Banner initiatives aimed at improving efficiency of campus processes

A handful of Banner initiatives, all aimed at improving the way things are done on campus by better leveraging Western's financial systems, are under way.

As part of the Business Services Process Review project, Western will purchase SunGard’s web-based Travel & Expense Management software to automate and streamline many of the current labor-intensive travel authorization and expense reimbursement processes. The web-based application will allow the university to automate the travel authorization form and the expense reporting and reimbursement process. Pre-set approval routing and imaging of the supporting documents will eliminate most of the paper being passed around the campus. Fully integrated per diem calculations, advances, encumber of funds and expense reimbursements will minimize duplication of data entry, possible human errors, more accurate monitoring of budget and timely expense reimbursements to travelers. The actual implementation timeline has not been established, but team members are working with IT staff in installation of TEM, and Western's Business Services director and Travel Desk superior are actively looking into resources to form the implementation team.

The Time and Effort Certification project, aimed at bringing Western into compliance with the effort reporting on awarded grants, also has made progress. The team, comprising folks from Research and Sponsored Programs, Human Resources, ADMCS and Accounting Services, is exploring the new functions and processes of Banner's web-based Effort Certification piece. The team will continue to design the future process, configure the system and perform testing through the end of May.

Two other projects have come to a successful close. One, the 1098-T Online and Electronic Opt-In project, allows students to choose to go paperless with their 1098-T tax forms. To date, approximately 1,500 students have elected to “go green,” resulting in greater convenience for students and their parents and saving the university money in paper, postage and supplies. More information on 1098-Ts and the electronic opt-in process is available on the Student Financial Services website.

The Automation of Accounting JVs project has been well-received by campus users. In recent months, the project team has held 10 hour-long information sessions and seven two-hour hands-on classes for entering Accounting JVs using the new process. The team continues to hold one-on-one training upon request; anyone interested in receiving such training should contact Mike Ulrich at michael.ulrich@wwu.edu. The automation of Accounting JVs allows users to directly input their journal vouchers into Banner, eliminating duplicate data entry effort and minimizing data entry errors. Supporting documents are now being scanned into Nolij, Western's document management system, saving paper and time. The previous practice involved printing additional copies for backup and sending them from various campus sources to Accounting Services through university mail. This new process also will benefit future audits, as all documents are now available online.

Two new projects have also come online this month. The Automation of the Student Refund Process project is aimed at further automating the student refunding process as well as reviewing and editing policies that affect that process in order to improve service to students and operate more efficiently. The second new project is the Loans & Collections Process Review, the goal of which is to review end-to-end loans and collection processes within the Loans and Collection Department and to provide recommendations to reduce redundancies and streamline the process.

For more information regarding Banner Initiatives projects, please contact Wanna VanCuren at wanna.vancuren@wwu.edu.