Thank you for making our first musical collaboration a success! We hope you enjoy 😎
Feature Story: IU at HEUG Alliance!
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In higher education, sharing knowledge and best practices is critical to staying efficient in an ever-changing environment. The Higher Education User Group (HEUG) Alliance conference provides higher education professionals the opportunity to collaborate, network with peers, and learn about new technology-driven solutions. Indiana University has been a member of the Higher Education User Group (HEUG) for more than two decades and often shares processes at the annual Alliance conference. Conference attendees have access to a variety of learning opportunities including TED-style talks, workshops, panels, and round table discussions in addition to a variety of tracks such as data to decisions, student technology, and effective financial management.
The Office of the University Bursar was fortunate to participate in two different sessions at this year’s conference, which took place in March. Dina Adkins and Dawn Cordray joined North Dakota University on a panel to discuss best practices in student collections. Sara Baize and Matt Gonzalez presented their partnership with Nelnet Campus Commerce to build the Sponsor Billing and Payments portal.
Student Collections
In today’s world, universities are finding it harder to collect student tuition receivables. Laws at both the federal and state levels significantly limit when institutions can hold transcripts and diplomas due to student debt owed to the school. Declining enrollment adds additional pressure to keep students enrolled while allowing them to carry larger student account balances. To combat these issues, University Bursar redesigned the student collection process.
During the panel discussion, Dina Adkins and Dawn Cordray shared the details behind the new process. The first major change was to move away from the “Collections Department” stigma and become the “Account Resolution Team”.
Additionally, University Bursar partnered with University Communications and Marketing (UCM) to redesign all communications, including adding text message campaigns, using an enrollment focused approach. During initial conversations with UCM, University Bursar quickly learned they were not effective in communicating to the average student. Too many words! Dina encouraged others at the conference to utilize their campus partners to create the best student experience – find the topic expert and get their input.
University Bursar also spoke to changes made to the timeline used to start aiding students with past due accounts. Dawn shared that she hires for personality and trains for skills/collecting. It’s all about ensuring the right staff are in place to help students which really resonated with attendees. The panel was a success, and many stayed behind to talk with Dina and Dawn personally.
Sponsor Billing
Most universities offer an additional billing process for students where an agency outside of the university, referred to as a sponsor, pays student fees and requires an invoice submitted directly from the university. The agency is usually an employer, but can include government agencies, vocational rehabilitation, military branches, or foreign governments. At IU, this process includes around 8,000 students and 260 sponsors with annual invoices totaling around $35M.
University Bursar conducted a Lean process review on sponsor billing to find inefficiencies and waste. It was evident it was taking too long to get invoices out the door utilizing existing technology. Nelnet Campus Commerce approached University Bursar in August 2022 to become an alpha client for their new Sponsor Billing and Payment product. Sara Baize and Matt Gonzalez led the development project with the portal going live in June 2023. The portal provides sponsors with an online platform to access invoices, real-time account data, electronic payment options, and automated communications.
Sara and Matt shared the development journey through a presentation at the conference. The session included background on the Lean process review, helpful system cleanup, tips for going live, and a demo of the portal. The portal was built with time-savings in mind. Matt encouraged attendees to make sure system functionality is set up correctly and consistently across all campuses. This is key to successful implementation.
The portal also notifies sponsors when a new invoice has been generated. Sara shared tips for encouraging sponsors to sign-up for the portal and managing chasing portal registrations. Sara was successful in getting 99% of sponsors set up and using the portal! Other universities who utilize Nelnet’s portal will reap the benefit of her hard work. The amount of time and effort Matt and Sara put into the project is apparent when viewing Nelnet’s Sponsor Billing and Payments portal.
From the Desk: A Grateful Goodbye
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Time is that critical factor that we cannot control. The best we can do is to make good use of it and hope that what we do withstands its tests.
The relationships I have made at IU have been impactful for me and the relationships and friendships I have made will certainly survive my transition to another institution and another leadership role.
There’s no question in my mind that I am a better and more capable leader today than when I arrived at IU almost two and a half years ago, and the reason that is so is directly attributable to you - the phenomenal team I have had the opportunity to lead and serve while here at IU.
Every time I made myself available to listen and to learn from you I became a better leader, and I am grateful for that. You have been an inspiration in the way that you work - your consistency, professionalism, and resilience in the face of significant change is unique. Your curiosity about how our operational and administrative efforts contribute to the strategic directions of the university impressed me from the start and continues to do so today.
I depart IU knowing that you will continue to drive the change that is needed to keep IU preeminent among the best universities in the nation and the world.
My only regret is that I did not have more time to get to know more of you in a more personal way. Again, time being what it is, our control over it is illusory at best. Physical distance and institutional boundaries no longer place limitations on professionals as they once did. I hope that we will continue to become better acquainted over the years and that our paths will continue to cross at professional conferences and meetings in the years to come.
I am a fan of this team I have had the privilege to lead and serve here at IU. Know that you have my continuing support and best wishes. I know you will continue to do great work!
My very best regards,
Dwayne
Meet Your Leaders
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"Meet Your Leaders" is a feature that helps Finance & Administration staff get to know senior management. Each individual is asked the same 8 questions. This issue, we're getting to know Sarah Chavez.
What is your job title and how long have you worked at IU?
Director, Financial Training & Communications. This November marks my ninth year at IU which is absolutely mind blowing to me!
Where are you from originally and what brought you to IU?
I’m from Bluffton, Indiana, a small town just south of Fort Wayne. I attended IU Bloomington and Fort Wayne and graduated in 2009. I was lucky enough to be hired as the Administrative Assistant for Financial Management Services (FMS), now the Controller’s Office, in 2015. I joined FMS’s training team in 2016 and I’ve been in training ever since.
What departments are a part of your unit?
We are a small but mighty team of four that accomplishes a ton! Juliet Roberts and Angus Burke are our Training & Communication Specialists. They develop written and video guides, newsletters, PowerPoint presentations, and design web pages. Whatever needs to be done to communicate process changes and clarify existing procedures. Luc Sinex, our web developer, publishes these resources as web content and builds online tools. All while ensuring our offerings meet accessibility standards.
What does a day in the life of your position consist of?
Listening, learning, and leading. Listening to subject matter experts and department users to learn about process changes or pain points. Digging in and learning how a change may impact users or the source of a pain point, then pulling all of it together to lead the team as they develop materials to support the issue at hand.
What is your favorite thing about your position?
Collaborating with our finance subject experts and department users. Our subject matter experts know the ins and outs of compliance requirements. Our users bring hands-on experience of working in a department. What I love is being a mediator between these two groups. How can we ensure IU’s processes are compliant but can be executed by our users? It’s a puzzle that’s ever changing and always exciting.
What upcoming initiatives or projects are you most excited about?
I am super-mega-excited about the new Procurement Services site! Right now, the site consists of the Standard Operating Procedure library and a few
"How Do I Buy…” pages, but I’m excited for us to continue creating new content to the site.
What shows or podcasts are you streaming when you're "off the clock?"
Recently, I watched all episodes of The Amazing Race and am working my way through Survivor. I’m also a big Top Chef and Project Runway fan and need to catch up on those!
What's one fact about you that would surprise everyone?
My grandpa started a compression and injection plastics molding company in 1955. I worked there for a time, and the company is still run by my uncle. It’s a small business, and one of the few companies of its kind in the US.
Thank you, Sarah, for sharing a bit about yourself with the rest of the division!
Department Updates
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Office of the Executive Vice President for Finance & Administration
Jason Dudich, who currently serves as interim associate vice president for University Budget and Planning, will assume the role of interim vice president and chief financial officer on July 1. EVPFA’s current EVP, Dwayne Pinkney, accepted the role of chief financial officer at the University of Pittsburgh. We wish EVP Pinkney well and good luck in his new role! Review this IU Today article to learn more about the transition.
Financial Training & Communication (ESTC)
Sarah Chavez continues to lead the training team along the path of excellence by providing project management advice, prioritization guidance, and copy editing on all resources the group publishes. The team continues to receive high praise from colleagues who use our resources and recognize the impact of our group’s transparency and customer service attitude.
Earlier this quarter, Juliet Roberts delivered a comprehensive travel training to a medical group in Indianapolis, the Regenstrief Institute. This summer, she’s working with Travel and Card Services to pilot a new payment method designed to reduce travelers’ out of pocket expenses. A small group of hand-selected testers will use this new payment method on trips during the summer and help shape the program with their feedback.
Angus Burke is developing training materials for several BUY.IU system updates that simplify the user experience surrounding suppliers and their profiles. These training resources and their associated system updates have already received lots of love!
Luc Sinex has been diligently converting all of Procurement’s web content to a new format to build out a brand new website from the ground up. This new website will be the launch pad for all of Procurement’s departments, including Purchasing, Supplier Diversity, Supplier Data Management, Accounts Payable, and Travel.
Office of the Treasurer
Insurance, Loss Control, and Claims (INLOCC)
As part of INLOCC’s professional development, each inspector holds membership with the Fire Inspectors Association of Indiana (FIAI). The mission of the FIAI is to provide educational and networking opportunities to its members so they may serve their communities with excellence and effectively advocate for public safety.
The 2024 FIAI Annual Conference was recently held, and recognition was given to those individuals who have excelled in their respective fields. During the awards banquet, INLOCC Inspector Amanda Owens was named as the Public Educator of the Year for the State of Indiana. This is a highly competitive process that is truly intended to showcase the best of the best. While we are extremely honored that the FIAI has recognized the efforts of one of our own, we are even more proud that we can work with such a talented and dedicated individual.
In addition to her normal Inspection duties, Amanda provided certified and non-certified training to 403 members of the IU community in 2023. A total of 248 hours of classroom training were provided at the INLOCC classroom and at IUPUI. This is in addition to the hundreds of extra hours spent scheduling, preparing, traveling, and documenting. Amanda’s devotion and her relentless pursuit of excellence is the driving force that allows her to be so effective in the classroom. Amanda absolutely has a gift for teaching, all who have attended one of her classes benefit greatly from her commitment. Her efforts combined with the efforts of INLOCC’s entire Loss Control division continue to have a significant impact on the overall safety of Indiana University.
INLOCC personnel led by Inspector Greg Jeffers spent three weeks in May conducting annual Fire Pump Testing for the IU Bloomington Campus. In all 51 fire pumps were tested to ensure compliance with the NFPA Standard for the Inspection, Testing and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems. The 2024 inspections were performed by 12 inspectors over the course of 215 hours. Additional testing is scheduled for the Indianapolis, Kokomo and Northwest campuses.
Annual fire pump tests are key to properly maintaining equipment and identifying deterioration of the pump or impairments to the water supply before they develop into bigger problems. Fire pumps are a vital part of fire sprinkler systems, driving the necessary pressure and volume to keep water flowing when it isn’t generated by the water supply. In such cases, sprinklers won’t function correctly without a pump—and the midst of a fire isn’t the time to figure out that your fire pump isn’t working properly! The fire pump flow test is a crucial annual requirement to ensure that the system works in a fire emergency.
The department of Insurance Loss Control and Claims has been conducting these annual tests for over 30 years.
Treasury Operations
David Newsom from Treasury Operations is retiring after 40 years at IU.
David was one of IU’s primary money movers. His responsibilities included moving funds to IU’s concentration banks and investment accounts, covering things like payroll, wires/ACHs, and travel reimbursements. All these tasks benefitted staff, faculty, and suppliers.
Additionally, David managed IU’s bank analysis fees and interacted with all our banking partners. He had almost daily contact with numerous departments and staff on all of IU’s campuses! David created and cultivated many long-lasting relationships here at IU. Through it all, he was always a cool cucumber and brought a joking manner that helped relieve stress across Treasury Operations.
David will be missed by all his IU friends and colleagues. We wish him the happiest of retirements! Happy Fishing, David.
University Bursar
University Bursar has started monthly training for bursar staff at all campuses. Training includes SIS tips & tricks, Nelnet demos, collection deep dives, Excel tips for bursar data, and more to come!
A continuous improvement project focused on the tuition appeal process is wrapping up. The review highlighted waste and rework that was adding time to the process. The proposed changes will improve the student experience and reduce administrative work.
IU Public Safety
It’s the time of year for swimming, boating and fishing. Enjoy water activities safely by keeping the following tips in mind to prevent drowning.
- Wear a Coast Guard-approved life jacket
- Never enter the water or operate watercraft while impaired by drugs or alcohol
- Always supervise children when they are in the water
- Swim in designated swimming areas
Find out more water safety tips from the American Red Cross.
Environmental Health & Safety
The Environmental Health and Safety team recently held a staff retreat at the Morgan-Monroe State Forest where they engaged in a service project to remove invasive species and clean up trash, efforts that promote clean air, water, and land resources and reflect the university’s mission to serve the state.
IU Police Department
The Threat Assessment Unit of IU Public Safety is expanding its capacity to assess and manage threats to the university. To support this initiative, Detective Chris Brummett has joined the IUPD as its Threat Assessment Detective. Chris brings a strong skill set to the role and his experience will be an added asset for the efforts of Threat Assessment Unit. The unit supports every IU campus to provide intervention and response for a report of any faculty, staff, student, or visitor exhibiting substantive threatening behavior toward others within the university environment. This collaborative team of representatives from campus offices will contribute crucial information about the person of concern, provide consultation, recommend action, coordinate resources, and develop specific strategies to minimize disruption and impact.
Congratulations to Detective Monica Burnell-Wise who retired from the IUPD after an incredible 35 years of service. We also thank Detective Russell Peper, who retired after 38 years of service and Chief Scott Dunning, who retired after nearly 30 years of service. Both Detective Peper and Chief Dunning served on the Indianapolis campus.
