by Scott TerMeer, Associate Registrar, Michigan State University
Jack Miner, Director of Operations for the University Registrar at The Ohio State University (OSU), provided a success story for engaging in efforts to solve highly complex and political campus issues in his presentation on "Using Data to Develop a Strategic Plan for Classroom Supply and Management". His Monday 8:00AM session at the AACRAO Technology and Transfer Conference 2014 was well-attended by engaged participants.
Minor began by sharing the foundational elements established at OSU to navigate the changes in culture and thinking that were necessary for the transformation of room usage. A committee was created, a strategic plan crafted, and communications concerning the value proposition and budget begun. Every successful project leverages lucky "breaks." The OSU team aligned their strategic goals with a handful of other initiatives and opportunities occurring on campus during this time to take full advantage.
Building support for the strategy
As the presentation continued, the audience was offered the key challenges and goals of room-usage changes. The committee worked through funding challenges, issues with Friday and morning scheduling, room bottlenecks, and changing teaching environment demands to name a few. Successful solutions to these challenges came in the form of building trust with various stakeholders. The combination of the strategic plan and data to support it was a key success factor in building the trust necessary.
Application at your institution
The cost savings and improvements to the teaching environment at OSU presented were motivating. Understanding that each of our institutions have their own set of challenges and politics based on our size and type, Minor provided a framework for working through complex challenges using strategy and data. In my opinion, this presentation was not only applicable to classroom usage improvements but to many complex issues that we face on our campuses today.