When an IPSR Associate Director, Jena raised concerns about the course release approval process, she highlighted a challenge that many departments were experiencing. Requests often required lengthy email chains between faculty, department chairs, dean's offices, and administrative staff, with inconsistent workflows and limited visibility into where approvals stood.
Rather than accepting the inefficiency, Jena brought forward an idea to create a more standardized and transparent process. Working collaboratively with budget officers, research support staff, and TeamDynamix administrators, the group mapped the existing workflow and designed a solution that would work across units.
The result is a new TeamDynamix request form and automated workflow that routes approvals, sends notifications and reminders, tracks progress, and provides visibility to those involved. By moving the process out of individual inboxes and into a shared system, the team created a more reliable, consistent, and user-friendly experience.
This improvement demonstrates how one person's idea, combined with strong cross-campus collaboration, can lead to meaningful operational change that benefits faculty and staff alike.
Fellow Change Agents:
- Jena Gunter
- Mark Reynolds
- Jessica Johnson Webb
- Heather Abernathy
- Elise Waldron
- Lorna Vazquez
- Derrick Seaton
- Rachel Fehr
Impact of idea:
- Releases will be processed faster with fewer delays
- Releases will have a validated and auditable workflow approval process
- Staff will know at any point where the request is and who is responsible for the next workflow step
- Increased transparency for all involved in the request
