Systems & Operations · Master Plan

Coordinating systems, services, data, workflows, and people.

Purpose — To oversee the student and employee experience so that operational units achieve institutional effectiveness through Christ-centered teams who are skilled, knowledgeable, and aligned with the mission and values of the organization. Every unit works from one alignment: services, data, workflow, standards, policy, and technology.

Key partners IT·Institutional Effectiveness·Institutional Research·Safety & Risk Management (Compliance / Facility)
Guiding principles
User-centered design for students & employees
Integrated systems and data lifecycle ownership
Cross-functional collaboration
Alignment of policy, process, and technology
Continuous improvement through data
See the plan

Four pillars, one purpose.

The plan radiates from a single purpose into four working pillars. Click any pillar in the wheel to open its framework, current goal, and 2026 progress — or scroll down to read every pillar in full.

PURPOSE seamless · Christ-centered One-Stop Services 1.1 Lifecycle Integration 1.2 Systems & Technology 1.3 Governance & Structure 1.4
Read the plan

The full master plan, pillar by pillar.

Everything in the diagram above, in complete written form — including the original framework and the June 2026 progress update.

1.1

One-Stop Services

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Experiential lens: in‑person · virtual · phone · email — built around a centralized hub.
Goal: consistent, high-quality service across every touchpoint.

Establish customer service standards

  • Standards across all avenues of interaction (in-person, virtual, phone, email)
  • Comprehensive services & resources directory / guide
  • Customer Service Taskforce initiative

Training

  • Baseline training for all operational units on student services
  • Cross-training between operational units and mentoring opportunities
  • Documentation Initiative initiative

In-person service models

  • Revamp orientation to expand in-person to virtual options
  • First-Stop Checklist (SEC project) initiative
  • Benchmarking against peer institutions' in-person service models

Virtual service models

  • Portal for students, staff & faculty (current IOC project)
  • Roadmap and implementation plan for Banner Self-Service
  • Review of website content across operational units
  • Exploration of AI / chatbot tools
1.2

Student & Employee Lifecycle Integration

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Focus: data and workflow — seamless coordination from onboarding through offboarding.
Goal: seamless, efficient, and transparent student & employee journeys.

Data governance

  • Work toward an integrated, optimized data governance maturity model
  • Standards & process committee
  • Centralized routing for process-improvement ideas, across the full data life cycle

Process standards → full automation

  • Knowledgebase and process library / repository initiative
  • Ticketing system / dashboard of tasks
  • Process survey and checklist exploration
  • Documentation Initiative initiative

Employee journey

  • Review and update employee onboarding through offboarding

Student journey

  • First-Year Experience & orientation (Undergraduate Dean)
  • Focused review for key populations: guest student registration (current IOC project), transfer students
  • Coordinated academic support across all levels and audiences
  • Feedback tools: exit interviews and surveys
June 2026 update
1.3

Systems & Technology

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Focus: technology and models working in tandem with operations.
Goal: increased efficiency and student access to services.

Standardized models

  • Models flexible enough to serve diverse student populations
  • Flexibility taskforce & student revamp (current IOC project)
  • Tuition standardization (current IOC project)
  • Electronic record retention (current IOC project)
  • Strategic / operational plan initiative

Technology & tools

  • Centralized scheduling — Course Dog (current IOC project)
  • Document management (current IOC project)
  • Attendance (current AOC project)
  • Anthology — assessment, co-curricular, career, retention (current AOC project)
  • Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
  • Workflow automation; prioritization & project-tracking tools
June 2026 update
  • AY 2025–2026 IOC project list spans 18 multi-year projects across system updates, policy/process, and communication/training
  • System updates & integration in progress: CRM implementation, Course Dog implementation (Academic Operations), CMMS implementation (Maintenance Management)
  • Full project list tracked in IOC Priorities.xlsx
1.4

Governance & Structure

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Focus: roles, policies, and committees.
Goal: clear accountability and coordinated decision-making.

Committees & roles

  • Review committee participation; streamline into a committee tree
  • Review job titles and descriptions; incorporate functional roles to clarify skillset, committee participation, and access to resources

Policy & process

  • Create a policy library
  • Create a framework for process management
June 2026 update
  • Committee — reviewed and updated terms of reference for administrative committees and subcommittees (4 pending review)
  • Policy — completed updates to 9 academic policy areas under the 2026–2027 Policy Implementation plan; active working groups on academic scheduling, advising, and faculty workload implementation
  • Operational effectiveness — process documentation training delivered across divisions (Faculty & Staff Institute, NEOED, Show & Tell Workshop, and division meetings on AI tools); role definitions clarified for Enrollment and Academic functions (CRM Governance: SMEs, Business Analysts, Communication; Academic Integration: Chairs, Program Area Directors, Administrative Assistants)
  • Process — guideline documents for Administration (Executive Council) and the Program & Course Development Guide (PDRC); checklists for certificate creation, program discontinuation, and tours
Where Systems & Operations shows up institution-wide

The Organizational Development Areas.

The four pillars describe what Systems & Operations does. The Organizational Development Areas (ODA) describe where that work touches the rest of the institution — nine areas that apply across every unit, from Institutional Culture to Academic Affairs. Systems & Operations leads three of them outright, co-leads a fourth, and supports the remaining five.

Organizational Development Areas diagram (Visme) Original ODA diagram — click to open full view ↗
Systems & Operations leads Systems & Operations co-leads Systems & Operations supports
SYSTEMS & OPERATIONS Institutional Culture Student Success & Experience Talent & Human Capital Finance & Resource Stewardship Operations & Infrastructure Strategic Planning, Assessment & Effectiveness Governance, Policy & Compliance External Engagement, Advancement & Communications Academic Affairs
Leads

Operations & Infrastructure

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Lead: Systems & Operations

Campus expectations

  • Documentation and available tools, systems, and resources
  • Best practices, compliance, and regulations
  • Process maps for major functions; training guides and procedure manuals
  • Committee responsibilities; work cycles, calendar, and deadlines
  • Task prioritization, service standards, exceptions management, project management

Functional roles

  • Committee: chair, vice-chair/co-chair, secretary, member
  • Data governance: trustee, steward, custodian, consumer, supplier, guardian
  • Archives: record management; Process: process owner, process user
  • Project: sponsor, lead, tech lead, functional lead, finance, analyst, project manager
  • Event management (centralized scheduling)
Deliverables: policy framework · committee framework · process documentation resource bank
Leads

Governance, Policy & Compliance

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Lead: Systems & Operations

Campus expectations

  • Cyclical review of policy

Functional roles

  • Policy owner (committees)
  • Responsible university administrator
  • Policy contact
Leads

Strategic Planning, Assessment & Effectiveness

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Lead: Systems & Operations / Assessment, together with the President on strategic planning

Campus expectations

  • Checks and balances (audit reports); productivity goals and KPIs
  • Utilization of software and systems; troubleshooting
  • Feedback from constituents (surveys, focus groups); informing policy changes
  • Mission/vision alignment, process and employee review, SWOT analysis
  • Operational plan and visioning: maintenance, growth, transformation

Functional roles

  • Strategic initiative lead
  • Master planner
  • Operational planner
Deliverable: the strategic plan itself
Co-leads

External Engagement, Advancement & Communications

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Lead: Systems & Operations / University Communication, together with Advancement, Enrollment, and Student Life

Campus expectations

  • Communication guidelines, timelines, and change notices; reporting; communication plans

External connection

  • Relationship management, engagement, and service

Functional roles

  • Marketing/advertising; social media (institution-wide and departmental)
  • Recruiting; website CMS; email templates and listservs
  • Event management — e.g. AcroFest, SciFest, Pathfinders
Supports

Institutional Culture

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Lead: President / Mission & Culture

Campus expectations

  • Mission and spiritual identity, values, ethics
  • Customer service standards

Functional roles

  • Tiered customer service: front office staff, front office manager
Supports

Student Success & Experience

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Lead: Academic / Enrollment / Student Life

Campus expectations

  • Recruiting and support for prospective students
  • Advising, mentoring, and support services for students
  • Supporting student workers; campus safety

Functional roles

  • Advisors: professional, staff, faculty; program director, chair, dean
  • Admissions, ISS, Student Success, SFS
  • Counseling & Testing Center, Center for Faith Engagement, Campus Safety
Deliverable: the Advisor Handbook
Supports

Talent & Human Capital

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Lead: Human Resources

Campus expectations

  • Recruiting and retaining talent; supervisory leadership and standards
  • Job descriptions and qualifications; reasonable workload distribution
  • Coaching, mentoring, professional development; 360 feedback

Functional roles

  • Supervisor, manager, director, department head, vice-president
  • Academic: program director, chair, dean
Deliverables: Gallup engagement data · performance evaluations
Supports

Finance & Resource Stewardship

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Lead: Financial Administration

Campus expectations

  • Financial, facility, and equipment stewardship

Functional roles

  • Budget manager, authorized approver/supervisor, collections
  • Purchasing: credit card, purchase order, one-card, local purchasing
  • Facilities: building manager, camera/card access
Supports

Academic Affairs

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Lead: Academic

Functional roles

  • Teaching: associate professor, assistant professor, lecturer, adjunct
  • Research
Plan history
Mar 2021

Plan established

Original Systems & Operations master/operational plan drafted.

Jan 2025

Framework updated

Four pillars, guiding principles, and initiative detail refreshed.

Jun 2026

Progress update

Committee, policy, process, and technology milestones logged against each pillar.

Ongoing

Tracked live

Full status tracked on the Strategic Plan Tracking & Dashboard.