attend all the meetings I could.

Wise man.

But it wasn’t easy. The first three meetings I went to were like entering an alternate universe. I didn’t understand the language, the jargon. I was surrounded by much older people, some who had 30+ years of experience! I didn’t want to go back. But I had made a promise.

The first time I asked a question, I clued in to the benefits of membership in a professional association. I had anticipated a very competitive atmosphere. What I discovered was exactly the opposite. I was in a collegial atmosphere. These people knew I didn’t know my head from my … and patiently helped me learn the ropes. They taught me about the profession, and helped me avoid the pitfalls I didn’t even know were there.

On top of that, they recommended my involvement in some positions on the executive of various organizations. From that point on, I was an insider. I had access to all sorts of experts and fellow professionals. When my boss would ask me some difficult question, I could put him off for a few hours, make a phone call or send an email and I had instant support. I could look very learned and wise. My staff never knew that my saying, “Let me sleep on it” meant “I’m going to the WARUCC email list-serve”.

Later on, I learned the value of inviting as many of my staff and others in similar institutions to become members with me.

What about you? What professional associations are you involved in? Check out the links on the right-hand side of my blog here. Have I missed some organization that I need to be part of? Are there any there that you aren’t a member of yet?

Happy New Year!

Grant

Cut the Red Tape, Already!

What is one thing a Registrar does? We make paths to education clear.

I’ve said before that the Registrar is in a unique position in a university or college. We touch every part of the institution. Some might put it negatively and say that we have our tentacles around every department’s throat. I prefer to think of it like the hub of a bicycle wheel with spokes going in and out to where the action is. We provide the supportive infrastructure that makes a college or university work. And when it doesn’t work, we have to get out the spoke tightening tool and get a little grease on our hands.

How do we use our unique position? For good – only for good. Remember, grasshopper, with great power comes great responsibility

Here’s an example that occurred just two days ago.

A student had been pre-registered for a course next semester but through no fault of his own ended up waitlisted for the course. What made it really difficult for this student was that he was a 4^th year student in a BA degree and this course was required for his program. He had tried to take it many times over his academic career, but was always slightly lower on the priority list than other students and had never been able to be registered for the course. He had patiently waited and this semester should have been able to be in the course, but somehow had been bumped out. In the meantime, the course had filled up and the instructor had even let a couple of extra students in (it’s a very popular course).

The student contacted my office and registered his complaint very nicely but firmly. He was in a bind because my office had flagged this course as one he must take in the next semester if he wished to graduate, but then our system had somehow bumped him out of the course. What to do? The problem worked its way up the chain to me.

The solution involved four departments, none of whom knew that they had contributed to the problem because they couldn’t see the whole picture. Only the Registrar’s Office could see this. Our registration system has a prioritizing algorithm that determines who gets into classes in what priority, and there are many departments that influence this, but only my office can see the algorithm and how students are prioritized as a result. In this case, the algorithm had worked, but there were unique factors that meant the outcome wasn’t the right outcome.

I put on my negotiating hat and approached each manager separately explaining the difficult spot this student was in and proposing a solution. I also had to go directly to the faculty member, explained what had happened (actually, I apologized) and asked if he could let this student into the course even though it was over-subscribed.

I breathed a deep sigh of relief when everyone agreed to make it work. In fact, two departments determined to change a policy and process so that they interacted better with the other departments and wouldn’t cause this problem in the future.

The student was able to get back into the class and providing he passes (which I’m sure he will), he’ll graduate this spring. Yay!

I like to describe my job as clearing the path for education to occur. Or I could just say, “I work at TWU.” But you’ve already read why that doesn’t work.

Merry Christmas!

Grant

What In All of God’s Creation Is a Registrar?

When you meet people and go through the typical introduction of “So what do you do?” how do you answer?

When I answer: “I’m the Registrar at Trinity Western University” I have come to expect the blank look that says to me, “this isn’t registering.”

Ok, I admit I’m in a rare job. You don’t find Registrars on every street corner. We don’t drive around in cop cars; we don’t climb poles and fix lights; we don’t serve you food, or replace your roof. I’m ok with that, although my father-in-law would still prefer me to get a real job, “You know, like a mechanic. People always need their cars fixed.” Right.

I used to try to get away with a short version: “I work at Trinity Western University” and hope people would accept that. But they never did. They always probed, “And what do you do there?”

And we’re back to me saying the R-word again. Which means there will be yet one more question:

“You’re a whaaaa???”

Registrar. No, not a Register – that’s either a cash register or a heat register. I’m not one of those. I register students for courses, charge and collect their tuition fees, and produce transcripts and degrees for them. Amongst a few million other things.

A blog is supposed to be about what’s happening right now, or what’s on your mind right now – remember, “blog” is a short version of “web log” which is the internet’s version of a ship captain’s log.  One of my intentions for this web log is to chronicle the happenings in a Registrar’s Office and give you a window into this rare job.

I hope to head off that blank look and the “You’re a whaaa???” question.

The next post (coming very soon) will help to answer that question and de-mystify my job. It will show how a Registrar (me) dealt with a student’s issue, and had to negotiate a deal between a few departments.

Cheers!

Grant

Some Improvements to This Blog

Ok, so I started this blog some time ago, and it’s taken me many months to figure out how to make things show up, such as my picture (or Gravatar as WordPress calls it), other pages, email subscriptions, and an archive. I had created those things almost immediately, but couldn’t figure out why they wouldn’t show on the website. Guess what? They’re Widgets and there’s a process to get them to show. Go figure! So, I figured, and presto, they exist.

Where, you ask?

Right over there —>

You might have to scroll down, but they’re there. Now you can subscribe to the blog, which means I’ll send you an email every time I make a new blog post. Then you can get all excited and drop whatever else you are doing and rush over to read the post. Or you can save it for later by placing that email into your “Action Items” email folder – something I learned from David Allen in Getting Things Done.

You can check out my picture (taken on Orientation Day this past September) and stalk me on Twitter. Interested in reading and learning more about how to be a Registrar? Check out the Archives of previous posts.

Is there a coincidence that final exams ended on Friday and I figured this out the following Monday?

Nope. Students have gone home for the holidays, and I finally had the time to spend figuring this out. Oh, there are other important things calling out to me, inviting me to turn down their paths, but you take priority right now.  And you’ve been very patient, as always.

Thank you.

Grant

P.S. Watch for a new post on customer service and working with other departments to achieve it.

Will Universities Survive 2012?

I think our universities will do just fine. Remember Y2K and the panic about planes dropping out of the sky, entire cities going black because the power failed? Remember when people bought wood stoves and generators to heat and power their homes? Did anything happen?

Hollywood has given us another reason to panic, only this time it’s a new threat: global warming and prophecies of the end of time.

Dave Cunning wrote a guest blog clearing up some facts about the movie 2012, with good humour. But, as always, good humour raises some good questions  - this time about why we watch these things.  Check it out (especially the comments) here.

Merry Christmas!

Grant