Administrative Modernization Campus Update

The Faculty Working Group on Administrative Service Improvement formed subgroups to advise on administrative rules, policies, and practices identified by faculty as potential hindrances to academic efforts. The three subgroups for this year discussed Institutional Review Boards, appointments and promotions, and research services. Information on members and subgroup focus areas can be found here. The Working Group will continue to explore these and additional services next year – ideas can be submitted at any time through this form.

The University has been working to simplify and improve administrative processes. As a part of that effort, the Shared Services Office opened last August. Since then, the office has processed more than 250,000 requests across all of its related systems, using a tiered model to provide support for this high volume. A major advance with improved processes and systems is the ability to track and evaluate administrative work more effectively. We appreciate faculty and staff feedback, both positive and critical, and are using it to inform ongoing improvements.

To better streamline some of our most-used technologies, the University has moved forward with a set of major system updates. In particular, the UChicago Jobs portal was decommissioned and all new staff hiring is now accomplished through Workday Recruiting. Since this change went into effect in December, it has taken 35 fewer days on average to fill open staff positions. Starting July 1, UChicago Time will also be retired, and time tracking and attendance will move to Workday as well. Information on this upcoming change can be found here.