Sincerely,

Tracy Filosa

    For most of my professional life in higher education I have been a "Central Person." I worked for the VP, not the Dean. I met with the schools for their input, but I only visited. I never stayed. More recently I've gone "out there" and stayed for a while, supporting the work of a university department: preparing budget revisions, a three-year budget submission, year-to- date financial reports and year-end financial projections. I've been maintaining files that track each employee's status, compensation and office space, reviewing reports of specific purchases and submitting journal entries to correct charges to incorrect chart of account codes. I've been meeting Central's deadlines, answering Central's questions and asking Central for resources. Having worked on both sides, I see how they can learn from and support each other.

What Schools and Units Can Learn from Central

Context without lengthy explanation
Departmental administrators are required to put financial information in specific formats, meet deadlines and comply with rules that they don't fully understand. One of the blessings of working in a school or unit is that an administrator does not need to be well-versed in accounting standards, federal compliance and the meeting minutes of every Board of Trustees meeting, but some of the information that flows through Central is helpful to the departments. Relevant explanations about how departmental submissions roll up to a bigger picture in university proposals and reports can make the work of the administrator more meaningful to perform and receive.

Bringing departments together
Departments realize that they are one component of the university, but they do not have the same perspective as Central administrators who see how they fit in relation to other units and institution-wide goals. By bringing together administrators across departments to discuss common requirements and issues, Central can offer a different perspective, efficiently disseminate valuable information and provide a forum to share ideas.

Tricks of the trade
Central administrators design and develop policies, processes and tools to manage the institution. They focus on this information daily and are the first ones to know about new requirements, and technology improvements. Sharing tricks of the trade, such as spreadsheet techniques, queries and reference resources, with departmental users is a win-win: departments deliver accurate information to Central on time and are less frustrated by the process.

What Central Can Learn from Schools and Units

One report does not fit all
Most universities have made tremendous strides in delivering useful, electronic financial and management reports. The implementation of new technology has made reporting more accessible, frequent and flexible. But in a diverse institution, no one report meets all the diverse management needs. Certain departments may need custom queries or reports that support their specific structure and operations. By providing the most appropriate data, Central can support effective management and analysis of departmental business.

Many hats
Everyone at a university is busy, juggling multiple responsibilities. Nowhere is this more evident than in an academic department. Administrators manage the diverse needs of students, researchers, faculty, alumni and central administration. Departments deliver direct service to all of the constituents of the university and can often provide critical frontline information to central administration.

TAF CONSULTING works with administrative leaders at colleges, universities and independent schools to deliver essential business analysis and training to stakeholders.

TAF participates in a range of business projects at schools including: organizational planning, issues briefings to chief executives and trustees, financial and management reporting, administrative system implementations, policy and procedure documentation and faculty and staff training.

Learn more about TAF Consulting »