Two Administrative Improvement Award teams will receive supplemental funding from campus

Two teams have been chosen to receive funds that will support initiatives related to projects that won UW–Madison’s 2014 Administrative Improvement Awards.

These supplements are a new component of the Administrative Improvement Awards, which were launched in 2013 to recognize the essential role of administrative work and a culture of continuous improvement in the success of university missions. Team recipients of the 2014 awards were eligible to apply for supplemental investment funds.

“I congratulate and applaud the recipients of this supplemental award for their continuing commitment to administrative work that results in greater efficiency and improved service delivery,” says Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration Darrell Bazzell.

The teams that have received supplemental investments are:

• The Common Scholarship Application Team, which plans to expand the Common Scholarship Application (CSA) to support professional and graduate schools, in addition to undergraduate programs. CSA needs additional administrative capability to review many types of documents, such as letters of recommendation and college transcripts, when evaluating professional and graduate school applicants and making scholarship award decisions. Keith Brown from the Office of Student Financial Aid and Sandi Arendalkowski and Ed O’Connor-Giles from the Division of Information Technology are leading the team.
• The School of Social Work Form Data Process Improvement Team, which is developing a more efficient, accurate and secure process for social work students to complete various forms. This process will be more transparent and provide students with immediate confirmation that their forms have been successfully completed and submitted. It will also reduce the amount of time spent by staff to answer student questions. The team includes Professor Tracy Schroepfer, Bret Huisenga and Russell Portier from the School of Social Work, along with Ryan Engel and Sue Weier from Letters and Science Learning Support Services.

A campuswide call for nominations for the 2015 Administrative Improvement Awards will be issued in February. Winners will be recognized at a ceremony near the end of the 2014-15 academic year.