1. It’s Good, Let’s Make it Better!It’s Good, Let’s Make it Better!
Office of Financial Aid, Student Employment and
Scholarships
Retreat 2010

2. It’s Good!It’s Good!
Rolled Into Production a New Student
Information System
◦ “Radical Transformation”
3+ Years of Project Work
Milestones Reached:
◦ Imported ISIR Records in March
◦ Award Offers In April
◦ Direct Loans Originated In July/August
◦ Disbursement On Schedule in August
◦ No Protests Outside of Chancellor’s Office!

3. But Not Perfect!But Not Perfect!
Actual Complaint Letter from Student
◦ 13 Contacts With Our Office
◦ Asked 3 Times to Sign 1040
◦ Checklist Wasn’t Completed
◦ Call Not Returned
◦ Email Not Returned
◦ Verif Completed 2 months later
◦ Adjustment to Aid for Less Than Full Time
was another month
◦ Disbursement schedule added further delay

4. If We’re Doing A Good Job…If We’re Doing A Good Job…
Why Did This Student Have This
Experience?
We All –
◦ Care About Students
◦ Work Hard
◦ Take Pride in Our Work

5. Where’s The Disconnect?Where’s The Disconnect?
The Disconnect Occurred in the Process
◦ “Fell Through the Cracks”
◦ Means the Process Has Gaps.
“Want – Got – Gap”
◦ When What a Student Wants Is Not What
the Student Gets, Then There is a Gap
◦ All Processes Have Gaps
◦ Recognizing Gaps in a Process is Not Bad
 Failing To Resolve Gaps in A Process Is Bad

6. Let’s Make It Better!Let’s Make It Better!
Assembled An Expert Team for Resolving
Process Gaps
◦ YOU!
◦ The Experts Are Right Here In This Room
Continuous Improvement is Iterative
◦ We’re Not Going To Solve Every Problem Today
◦ We’re Not Going to Solve Every Problem This
Year
GOAL
◦ Align Our Processes Closer to the Needs of
Beneficiaries and Stakeholders

7. Today’s PlanToday’s Plan
1. Continuous Process Improvement – What is it?
2. Who Benefits?
3. What Is Value?
4. How does Financial Aid Add Value?
5. What do Beneficiaries Want?
6. Key Processes – High Level Overview
7. Key Processes – Current State (Small Group)
8. Key Processes – Future State (Small Group)
9. Reporting Out
10. Key Performance Indicators
11. PLUS, we’re going to have some fun!

8. Continuous Process ImprovementContinuous Process Improvement
What is Continuous Process Improvement?
◦ Ongoing activities aimed at process simplification,
and reduction or elimination of process waste.
An integral part of continuous improvement
program.
Source: http://www.businessdictionary.com/
Many Programs for CPI
◦ TQM (Total Quality Management)
◦ LEAN
◦ Six Sigma
◦ BPA (Business Process Analysis)
◦ FOTM (Flavor of the Month)

9. Continuous Process ImprovementContinuous Process Improvement
Which Flavor Are We Sampling Today?
◦ “LEAN Lite”
◦ “Enhanced BPA”
Hybrid model
◦ Introduce the Concept
◦ Make Formal What Has Been Ad-Hoc
◦ Validate What You’ve Already Been Doing
Get Creative
◦ Great Place to Generate New Ideas

10. ““Cui Bono?Cui Bono?””
Translation?...
◦ Bono’s kid brother? No…
◦ Sonny and Cher’s son? No…
Literally “As a Benefit to Whom?”
◦ Often the first question asked in murder
mystery investigations
◦ Who gains?
We Start With the Same Question
◦ Who Benefits?

11. Who Benefits?Who Benefits?
Who Benefits from the Services We
Provide?
◦ Financial Aid Recipients
 We’ll call these “Beneficiaries”
Who Has a Stake in the Outcome?
◦ University
◦ Donors (includes U.S.E.D, State of Colorado)
◦ Parent of Recipients

12. Competing InterestsCompeting Interests
Are the Interests of Beneficiaries and
Stakeholders the Same?
◦ Beneficiaries Seek to Maximize Value
◦ Stakeholders May Impose Constraints
Examples of Constraints
◦ University – Budget
◦ U.S.E.D. – Program Integrity
◦ Donors – Program Objectives

13. Beneficiaries as ValueBeneficiaries as Value
MaximizersMaximizers
Customers seek maximum value
◦ “Customers are value maximizers within the
bounds of search costs and limited
knowledge, mobility and income. They form
an expectation of value and act on it.”
Expectations versus Experience
◦ “Whether or not the offer lives up to the
value expectation affects both satisfaction and
repurchase probability.”
 Kotler, Marketing Management p. 34.

14. Views of ValueViews of Value
What is “Value”
◦ Total Customer Value =
 The bundle of benefits customers expect from a
given product or service
◦ Total Customer Cost =
 The bundle of costs customers expect to incur in
evaluating, obtaining, using and disposing of the
product or service
◦ Customer Delivered Value = TCV-TCC
 Source: Kotler, p.34

15. Other Views of ValueOther Views of Value
“Value is anything for which the
beneficiary is willing to pay.”
 Balzer, Lean for Higher Education, p. 137
“The real price of anything is the toil and
trouble of acquiring it.” – Adam Smith
 Kotler, p. 35

16. ““Added” ValueAdded” Value
What is Added Value
◦ “Value is added when a process delivers the
amount or level expected by the beneficiary,
the quality the beneficiary expects, in as
timely a manner as the beneficiary expects,
where the beneficiary expects and at a cost
the beneficiary is willing to pay.”
 Balzer p. 127
Opposite of Added Value is “Waste”

17. Brand ValueBrand Value
What is Brand Value
◦ “A statement of the resulting experience
customers will have from the offering and the
relationship with the supplier.”
 Kotler, p. 37
Brand Value examples
◦ Nordstroms
 “Customer Intimacy”
◦ Wal-Mart
 “Operational Excellence.”

18. UCCS Brand ValueUCCS Brand Value
What does UCCS Offer as Brand Value?
◦ Knowledge and experience delivered in a safe
and supportive environment
 Personal summation
Knowledge
◦ Create/Transfer knowledge
◦ Compete strongly
Experience
◦ Not as strong

19. What is Financial Aid’s Role?What is Financial Aid’s Role?
Help Maximize the Value of Education
◦ Reduce Total Student Cost
 Deliver scholarship, grant, work and loan funds to
reduce Total Student Cost
◦ Reduce constraints to Value Maximization
 Increase limited knowledge
 Reduce search costs
 Increase purchasing ability of family income (i.e. we
offset the income constraint)

20. What Are Financial Aid’sWhat Are Financial Aid’s
Constraints?Constraints?
Limited Financial Resources
◦ Personnel budget limits staff levels
Processes with requirements set by
outside agencies
◦ All processes must comply with federal and
state laws, regulations and guidance
System Functionality
◦ Processes must be constructed to address
system deficiencies

21. What Do Beneficiaries Want?What Do Beneficiaries Want?
What Would You Say?
Here what T. wrote:
◦ “Students depend on this department
working well so that they can focus their
energies on obtaining an education rather
than worrying about how they are going to
pay for rent and feed their families.”
They want the amount of aid for which
they are eligible delivered with the least
amount of rework and delay.

22. Key Processes from 30,000’Key Processes from 30,000’

23. Pre-PackagingPre-Packaging
Includes
◦ Importing ISIRS
◦ Suspense Management
◦ MIL Letter Generation
◦ Estimated Award Offer
Generation
◦ Document Imaging
◦ Checklist Management
◦ Verification
◦ OAR
◦ SAR C = Y Resolution
◦ Correction Processing
Pre-Packaging Team
Mark
Kim
Brooke
Crystal

24. Packaging and DisbursementPackaging and Disbursement
Includes
◦ Packaging Plan
Assignment
◦ COA Determination
◦ Scholarship Awarding
◦ Packaging Official Aid
◦ Over-commitment
Management
◦ Budget Adjustments
◦ Disbursement
Packaging and
Disbursement Team
Jennifer
Brad
Drew
Shannon
Heidi

25. Post PackagingPost Packaging
 Includes
◦ Loan Origination
◦ Work Study
Activation/Cancellation
◦ Overaward Resolution
◦ Enrollment Status
Adjustments
◦ R2T4
◦ COA Adjustments
◦ Overpayment Resolution
◦ Disbursement Error
Resolution
◦ PJ Requests and Decisions
Post Packaging Team
Amy
Margie
Michelle
Sandy
Rick

26. Small Group Assignment 1Small Group Assignment 1
Develop a Process Map, Step List or
Process Timeline That Reflects the
Current State of the Key Processes
Process Map/Step List/Process Timeline
should reflect in chronological order the
steps a beneficiary’s application goes
through
View from 15,000’
◦ Detailed Processes Should Be ‘Rolled Up’ at
this stage

27. Small Group Assignment 2Small Group Assignment 2
Looking at Your Current State document,
identify one or more key processes where
we could increase alignment with beneficiary
goals by reducing waste in the process and
IMPROVE THAT PROCESS
Waste includes
◦ Waiting time to review/process
◦ Rework
◦ Manual intervention
◦ Multiple handoffs
◦ Data Entry Errors/Omissions, etc.

28. Key Performance IndicatorsKey Performance Indicators
As we consider ways to improve
processes we need to find ways to
measure our improvements
Examples
◦ Days from ISIR Receipt to Official Packaging
◦ Total dollars disbursed during 1st
week of
disbursement
◦ Beneficiary satisfaction measures

29. Wrap up and Future ActivitiesWrap up and Future Activities
Was This Valuable?
Do You Want to Continue?
Would You Like to Have Teams Meet
Regularly?
Other Ideas?
Thank YOU!!!!!