Robert Nesmith
Institute Communications and Public Affairs
Some unfamiliar faces may greet faculty
in the Registrar’s
Office as a result of its recent reorganization.
After requesting an evaluation by the
Office of Organizational
Development in the spring, Registrar Reta Pikowsky
says OOD’s results—along with her own observations and
that of other consultants—resulted in the office’s recent
overhaul, which started Oct. 10.
“We asked for a complete assessment,
and they were very thorough,” Pikowsky said. “They did
some benchmarking, they looked at other institutions
and conducted interviews with other registrars. They
did some surveys, both internal and external, and one
of the things we were looking at was ‘what changes do
we need to make to become the resgistrar’s office of
the 21st century?’
“OOD also looked at other institutions—how
they are structured, what kinds of positions do they
have, what kinds of things are they doing in terms of
technology—and how this office will need to evolve to
meet future needs.”
The new groups, serving to make the
office more “customer-centric and not registrar officecentric,”
consist of technology, academic services, administration
and records, and athletic certification. Most immediately,
faculty members dealing with the Registrar’s Office
can expect some “new faces,” Pikowsky said.
“We will put on the Web site a list
of services we provide with names and contacts,” Pikowsky
said. “Obviously, as we implement new procedures and
new technologies, we’ll be working with the faculty
and talking with them. Things will primarily change
in how they are getting information to and from the
office.” Pikowsky says she hopes that within the next
six months faculty members will be able to change grades
through OSCAR.
A Web site redesign will be next, Pikowsky
says, since the present one supplies a lot of information
but “is not organized very well.” Future projects include
possibly integrating EasyREG, a registration-related
program favored by students, and degree-auditing software
to work together.
As a result of the reorganization,
the office altered some positions, and eliminated five
current employees (two additional positions were already
vacant). The search is on for seven new employees, with
the majority going to the technology and academic eligibility
groups. “This is pretty sophisticated stuff, so that
gets back to the technology area and the systems analyst
we’re trying to hire,” she said.
“It was a really difficult thing, but
you have to ask, ‘what are the organizational needs,
and what do we need to do,’” Pikowsky said about the
dismissals. “If you don’t have an area adequately staffed,
if you don’t have an area adequately focused, you run
a risk.” Pikowsky added other factors made the situation
even more difficult.
“Some misinformation has been circulating,
saying staff members were escorted out by police officers.
It’s simply not true. With guidance and assistance from
OHR, we handled
this in a very business-like manner, in the best way
we could.”
Pikowsky said the new structure will
be in place for a few years, evaluating services along
the way.
“We want a structure
and a view to the future that’s flexible, becoming an
adaptable organization, as new technologies come on
board,” she said. “If you make incremental adjustments,
you stay current, and it’s less disruptive over time.”
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