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"The
men's dorms are a mess; no wonder they're half-empty."
"Why can't they finally get registration right?"
"I know that book is in the library; I've used it. But it's not
in the computer."
"Too many secretaries give us a hard time."
"AUB desperately needs a good faculty lounge with good food and
a good ambiance."
"How can one professor possibly advise 75 students?"
"Ordering equipment at AUB is a nightmare. If you need a computer
in a hurry, forget it! It'll take six months to a year, maybe more." "We
can never find our professors. They don't seem to want to talk to us."
The list
of complaints goes on and on, and surely readers could add many of their
own. Identifying trouble spots at AUB is easy. Isolating the problem areas,
setting priorities, and making appropriate changes present the real challenge.
Plans for overall improvement in services at AUB have been going
forward since late last summer, and the Service Quality Campaign itself
will begin this semester. Early in the fall, the Board of Deans approved
a task force consisting of Vice President for Finance John Bernson, Vice
President for Regional External Programs (REP) George Najjar, and Vice
President for Administration George Tomey.
The
committee described three pillars of support vital to AUB's mission: l)
academic and medical excellence, 2) service excellence, and 3) financial
strength. "Clearly," Bernson emphasized, "the three are interrelated.
Failure in one area endangers the other two."
The committee
made a set of recommendations which were approved by the Board of Deans:
1) design and delivery of a training program for every non-academic member
of the University, 2) re-engineering of key university procedures that
need improvement (e.g. registration, advising, and purchasing and procurement),
and 3) creation of a recognition and reward system for people who have
visibly contributed to improved service.
Who will implement the new initiative? Basically a combination
of outside consultants and AUB personnel. The University has appointed
a management consultant, Sam Thayer, as part-time project manager to spearhead
all sides of the service initiative. Work on re-engineering University
procedures will be the responsibility of AUB task forces.
Registration problems will be tackled this semester when representatives
of the "Banner" software program come to train local staff in a concerted
effort to eliminate the bugs which plagued the program in the fall semester,
and, to a lesser degree, in the spring.
Every single
member of the non-academic staff will be trained in the art of providing
quality services at all levels of the University community. For this purpose
a consulting company will be hired to train local trainers and set up
a training program. These consultants will help AUB benchmark front line
services for the two largest groups served by the University: students
and hospital patients.
Bernson sees the Service Quality Campaign as a long term commitment
to improve all University services. For too long students on campus have
been treated with "benign neglect," he said. "We are looking for continuous
improvement; we don't expect to achieve miracles overnight, but we do
intend to work steadily toward good service delivery."
35th
MEMA in May
The
XXXVth Middle East Medical assembly (MEMA), will take place between May
4-7, 2000. The event is organized by AUB and the Medical Chapter of the
AUB Alumni Association, in collaboration with the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
For Further Information please contact: 35th MEMA Chairman Dr. Samir
Alam, AUB, P.O. Box 11-236 Beirut, Lebanon. Tel: 961-1-350000/3404460
xt. 5420
Fax: 961-1-744464
E-mail: salam@aub.edu.lb
www.aub.edu.lb/ACTIVITIES/MEMA
Recent
Senate Activities Agenda for the
Meeting of February 25, 2000.
1. Approval of the minutes of the previous meeting.
2. Proposal of the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences (FAFS)
for an undergraduate program in Landscaping, already approved by the Committee
on Academic Affairs.
3. Proposal of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) for a Master's
Degree in Computer Science, already approved by the Board of Graduate
Studies.
After considerable discussion on the overlapping of offerings in
different faculties, the Senate approved both the above proposals, which
will first go to the Board of Deans and then to the Board of Trustees
for final approval.
4. Consideration of the University Calendar for the academic year
2000-2001. After minor emendations, the Calendar was approved as presented.
5. Other business.
The steering committee's proposals for revision of Senate by-laws
were distributed for consideration at the next Senate meeting.
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