Annual Report 2010

Registrar’s Office Mission Statement:

The Office of the Registrar supports and sustains Dartmouth’s diverse academic community by providing academic services guided by the principles of respect, accuracy, confidentiality and efficiency.

This year was marked by budget cutbacks including reductions in force for Dartmouth College.  The Registrar’s Office participated by:

• Reducing its operating budget by 10% and by not using all the funds in its budget for the year.
• Reorganizing staff so that despite the unfortunate need for a layoff, and a budget-initiated retirement, total department compensation was reduced. A new structure was created which included positions central to the office mission and with skill sets required to implement new high priority initiatives.
• The Registrar submitted three revenue generating ideas, all of which were approved by the Trustee budget committee: an increase in the transfer term fee, the document fee, and the degree verify fee, generating increased annual revenue for the College of @ $250,000.

 

INSTITUTION-WIDE PROJECTS

• Thanksgiving-end calendar project – Registrar is the project lead, investigating the possibility of changing the fall term calendar to end the term by Thanksgiving break.
• HEOA Textbook law implementation – This new federal law required development of a tool for inputting the textbook information into Banner each term, and required extensive education and training of faculty and department administrators by the staff.
• ORC reduction in cost/print – saved @ $13,000 over the prior year and began preliminary investigations, including establishing a new sub-committee of the COI, for moving to an online ORC in future years.

• Banner 8 upgrade testing – very extensive due to major upgrade of the student system
• Re-engineering and documentation of office processes and procedures (i.e. process for building courses)
• Revision of transfer credit processes
• Requirements chart – outlining degree requirements in detail
• D-plan chart – outlining D-plan rules in detail
• Project to standardize abbreviations and course titles on transcripts
• Schema for reports designed to locate data more easily
• New process to check for any missing instructors
• Increased the number of reports run using Discoverer rather than True Basic/VMS
• Re-engineered entering transfer student process
• Re-engineered multiple processes to improve efficiency and delivery of service

• Unofficial transcripts made available online to all undergraduates
• Viewing of citations made available online to all undergraduates who have received them
• Automated the 2/4 course load notification for students not in compliance with faculty policy
• Improved the online degree audit tool
• Created a website with information on transfer terms
• Began holding transfer term information sessions periodically
• Degree Works research, purchase and first steps towards implementation
• Registrar’s Office website redesign to improve information and navigation– launch expected by fall 2010
• Moving towards more of a ‘one-stop” service model to better address student needs

 

• Implemented online grading for faculty; @ 60% of grades entered online as of spring term
  • Added new feature – grade entry report and confirmation
  • Citations entered online
  • Failure reports entered online
• Course assessment tweaks
• Course election research and partnering with Computing to begin implementation of an improved system with the features faculty require including new functionality (i.e. prerequisite checking)
• Development and distribution of curricular guidelines chart
• Extensive support for HEA Textbook Law requirement

 

• Hired 3 student workers. Despite some initial hesitation about introducing student workers to the office, they have become an integral part of the team. They are now greatly appreciated by staff, and their presence improves student/staff relationships while helping to complete needed tasks.
• Successfully re-established a positive and energized office atmosphere after the departure of a disgruntled employee who disrupted the work environment with negativity.
• Reorganization has resulted in a stronger organizational structure that will better support the needs of the Dartmouth Community and the operations of a modern-day Registrar’s office. New hires include:
  • Associate Registrar for Technology
  • Graduation and Technical Analyst
  • Assistant Registrar for Systems
  • Service Specialist (pending)
  • Promotion of Senior Service Specialist
  • Reorganization of responsibilities – Assistant Registrar for Operations

 

• New England Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers 62nd Annual Meeting (NEACRAO), Portland, ME. Registrar, presenter. Also attended by Associate and Assistant Registrar.
• American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers 96th Annual Meeting (AACRAO), New Orleans, LA. Registrar, presenter. Also attended by Assistant Registrar.
• SunGard Summit, San Francisco, CA. Associate Registrars attended.
• Ivy Registrars Meeting (by phone this year due to budget constraints).
• Hosted two meetings/trainings with Department/Program Administrators in August and February.
• New England Banner Users Group, University of New Hampshire. Associate Registrar attended.
• MEAD seminar, Dartmouth College. Assistant Registrar attended.

 

The Registrar continued work on multiple committees which include:

• Committee of Chairs
• Committee on Instruction
• COI sub-committee on course Publications (also Assistant Registrar)
• Committee on Withdrawals
• Enrollment Committee (also Associate Registrar for Research)
• Campus Planning Committee
• Classroom Subcommittee
• Student System Oversight Committee - Chair
• Dartmouth Information Security Council – Arts and Sciences Division Representative
• Enterprise Systems Committee
• Dartmouth Registrars - Chair
• Accreditation Committee
• Calendar Committee
• Committee on Off-Campus Activities
• Language Waiver Committee
• Associate Registrars - Dartmouth Student System Advisory Committee

 

GOALS FOR 2010-2011

Technical Project Goals

• Implement DegreeWorks software program to provide online ability to declare majors, measure degree progress and plan curriculum (requested by faculty and student assembly). Implement in phases, beginning with general education requirements, then with a few departments before entire College.
• Implement new course election system, starting with spring term 2011.
• Allow students to change D-plans online, rather than in-person in the Registrar’s Office. (Build in rules.)
• Assist Dean of Faculty Office with Tenure Name project.
• Work with other departments and schools on “cancelling enrollment” project.
• Work with Dean of College Office on credits and exemptions re-write.
• Work with COI on the development of an electronic course approval routing system for faculty to use when proposing new courses.
• Redesign ORC so that it can eventually be an online (only) document.

 

Operational Goals

• Improve staff knowledge of Banner and train new staff on Dartmouth practices.
• Develop expert customer service skills and establish "one-stop" model.
• Continue process re-engineering and streamlining services.
• Strengthen team approach toward work while maintaining positive morale.
• Keep the focus on the core mission of the department so that essential functions perform effectively and support the College.
• Look towards the future so that the Registrar’s Office staff and its systems stay current.
• Continue to support the Dean of Faculty including the transition to a new Dean.
• Develop processes to improve accuracy, documentation, and cross-training of staff.
• Assume the tasks appropriate to the Registrar’s Office that come as a result of the dismantling of the First Year Office.

 

Selected Data on our Operations:

This year the Registrar's Office Staff:

• Processed 17,425 official transcripts from Banner (plus several thousand more from pre-Banner records)
  • Prior year – 19,519 (11% drop attributed to implementation of unofficial transcripts halfway through year).
• Produced approximately 4,000 "non-transcripts" per term
  • Prior year the same amount, except this year all non-transcripts were delivered electronically rather than by paper to Departments/Programs.
• Entered 3,292 D-Plan term changes
  • Prior year - 2,730 (17% increase; reason unknown.)
• Entered 17,335 grades
  • Grading detail:
    • Summer 09
    • Online: 1720 (49%)
    • Office: 1789
    • Fall 09
    • Online: 7573 (56.5%)
    • Office: 5823
    • Winter 10
    • Online: 6610 (57%)
    • Office: 5007
    • Spring 10
    • Online: 7418 (61%)
    • Office: 4716
  • Prior year – entered 38,870 grades; 50% reduction in office workload around grade entry in the first year of online grading
• Processed 6,196 in-office registration actions (e.g. add/drop)
  • Prior year –5,441 (12% increase; up from 3,184 in 2007 – 49% increase in 2 years! – reason unknown )
• Scheduled 2,085 courses:
  • Prior year - scheduled 2,080 courses
• Reviewed and processed 994 student petitions to the Registrar
  • Prior year - 1,027 (3% decrease)
• Processed degree and enrollment verifications for 1,549 students
  • Prior year - 1,385 (11% increase)
• Held 21 transfer term information sessions
  • New this year; note new format of streamlined service delivery had no impact on level of participation
• Supported students studying away on non-Dartmouth programs by processing 321 transfer term applications, 39 were for Exchange programs
  • Prior year – 325 applications for non-Dartmouth programs; 39 were for Exchange programs
• Certified 27 Veterans
  • Prior year – 42 Veterans (36% decrease; impacted by transition of task to Tuck and DMS Registrars who now certify their own students. Processing time spent has increased, however due to participation in Yellow Ribbon Program and complex changes in Veteran’s Benefits Laws.)
• Processed 804 citations
  • Prior year - Processed 622 citations: (24% increase; note, however, that the trend for citations overall has been decreasing slightly over a 12 year period, with a high in 2007 of 883/yr. and a 12 year average of 776/yr.)