Ron Chrysler Painful Lessons from Concordia New Certificate

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Ron Chrysler
Steady Hand
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Painful Lessons from
Concordia
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Why the University of
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A D V E R T I S I N G / A D M I N I S T R A T I O N
•
5 Director's Message/Message mi directeur
Fine sailing ahead for the good ship C A U B O . . . by Ken Clements
Dans le sillage de la conference de St. Jean...par by Ken Clements
6 News & Views
Live now for tomorrow...OCUA reviews funding...Dalhousie tops
endowments list...CAUBO conference quotes...and more
a t u r e s
10 Striving for total quality management
C A U B O ' s new president, Ron Chrysler of Laurentian University, is known
for his pragmatism and reliable instincts ... by Jo Anne Sommers
15 Retour a ses cahiers
L ' U n i v e r s i t e d e Montreal profite d e la m i s e en place d ' u n e nouvelle
plate-forme informatique pour reamenager ses processus
administratifs... p a r L o u i s e A . L e g a u l t
17 Re-engineering Success Story
Here's h o w the University of Montreal is benefitting from re-engineering...
by Louise A. Legault
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19 The Cost of Doing Nothing
Ignited by John C o w a n ' s controversial report, administrators offer feedback
on the Concordia University tragedy... by Jo Anne Sommers
26 Back to School for Managers
C A U B O and C H E R D unveil a brand new certificate program designed for
administrators of universities and colleges... by Stephanie Gapinski
U N I V E R S I T Y
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The Good Ship
lodes voiles
CAUBO
Dehors
Canadian Association oi
University Business Officers
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
RON CHRYSLER
President
Laurentian University
(70S) 675-1 151 Fax 673-6519
Riding the educational waves of the
Dans le sillage de la conference de
St. John's conference... by Ken Clements
St. Jean...w KM Clements
Navigating Rough Waters proved to be an apt
Le theme de la 51e assemblee annuelle de
Past President
The University of Manitoba
(204)474-9777 Fax 261-1318
theme for CAUBO's 51st annual conference
F A C P A U a St. Jean n'aurait pas pu etre
DEXTER KAULBACH
in St. John's. Not only did the event tackle
mieux choisi. La conference a fouille tous
topics from all points of the compass, but it
les horizons et a permis aux nombreux par-
also showcased the good ship C A U B O ' s
ticipants de constater que l ' A C P A U a su
ability to help m e m b e r institutions keep
maintenir le cap dans la tourmente.
afloat in the current stormy weather.
TERRY FALCONER
Le programme, habilement dirige par le
First h o s t - m a t e Trudy P o u n d - C u r t i s ,
second Trudy Pound-Curtis, verificateur a
comptroller at Memorial University, boldly
l'Universite Memorial, a guide les delegues
Vice President
Technical University of Nova Scotia
(902) 420-7751 Fax 429-301 I
CAROLE LANGLOLS
Secretary-Treasurer
Universite de Sherbrooke
(819)821-7370 Fax 821-7882
KENNETH CLEMENTS
Executive Director,
CAUBO
(613)563-1236 Fax 563-7739
steered delegates into the new waves of re-
dans les eaux tumultueuses de la reingenerie,
engineering, benchmarking, group buying
du benchmarking, des achats de groupe et
Lois DYER-MANN
Mount Saint Vincent University
(902) 457-6162 Fax 457-0579
opportunities and GST changes.
des modifications a la TPS.
GLENN HARRIS
Keynote speakers such as John Crosbie,
Les conferenciers comme John Crosbie,
new chancellor of the host university, dished
recemment nomme recteur de l'universite
up some wit and wisdom to the record boat-
hote, ont deride et etonne 1'equipage de 341
load of 341 participants.
participants.
University of Alberta
(403)492-5354 Fax 492-1439
FLORENCE JUNCA-ADENOT
Universite du Quebec a Montreal
(514)987-3092 Fax 987-6623
SHARON MACFARLANE
The President's Dinner provided an oppor-
Le diner du president a permis de rendre
tunity to salute the steady leadership of out-
hommage au leadership du president sortant,
Mount Allison University
(506)364-2630 Fax 364-2216
going captain Terry Falconer of the University
le capitaine Terry Falconer de l'Universite du
JACQUES SAMSON
of Manitoba, enjoy some hearty grub, a dance
M a n i t o b a , de faire r i p a i l l e , d ' e s q u i s s e r
Universite Laval
(418)656-5945 Fax 656-2281
or two and relay the odd fish story. The one
quelques pas sur le pont et d'echanger des
unfortunate incident was the need to replace
histoires de p e c h e . Une seule o m b r e au
able seaman Maurice Cohen due to his resigna-
tableau: avant de lever l'ancre, nous avons du
tion from Concordia University. However, a
remplacer Maurice Cohen, qui a quitte son
full crew is now in place with Ron Chrysler of
poste a l'Universite Concordia. L'equipage
York University
(416)736-5514 Fax 736-5815
Laurentian University taking the helm.
est maintenant complet cependant avec Ron
CAROLE WORKMAN
Chrysler a la barre.
University of Ottawa
(613)564-5080 Fax 564-5829
Hull, Quebec, next year's landing place, is
already planning pre-conference sessions to
L'assemblee annuelle fera escale a Hull,
explore investment management and new con-
Quebec, du 17 au 20 juin 1995. Des sessions
cepts in leadership and organizational effec-
p r e - c o n f e r e n c e e x p l o r e r o n t des sujets
tiveness. Do come on board in '95!
comme la gestion des placements et de nou-
Back on dry land, readers will find out
more about our new president Ron Chrysler
veaux concepts de leadership et d'efficacite.
TERRY SUMNER
The University of British Columbia
(604)822-4800 Fax 822-2417
CHRIS TORRES
C A U B O COMM0TTE00 CHAORS
Administrative & Support Services
DEXTER KAULBACH
(902) 420-7751 Fax 429-3011
Financial Reporting
CHRIS TORRES
(416)736-5514 Fax 736-5815
Soyez des notre en 95!
Human Resources
on page 10. As well, Jo Anne S o m m e r s
De retour sur le plancher des vaches, nos
explores reaction to the Cowan Report on the
lecteurs rencontreront le nouveau president de
Concordia tragedy, and looks at the com-
l'ACPAU, Ron Chrysler, en page 10. Jo Anne
KEN BRODIE
plexity of changing the system to ensure
Sommers explore pour sa part les reactions
Queen's University
(613)545-6400 Fax 545-2827
GLENN HARRIS
(403)492-5354 492-1439
Taxes
such a horrific event never happens again.
suite au rapport Cowan sur les evenements qui
Treasury
For those who long for the sea, there are also
ont secoue Concordia et la complexite des
BYRON BRAI.EV
plenty of "kissing cod" pictures and other
changements requis afin de s'assurer qu'un tel
shots of the St. John's conference.
evenement ne se reproduise. •
•
U
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The University of British Columbia
(604)822-2292 Fax 822-2417
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Live Now for Tomorrow
As Dr. Robert Moore advises,
"Live in the future as if it's the present." Speaking at CAUBO's confer-
In-betweenity comes from the evolution of ideas, which form paradigms, or
ble, what's not, what's trivial, what's cru-
Development Agency, told
cial." Western thought has moved from
delegates that people today
the scientific to the industrial revolution,
are living in a state of "in-
and has detached itself from nature. Now,
betweenity," or between
with the end of the Cold War, and a shift
paradigms, and have the
away from the "doctrine of Inevitable
power to influence the
Progress in which pace would take the
emerging future.
place of conflict," everyone is anticipating
Dr. Moore calls his
the birth of a new paradigm. Now, he
multi-genetic back-
says, nature is viewed as a living organ-
ground
"cosmic
ism and forming a part of the web. Syn-
cocktail," part East
t h e s i s is as i m p o r t a n t as a n a l y s i s ,
a
Indian, part African,
imagination must be the impetus to ensure
part Aboriginal, part
the ennui of teens and twenty-somethings
Irish and Scottish.
CA« B °
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And so, to rise up from in-betweeni-
nation state, he
ty requires imagination, M o o r e says.
says, may be "too
Officers should do as Ghandi did: let
small to handle
their vision of the future, based on their
problems,
value systems, guide their behaviour in
but too large to
the present. " G h a n d i pictured a new
handle
small
India, and o p e r a t e d on a reality that
problems." In-
w a s n ' t yet in existence. All the great
betweenity may either
ones let the future influence their behav-
freeze all action, or lead to
iour in the present, rather than let the
Moore's contention that "All things (from
M
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gives way to enthusiasm.
Canada, as a
big
HeW*—"*
"ways of seeing the world; what's possi-
International
Canadian
e
which we live) are connected into a web."
ence in St. John's, the Guyanese-born
senior policy advisor to The
c0 „le*e««
the air we breathe to the paradigms in
present create the future."
mss.
OCUA Reviews Funding
In response to the mounting presssures facing universities throughtout the province, the Toronto-based Ontario
Council on University Affairs (OCUA) has undertaken
the first comprehensive review of funding issues in
more than a decade.
OCUA is studying how the funding system can
best respond to the challenges of declining resources
and increased demand, says chair Joy Cohnstaedt. "Can the
existing system meet these challenges or does it have to be
fundamentally changed?"
In the discussion paper "Sustaining Quality in
Changing Times: Funding Ontario Universities," the
council proposes three funding models for consideration. Two are modifications to the existing system; the
third proposes a new system that would see universities contract with government for specific services and
levels of performance in exchange for public funding.
"The funding models are not meant to be prescriptive, but rather examples of some of the possible alternatives," explains Cohnstaedt.
O C U A will also be e x a m i n i n g r e l a t e d i s s u e s ,
including accessibility, greater emphasis on under
graduate teaching and the transfer of credits among
universities and between universities and colleges.
The discussion paper, and a number of background and
technical papers, will be provided to university, business,
labour and community groups prior to a series of hearings
this fall. Ontario's Minister of Education and Training,
David Cooke, is scheduled to receive OCUA's final advice
on the matter by the end of 1994.
~by Jo Anne Sommers
MT Associates
MTA
your success determines ours.
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(604) 661-9555 (Vancouver)
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Letter to the Editor
Dalhousie Tops University
Endowment List
I've just finished reading the Spring, 1994, edition of University
Manager
and, as usual, found a number of items of interest. The article on endowment portfolios, "Exploring New Frontiers," by Byron Braley, chair of
C A U B O ' s Treasury Committee, was of particular interest and hopefully
will become an annual feature.
That article contained a table on the top of page 17 which listed the top
10 universities in Canada in terms of endowment assets and also showed
the assets held per full-time equivalent student (FTE). It appears that an
author's glitch occurred here with respect to the enrollment numbers for
Queen's University. Dalhousie's FTE figure is incorrectly reported for the
former institution. I believe the correct number for Queen's is somewhere
around 15,000 FTE students [rather than the 9,771 reported].
Correcting for this error will show that Dalhousie University has the
greatest endowment assets per full-time equivalent student amongst major
Canadian universities. These healthy endowments are a major reason why
this modestly-sized university is able to compete so successfully in the
areas of graduate education and research. In this regard Dalhousie was
particularly fortunate to have the late Dorothy Killam as its major benefactor; her gifts today represent approximately half of Dalhousie's
entire endowment and provide the major impetus for this university's
strength in science and medicine.
Bryan G. Mason,
vice-president
Dalhousie
(finance and
administration),
University
igpy
A COMBINATION OF
n^j^rc R
Y P H
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INVESTMENT COUNSEL INC.
VIGILANCE
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TEL: (514) 288-4122
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SUITE 1010
70 UNIVERSITY AVENUE
TORONTO, ONTARIO M5J 2M4
TEL: (416) 977-4577
1st A
G
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R
Reach
for the Top
An omission in the article "Fibre Optic
Highway" last issue resulted in the
Unversity of Alberta being called "one
of Canada's seven research universities." What we meant to say is that the
U of A, which receives about $40 million in research funds a year from the
Natural Sciences and Engineering
Research Council of Canada, may
qualify as one of Canada's top seven
research universities.
To straighten the record, University
Manager spoke to Dr. Tony Eastham,
director of research services at
Queen's University and president of
the Canadian Association of University Research Administrators.
"There is an expectation," says
Eastham, "that all or some of the members of AUCC should be active in
research." The two best indicators of
research intensity, he says, are the
magnitude of funding by granting
councils, and the number of doctoral
students graduated per year.
• UBC and Toronto are among the
leaders in the country in granting
council funding, says Eastham. Other
universities that consider themselves
research intensive include: Simon
Fraser, Calgary, Victoria, Ottawa, Dalhousie, and the University of Quebec.
• Nationally, the members of the G10 (Group of 10) — a self-appointed,
informal organization made up of UBC,
the U of A, Western, Waterloo, McMaster, Toronto, Queen's, McGill, Montreal
and Laval — "consider themselves the
10 most research-intensive universities
in the country." The presidents or vicepresidents meet occassionally to discuss
research policy, science policy and
more. The G-10, Eastham says, "must
have started about four years ago."
• In Ontario, the MQTWWOG group
— McMaster, Queen's, Toronto, Western, Waterloo, Ottawa and Guelph —
begun networking about five years ago.
"Someone once said implementing
TQM is like lighting 1,000 candles,
whereas business process re-engineering is a blowtorch, a blitz. If TQM is
a plough, BPR is a bulldozer"
— Ronnie Gavsie, partner, KPMG, Ottawa.
DEPUTY
DIRECTOR
The Commonwealth Higher Education Management Service
(CHEMS) is seeking to appoint a Deputy Director to work alongside
the Director, John Fielden, in London.
The appointment will be for a period until 31st October 1996, but
may be extended if the core funding for the service is continued
beyond that date.
The principal role of the Deputy will be to help to build up the
consultancy and information services of CHEMS. The incumbent
will be expected to work on fee earning projects outside the UK for
up to 40% of the time and to act as project manager for studies
involving other consultants.
Some experience of acting as a management consultant in higher
education is thus an essential pre-requisite; it would be an
advantage if some of this had been gained in developing countries.
The candidate should ideally have professional experience in either
human resource management or information systems and should
have worked in at least one university as an academic manager or
senior administrator.
The salary is £35,000 with related pension benefits under the USS
scheme: travel and accommodation allowances may be payable to
candidates from outside the UK. The salary and benefits are subject
to UK taxation.
Those interested in applying should ask for details and send their
CV, before 16 September 1994, to John Fielden, Director, CHEMS, at
the Association of Commonwealth Universities, 36 Gordon Square,
London WC1H OPF (fax [44] 71 387 2655).
(news & views continued on page 23)
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Strivin
From his eleventh floor office at Laurentian University,
Ron Chrysler sees more than the expanse of Sudbury's
Ramsey Lake and the surrounding rugged landscape. The
new president of CAUBO also surveys the terrain of a
rapidly changing Canadian university community.
Chrysler, 51, brings a wealth of public and private
sector experience to his new post. The Hamilton, Ont.,
native spent several years as a public accountant with the
p r e d e c e s s o r of Peat, M a r w i c k , T h o r n e , w h i c h had
McMaster University as a client. He joined Laurentian as
its controller in 1978, and, six years later, was appointed
vice-president, administration.
In that role, Chrysler is responsible for all aspects of the
university's financial administration, its physical plant and
personnel matters, except for those relating to faculty. He
also acts as secretary to the university's board of governors.
A CAUBO board member since 1989, Chrysler spent the
past year as its secretary-treasurer.
Ken Clements, C A U B O ' s executive director, says
Chrysler is a tough negotiator, reputed for his deft
approach to running a meeting and his unwavering support for quality initiatives on campus. "Ron is so gung-ho
TQM is one of the approaches Ron
Chrysler sees as a solution to
university problems. Innovative ideas
are the stock and trade of CAUBO's
new president
on total quality programs that he is well-known as Mr.
TQM," says Clements. And Chrysler practices what he
preaches. "Laurentian itself has a very good TQM program, and is one of 10 universities tied in with the Conference Board of Canada's initiatives."
Chrysler's unflappable nature underscores his sensible,
pragmatic style. "Ron is a quiet, unassuming type, certainly
not aggressive," says Clements. "He has a calming influence.
I've never seen him ruffled; nothing seems to faze him."
By Jo Anne Sommers
Chrysler's skill as an accountant has served him well at
the negotiating table. Clements says Chrysler has made
sound contributions in C A U B O ' s
talks with the Canadian Institute of
Chartered Accountants on the new
rules for not-for-profits for 1995.
Chrysler's instincts as a leader
have been put to the test in both
national and provincial arenas. In
1988 and 1989, he served as chair of
the Council of Senior Administrative Officers (CSAO), a group affiliated with the Council of Ontario
Universities (COU). The CSAO was
formed in 1986, says its director of
CSAO Services, Ed Brezina, and
came into its own under Chrysler's
leadership. "Ron is the guy who
brought the C S A O along as a
mature operating organization."
Chrysler lead its handling of the two
ssprocess re-engineering
Laurentian University 'is getting results •III Dl binli lUM a till t>ltxnit
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main issues of the day: incoming
health and safety regulations and the GST. "The smoothness
in the way Ontario universities responded and adjusted to
the new regime of regulations," says Brezina, "could be
attributed to Ron's ability to lead the group and get its ideas
across to comply with and shape the regulations."
On the national scene, Chrysler again plans to focus
firmly on the issues. The continuing cash crunch and the
demand for increased public accountability, he says, loom
as the major issues confronting Canadian universities.
Unless individual institutions make the necessary
changes, governments will do it for them, he adds.
"We're seeing it in several jurisdictions. The Nova
Scotia Council on Higher Education has recommended
that a number of teacher education faculties in that
province be cut. The Ontario Council on University
Affairs has also completed a review that could result in
similar recommendations and lead to major changes in the
way Ontario universities are funded.
"Alberta's universities face some very difficult choices as a result of the government's plans to cut post-secondary funding by 11 per cent in 1994-95."
The financial circumstances of the provinces will
dictate the deadline for taking action, Chrysler says. The
Manitoba government, for example, responding to the
Roblin Report, has announced that its universities have
six months to determine their priorities, including areas
of specialization. These must conform to a new provincial development strategy.
Inevitably, continued funding reductions will force
the end of more courses and the downsizing or elimination of some departments. Chrysler acknowledges that in
the past university administrators have been frustrated by
the refusal of senates to take such difficult decisions. The
changing environment demands that the two sides work
co-operatively to facilitate change, he says.
Proponents of a unicameral model of governance say
their system works to ensure co-operation. Most Canadian
universities, however, have adopted a bicameral model,
which makes it essential for both sides to cleary recognize
the implications of their decisions.
"Boards must understand how cost-cutting affects the
academic community. And senates cannot ignore the fact
that their decisions have a significant budgetary impact. In
the past, it may have been possible for the two sides to exist
in isolation. But those days are gone."
Chrysler says that increased cross-functionalization at
Canadian universities.will make it possible to deliver services more effectively, thus softening the impact of change.
Still, job losses and higher tuition fees seem inevitable.
"There have already been cuts and I expect that to con< tinue. After all, salaries and benefits account for an aver0!
2 age of 80 per cent of the university's operating budget."
b
Staff in all areas of university life will be affected by the
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Thinking like a customer
job loss, he predicts. And tuition fees will
continue to rise, as governments shift more
of the educational burden to recipients.
Any increases will be controversial at
a time when jobs for students and graduates are so difficult to find. The answer
may be an income-contingency repayment plan (as recommended by the 1991
C o m m i s s i o n of Inquiry on Canadian
University Education).
"Repayment would be based on postgraduate earnings and incorporated into
the taxation system. The details would
have to be worked out — for instance,
making allowance for low-income graduates and people with family responsibilities — but governments and universities
are increasingly interested in the idea."
As students pay a greater share of
education costs, they will expect to have
more say in how the institutions are run.
The notion of the student as a consumer
is u n p o p u l a r among a c a d e m i c s , who
properly insist that teaching standards be
maintained. But Chrysler says that univ e r s i t i e s will h a v e to meet s t u d e n t
determine if they're reaching their targets. Otherwise, they won't survive."
Survival, he adds, will depend on a
willingness to find new ways of working
together. "I expect enrollments at Canadian universities to increase over the
next few y e a r s ; that, c o m b i n e d with
shrinking r e s o u r c e s , will force us to
become very different institutions."
One solution may be to increase the
use of technology in the delivery of services. Video, for example, can be used to
teach students at two different institutions
simultaneously. The loss of teaching
positions is unfortunate but inevitable.
"We may also have to establish closer links between universities and community colleges. Students would be able
to transfer credits from one type of institution to the other and there would be
more m o v e m e n t back and forth. T h e
result would be a seamless system of
e d u c a t i o n with a g r e a t e r n u m b e r of
options open to students."
The prospect of major change is unsettling for some university administrators.
Part of CAUBO's role, says Chrysler, is to
help them cope by providing leadership in
the area of management training.
In the past year, CAUBO completed
arrangements for a certificate program in
advanced training for university administrators. Enrollment in the program has
been strong, despite general cutbacks in
training and development budgets.
"The role of the senior administrator
is undergoing a significant change. Traditional hierarchies are disappearing and
today's manager has to be more of a
team leader than a supervisor. That,"
says Chrysler, "calls for a new set of
inter-personal skills, particularly the
ability to communicate effectively."
C h r y s l e r s h o u l d k n o w . W h i l e at
CSAO, says Brezina, "Chrysler was able
to bring out the contributions of others.
That was why he was selected to lead.
He is definitely the kind of low-key, participative guy who looks to include other
people's opinions." •
Jo Anne Sommers is a Toronto writer.
expectations in other areas such as the
delivery of services.
This is one example of the growing
demand for accountability at Canadian
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precise measures of a professor's teaching
and research performance. Although student and peer evaluations are now used
for this purpose, there is a movement
toward implementing more standardized
measures across the country.
COU is trying to develop a set of performance indicators for general use across
the province. If these indicators are successful, the Association of Universities
and Colleges of Canada hopes to modify
them to benefit its members.
Universities have always been accountable, but they need to demonstrate it in
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de retour a
ses cahiers
UUniversite de Montreal profite de la mise en place d'une nouvelle
plate-forme informatique pour reamenager ses processus administratifs
par Louise A. Legault
Le portrait statistique d'une institution
comme l'Universite de Montreal ressemble
en bien des points a celui d'une grande
entreprise. Avec ses 51 537 etudiants,
l'Universite de Montreal est la premiere
universite francophone en importance a
l'exterieur de la France. Le personnel
enseignant de ses quinze facultes, qui
offrent une kyrielle de programmes, atteint
2 000 personnes, le personnel nonenseignant, 3 600. En 1992-93, l'Universite de Montreal menait la course aux
subventions a la recherche, les fonds de
recherche y totalisant 238 millions de dollars, en hausse de 37% par rapport a
l'annee precedente.
On imagine sans peine l'immense
casse-tete chinois que peut representer
l'administration d'une telle machine. Une
administration d'autant compliquee par un
environnement informatique desuet, l'existence de systemes d'information paralleles
occasionnant d'importants delais dans la
prise de decision. Les ajustements pour
variation de clientele etudiante, par
exemple, ne parvenaient parfois aux facultes qu'avec une annee entiere de
retard. Or, on ne peut se permettre des
depassements budgetaires lorsque le
deficit accumule atteignait les 17 millions
de dollars au 31 mai 1993.
developper un nouveau systeme, ainsi
qu'un systeme pour les curriculum vitae
des professeurs), en finance, en approvisionnements et en gestion des ressources
humaines. Le projet vient sur les talons
d'une conversion informatique, l'Universite
de Montreal passant des ordinateurs centraux CYBER a un systeme ouvert sur
plate-forme UNIX.
"Nous aurions pu tout simplement transferer les applications CYBER sur UNIX,
explique Jean-Fran5ois Gregoire, directeur
Un projet mobilisateur
Pour Andre Racette, directeur des finances,
le reamenagement des processus administratifs represente pour l'Universite de Montreal "un premier investissement majeur au
chapitre de l'administration,
longtemps negligee et accusant un retard considerable."
Ce projet de 10 millions de
dollars sur sept ans, que Ton
veut autofinance a meme les
economies de postes resultant
d'une plus grande efficacite,
mobilise en fait toute l'universite puisqu'il touche aux
processus administratifs en
enseignement, en recherche
(pour laquelle on compte
U
Andre Racette, directeur des finances
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general des services informatiques, mais
l'ancien environnement obligeait a toutes
sortes de modifications et avait suscite la
croissance desordonnee de systemes parall e l s afin de repondre aux besoins des
usagers. La nouvelle plate-forme offre plus
de souplesse et nous permet d'envisager
1'achat de progiciels pour certaines applications, une alternative plus economique, etant
donne les mises a jour periodiques."
C'est le cas notamment de la direction des finances, qui a opte pour le
progiciel PROPHECY de la firme australienne CSP (Computer Software Package). La direction a commence en 1993 a
analyser l'organisation du travail, puis a
definir ses besoins; elle a tout recemment
selectionne son progiciel, qui sera mis a
l'essai dans des unites pilotes, puis
deploye dans toutes les unites administratives (quelque 350).
prefere impliquer les usagers et les laisser creant une sorte de club d'usagers et revdefinir eux-memes leurs besoins. Le alorisant le role du gestionnaire au sein de
Comite directeur des informations de ges- la communaute." Andre Racette ne parle ni
tion (CODIG) a cependant retenu les plus ni moins que d'un changement de culprincipes suivants afin d'orienter le projet: ture profond, qui traverse facultes et unites,
decentralisation, simplification des proces- abatttant les barrieres que des annees
sus administratifs, acces a l'information, d'insularite ont creees.
responsabilisation des intervenants et conHelene Langlois, charge de projet, fait
fiance mutuelle accrue.
justement le pont entre l'equipe informa"Nous avons d'abord retenu le concept tique, les usagers et les fournisseurs. "La
de saisie a la source, la direction des direction des finances aura plutot un role
finances n'executant plus que des controles conseil que verificateur. Le nouveau syspar echantillons, plutot que de tout repren- teme comprend beaucoup d'automadre", explique Andre Racette. Cette decen- tismes, la ou le travail se faisait
tralisation a fait ressortir cependant auparavant manuellement," note-t-elle.
d'importants besoins en formation que la Que Ton compare, par exemple, la saisie
direction assumera avec le service du per- a la source des comptes a payer a la dousonnel, question d'assurer une formation ble saisie aux approvisionnements et aux
uniforme "et un certain esprit de corps finances. "A moyen terme, nous
prevoyons aussi implanter la digitalisainstitutionnel."
Le plan directeur prevoit en effet la tion des pieces."
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finances. "Le gestionnaire de systeme sera
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Plutot que de laisser le service informatique seul maitre a bord, l'Universite a
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Un retour sur soi-meme
Au sein des facultes, la restructuration est
laissee au doyen. Comme le resume si bien
Mireille Mathieu, doyenne de la Faculte
des arts et sciences, la plus importante en
terme d'etudiants (14 000): "On n'informatise pas n'importe quoi." A titre
d'exemple, une revision systematique des
programmes existants s'opere presentement au niveau des facultes. "Nous avons
resserre nos programmes, souligne
Mireille Mathieu, en essayant de nous
eloigner du style "cafeteria", ce qui simplifie d'autant le reglement pedagogique. De
plus, nous prevoyons reduire la periode de
"magasinage" des cours au debut de session a une semaine. "
La Faculte a egalement profite du
reamenagement des processus administratifs pour revoir les roles respectifs du Service facultaire de gestion des etudes
(SFGE) et des 28 departements. "Le SFGE
avait permis d'harmoniser les cinq facultes
a l'origine de la Faculte des arts et sciences.
Avec le developpement de la faculte, le travail du SFGE est devenu un travail de controle massif de dossiers, ce qui represente
des tonnes de papier. Maintenant, nous pretendons plutot responsabiliser les departements et revaloriser le role des commis aux
affaires academiques. Le SFGE aura plutot
un role de support et de formation."
Madame Mathieu envisage des change-
3 de Montreal
ments de pratique enormes. "A la limite,
les professeurs pourraient entrer euxmemes les notes. Le bulletin provisoire
sera emis plus rapidement, les cas problemes referes au jury devaluation et la
collation des grades de premier cycle pourra se faire plus tot. II nous etait imposible
d'y parvenir a temps auparavant."
Le Departement d'education physique,
pour sa part, avait deja accorde la priorite a
Tinformatisation, dans le cadre d'une rationalisation de ses effectifs. II avait justement cree l'un de ces systemes paralleles
qui lui permettait de fonctionner pratiquement comme une boite autonome, selon
Pierre Beauchamp, adjoint administratif.
"Avec les demandes d'approvision-
Re-engineering
Success Story
How administrators at the Universite de
Montreal have made accountability, simplification
nement electronique, notamment, nous
avons reduit de moitie le temps d'acheminement des commandes chez les fournisseurs. II n'en reste pas moins que, dans
and decentralization their raison d'etre
By Louise Legault
le cas d'autres formulaires, nous devons
faire une entree dans notre systeme et
reprendre le tout a la dactylo (l'Universite
utilise encore les copies NCR), en sachant
fort bien que la direction des finances rentrera la meme information dans son systeme lorsque la requete lui parviendra." De
quoi faire monter la pression d'un cran a
chaque fois...
Tout ce chambardement de vieilles
habitudes longtemps decriees semble se
faire sans heurt pour le moment. Le plan
directeur est d'ailleurs assorti d'un plan de
communication, question de s'assurer
l'adhesion de tous.
"Nous n'avons pas encore quantifier
l'impact du projet, poursuit Andre Racette.
Nous anticipons, il va sans dire, un allege -
View from the top: The $10 million re-engineering initiative is the biggest investment in years
ment des taches administratives qui laissera
plus de temps au developpement de la
With 51,537 students, the Universite de
a seven-year, $10 million re-engineering
fonction enseignement et recherche dans
Montreal is the largest French-speaking
project, "the first major investment in
les facultes."
university outside of France. Its teaching
management in a long time," according to
Pas a dire, si ce projet repond aux
staff of 2,000 offers a vast array of pro-
director of finance Andre Racette. The
attentes qu'il suscite, l'Universite de Mon-
grams and, in 1992-93, was among the
project is all-encompassing, examining
treal sera fin prete a prendre la place qui lui
leaders in research grants, with funding
administrative procedures in teaching,
revient dans le cortege des grandes univer-
reaching $238 million, a 37 per cent
research, finance, supplies and human
sites du monde. •
increase over the previous year.
resources management.
from
Rather than leave the whole thing up
CYBER mainframes to a UNIX environ-
to the information services department,
ment, the university gave the go-ahead to
the u n i v e r s i t y d e c i d e d to g e t u s e r s
In the w a k e of a t r a n s f e r
Louise A. Legault est une journaliste
affaires de Montreal.
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involved in defining their needs. A steering committee (the Comite directeur des
informations de gestion) quickly established a number of principles to guide
the various working groups: decentralization of operations, simplification of
administrative procedure, greater access
to timely information, increased responsibility and mutual trust.
we will be called upon to make sample
verifications rather than perform all the
the data entry duties ourselves. We will
have more of a counselling role."
To ensure that the highest standards
are met, however, the finance department will have to get involved in the
training of systems administrators. "We
are c r e a t i n g in fact a u s e r s ' club of
sorts, one that will heighten the importance of administrators within the university," Racette notes. "This common
"The project will mean a world of
difference to us," explains Racette. "All
data will be entered in at the source and
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thread, which will break through the
b a r r i e r s of f a c u l t y , d e p a r t m e n t and
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cultural change within the institution."
S
o far, the project has not met
any internal resistance. Some
people involved, like dean
Mireille Mathieu of the Faculte
des Arts et Sciences, welcome
it. "We have tightened our programs in an effort to simplify regulations and to get away from the cafeteria
style. We will also be shortening the
'shopping' period at the beginning of
the semester to a week."
The faculty, she says, has taken this
opportunity to review the role of the Service facultaire de gestion des etudes
(SFGE) and of the 28 departments. "With
the growth of the faculty, the SFGE had
taken on a control function, managing on
paper the 14,000 or so student files. Computerization will give greater responsibility to the departments, leaving a support
and training role to the SFGE."
The administrative assistant in the
department of physical education, Pierre
Beauchamp, also stands firmly behind
these changes in procedure.
Faced with cutbacks a few years ago,
the department invested in computerization, creating one of the many parallel
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systems for which the old CYBER mainframes are credited. "In many instances,
we still enter the data in our system and
have to retype it on NCR forms, knowing only too well that the finance departm e n t will r e - e n t e r the d a t a when it
receives the request."
To ensure that the new project sails
smoothly along, a communication strategy has been established to send out positive results to everyone involved.
oeoso
changes in procedure will lighten the
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L . e s s o n s
f r o m
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a b r i k a n t
The cost of
Doing Nothing
By Jo Anne Sommers
Mistakes happen in all organizations, and universities are
not immune. But mistakes that result in murder are rare. So
why were four professors killed and a secretary wounded
at Concordia University in August, 1992? What errors and
systemic flaws could have lead to such tragic consequences?
.The Concordia tragedy graphically illustrates the high cost of doing nothing, says
the author of an independent report to Concordia's board of governors.
"Administrators have long presumed
that you couldn't get into trouble by not
taking action," says John Scott Cowan,
the former vice-rector of the University of
Ottawa. "There is a price attached to acting incautiously, but the price of failing to
act is much higher."
In Lessons from the Fabrikant File,
Cowan says that senior university administrators at Concordia repeatedly failed to
check Dr. Valery Fabrikant's outrageous
behavior in the years before he murdered
his four colleagues. That failure was partially the result of faulty administrative
systems, which are typical of most Canadian universities, he says.
The report criticizes the widespread
failure to train academic administrators
adequately for senior managerial positions. It also castigates the decentralized
nature of university administrative structures, the abuse of academic freedom by
some professors, and the reluctance to
exercise authority.
"Ultimately, this is the story of a profound failure of academic courage," says
Cowan. "It's the story of no guts."
Lessons from the Fabrikant File is one
U
of three recent reports that probe the
events that led to the Concordia tragedy.
Former York University president Harry
Arthurs chaired an independent commission that investigated standards of academic and scientific integrity at Concordia.
And a forensic audit of the university's
engineering department looked into allegations that senior members of the department misused research funds.
Cowan's comments have struck a nerve
on campuses across the country, occasioning both applause and criticism. But whatever their response to the report, university
administrators agree that its provocative
conclusions cannot be ignored.
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"There is a power vacuum in the system. The
senior faculty, in the form of individual
departments, runs the show - everyone is in
charge, no one is accountable. Under these
circumstances aberrations can be expected"
heads enjoy considerable
autonomy.
The difficulty
such a system
with
is
that
important decisions may be
delayed or avoided altogether. Such was the case
at Concordia where Fabrikant's march to violence
was allowed to proceed
unhindered.
According to Stuart
Smith, the collegial nature
of the university makes it
almost
"The majority of academics who become
be encouraged and in some cases made a
administrators
condition of appointment.
do not like
administration
impossible
for
administrators to exercise any real power.
"In effect, there is a power vacuum in
itself, do not think of themselves as admin-
Tom Collins, provost of the University
the university system. The senior faculty, in
istrators, have no training for their admin-
of Western Ontario in London, Ont., dis-
the form of individual departments, runs the
istrative
are accustomed
to
putes what he says is Cowan's basic
show — everyone is in charge, therefore no
work in a milieu where the exercise
of
premise, that, in general, university admin-
one is accountable. Under these circum-
authority is considered in bad taste. "
istrators are poorly trained and don't enjoy
stances, aberrations (such as the Fabrikant
— Lessons from the Fabrikant File, p. 5
their work.
situation) can be expected."
roles...and
"Many academics who become admin-
Other academics disagree. John Stubbs
Cowan's report in not the first to address
istrators have been in management positions
concedes that there are certain limits on
the issue of training for academic adminis-
for a long time (Collins, an English profes-
presidential power. But ultimately, he says, a
trators. In 1991, the Commission of Inquiry
sor, has been an administrator for 20 years).
president must make the difficult decisions
on Canadian University Education, headed
They like the challenge of the job and are
and accept the consequences.
by Dr. Stuart Smith, recommended that aca-
very good at it."
"You discuss the important issues with
demics appointed to administrative posi-
Collins agrees, however, that universi-
your key people, but when your gut tells
tions undergo more professional training.
ties need to offer more senior management
you to act in a certain way, you have to go
The universities rebuffed the suggestion,
training, especially for those who are new to
with it and live with the consequences."
Smith says. "They felt that the president
the field. But in an era of shrinking
should be a chief scholar, not an MBA."
resources, the will to pursue change will be
icy that permits the president to remove
put to a severe test.
from campus any individual who displays
Canadian universities are administered
Simon Fraser recently established a pol-
by gifted amateurs, according to Dr. John
Yet despite restrictions on budgets,
Stubbs, president of Simon Fraser Univer-
more institutions seem to be moving in that
need to use it often but it's terribly important
sity in Vancouver. "I mean that in a posi-
direction. The University of Toronto now
for us to reassure the communities we serve
tive sense. It's the result of the collegial
offers a one-week training course for its
that if a dangerous situation arises, we will
model on which universities are run."
new administrators and Western will likely
take appropriate action."
Stubbs says the training issue presents
university presidents with two challenges.
threatening behavior. "I don't think we'll
expand its one-day orientation program for
Concordia's former rector, Patrick Ken-
administrators to three or four days by next
niff, had emergency powers that would have
"First you must make sure that train-
year. This year, enrollments in the senior
permitted him to suspend Fabrikant. But still
ing is available. Then you have to per-
management courses at the University of
didn't invoke them despite being asked to do
suade your colleagues that it's worthwhile.
Manitoba were at an all-time high.
so by senior administrators on more than one
Many academics expect to return to the
A lack of training for senior managers is
faculty ranks after serving a term as an
not the only problem besetting university
administrator, so they don't consider train-
administrators. They face other obstacles
ing a high priority," he says.
that complicate decision making.
occasion. Kenniff said he was concerned
about a lack of evidence against Fabrikant.
A c c o r d i n g to the C o w a n R e p o r t ,
senior administrators with emergency
In its first recommendation, the Cowan
Unlike corporations, which are run hier-
powers may be reluctant to use them if
Report urges that academics with proven
archically, universities operate on a colle-
they don't have signed complaints to sup-
leadership skills be favored for administra-
gial basis. Important decisions are often
port their actions. This stipulation may act
tive positions. Management training should
made collectively and deans and department
as handcuffs, preventing them from taking
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appropriate action until it is too late.
Universities should be prepared to use
their emergency powers "on reasonable
apprehension, not on a signed complaint,"
says the report's ninth recommendation. It
urges that decisions to invoke such emergency p o w e r s be made c o l l e c t i v e l y ,
adding, "be prepared to lose the resulting
grievance from time to time."
"In the future, it will be important for
Boards of Governors to understand this
and to expect that the Rector or President
may have to take somewhat
precipitous
action on well-founded suspicion rather
than proof"
— Lessons from the Fabrikant File, p. 28
There are other factors embedded in the
culture of the university that make it difficult
to respond to abusive or threatening behavior by a professor. As it says in Lessons from
the Fabrikant
File: "Prominent amongst
these is the recent and disturbing mutation of
what academic freedom means to some
within the university community."
Canadian universities have a long and
valuable tradition of diversity and acceptance of eccentricity. This, coupled with a
general societal emphasis on individual
rights and liberties, may sometimes result
in the tolerance of abusive behavior under
the guise of academic freedom.
Dr. Fabrikant was certainly guilty of
abusive behavior toward staff, students and
colleagues at Concordia. And while he was
an extreme case, senior administrators generally agree that he was not unique.
Recently, however, the once-popular
the process of revising its seven-year-old
policy on academic freedom. As Robert
Davidson, the AUCC's director of research
and policy analysis, explains, "Academic
freedom is not a blank cheque. We're updating the policy to better reflect the balance
between freedom and responsibility. "
lective agreements? Or does the fear of
grievance procedures and litigation inhibit
them from taking appropriate action?
There does seem to be a move toward
stricter enforcement of existing collective
agreements, according to Cowan. As an
example, he notes that the AUCC recently
established a databank to provide universities with a central source of information
on arbitration decisions.
'The pendulum is starting to swing in the
direction of collective rights," says Cowan.
"But there's a long way to go before the principle of academic freedom is threatened."
"In the past administrators tended to
avoid making decisions because they worried that they would be overturned on a
grievance. Now when difficult situations
arise, they're asking, 'how can we do this
right to ensure that it will stand up?'"
Tom Collins sees the issue differently.
Universities, he says, work on the basis of
trust and good faith and expect that those
involved will abide by this code.
"We're not being lax. Rather, we have
faith in the system and sometimes that system breaks down."
By concentrating on proper procedures, administrators are overcoming their
fear of acting decisively, Cowan says.
Collins sees the Fabrikant situation as
the result of one man's serious personal
behavior problem, rather than an abuse of
academic freedom. "I don't think you can
extrapolate from that one extreme situation
to Canadian universities in general."
"Universities
are vastly more
decentral-
ized than other enterprises when it comes
to the management
employees.
The balance between individual and collective rights is delicate, warns Dr. Harry
Arthurs, adding that the pendulum didn't
move toward individual rights by itself.
of
professional
There is no central
clearing
house for important information.
Existing
decisional
structures at Concordia
tate against
guarantee
coordination
and
mili-
virtually
that the right hand shall not
know what the left is doing. "
"There have been abuses of power by
leaders in some major institutions and
we're rightly concerned to prevent that
from happening again."
— Lessons from the Fabrikant File, p. 8
The problems at Concordia weren't
The principles of professional indep e n d e n c e and a u t o n o m y often make
administrators wary of intervening in difficult situations, Arthurs adds. Collective
agreements and regulations exist to provide them with a system of due process.
entirely due to an unwillingness to act.
They also owed a lot to the difficulties
that administrators had in obtaining and
exchanging important information.
A significant turnover of the university's senior administrative staff made it difficult to maintain continuity in the
But are administrators enforcing col-
notion of collective rights
has begun to reassert itself.
And as society becomes
less tolerant of intimidation, sexual harassment,
and all forms of discrimination, universities may
find it easier to move in
the same direction.
Even before the Cowan
Report was released this
spring, the Association of
Universities and Colleges
of Canada (AUCC) began
"In the past administrators tended to avoid
making decisions, worrying they would be
overturned on a grievance. Now, when difficult
situations arise they're asking, 'how can we
do this right to ensure it will stand up?"'
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wounded secretary has since physically
recovered, but has taken early retirement
from the university. A number of senior
administrators, including rector Patrick Kenniff, have resigned. The three engineering
professors who were accused of misusing
research funds have agreed to leave the university. Valery Fabrikant is serving a life
sentence in Montreal's Donnacona Prison.
handling of Fabrikant's case. And even
after concerns were raised about his behavior, information in Fabrikant's personnel
file remained scattered.
"There must be systems in place to
ensure that adequate quantitative and qualitative information exists," says Cowan.
"Moreover, senior managers must be able
to access it so they can deal expeditiously
with potential problems."
Concordia's management structure was
unusually complicated, according to John
Stubbs. "Such structures make it difficult for
administrators to act decisively. You need a
structure that isn't so cluttered that it prevents you from acting when you need to."
The three universities Stubbs knows
best — Simon Fraser, Trent University in
Peterborough, Ont., and the University of
Waterloo — have senior management
committees that embrace all parts of the
institutions. These committees meet regularly to exchange information on important
issues, including personnel-related matters.
presidents. "While some issues still need
to be resolved (eg. grievances), the danger no longer exists," he says.
Certainly, the disquieting issues raised
in Lessons from the Fabrikant File have
stirred considerable soul-searching in the
heart of academia. Across the country, university boards are asking their senior
administrators to explain how the report
applies to their institutions.
S
o what will be the legacy of John
"Dr. Cowan has given us a checklist
Cowan's report? Other studies
which can be used to ask whether these
have raised many of the same
matters are in hand at our own universi-
issues only to wind up gathering
ties," says John Stubbs. "Are the necessary
dust
on
abandoned
library
shelves. Why should this report
be any different?
Stubbs is now investigating these
For one thing, says John C o w a n ,
issues and will report his findings to
because people in the university communi-
Simon Fraser's board of governors this
ty were already on the brink of acting on
fall. "They want to know what we're
many of these issues. "They just needed a
doing about these things and if we're not
push in the right direction."
doing anything, we'd better have a good
Cowan knows of at least two recent
Many changes have been made at Concordia since that terrible day in 1992. The
structures in place? How can we improve
on existing processes?"
explanation for it."
situations similar to that of Concordia's
Ron Chrysler, vice-president, adminis-
that have been defused through decisive
tration, at Laurentian University in Sud-
action on the part of the universities'
bury and president of CAUBO, says the
Cowan Report has been widely circulated
throughout the university. Laurentian
president Dr. Ross Paul is studying it in
consultation with the university's deans
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and other administrative heads. Its board
will be kept up-to-date on their progress.
Harry Arthurs predicts that within limits the report will make an important contribution. But he warns that like all large,
well-entrenched institutions, universities
are slow to change.
"People haven't failed to act in the past
because they're lazy or stupid. It's because
they face a host of legal, cultural and economic problems."
N e v e r t h e l e s s , he says, the Cowan
Report "conjures up a resolute state of
mind" that enables senior administrators to
act "as decisively as possible when a situation becomes serious."
The events at Concordia demonstrated
the absolute need for such resolve. Combined with a determination to develop more
responsive management systems, such
resolve may help to avert future tragedies. •
325 Bic Drive, Milford. Connecticut 06460
Jo Anne Sommers is a Toronto writer.
2 2
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CAUBO Conference Quotes
Here's a sample of the anecdotes and wise
words that gave delegates a mental workout at CAUBO's St. John's conference:
"Initiating quality management is very
much like dancing with a bear — once you
start, it's almost impossible to stop. With
TQM, people will be empowered, there will
be a respect for process, data and people.
You can't back away from that." — Dr.
George Bateman, University of Chicago,
Graduate School of Business.
involved. We've broken everything into
phases and have been trying to work out
cross-cultural difficulties. In the throes of
this, the president got enthused with TQM,
so now we have both BPR and TQM. I've
got to shake my head when I go from one
meeting in BPR to another one in TQM."
—Debra MacLennan, special
assistant
to the vice-president,
administration,
Laurentian University,
Sudbury.
"Our banker is broke, and our banker's
banker, the federal government, is also
broke. When governments d o n ' t have
money to give, they give regulations
instead. In the past year they have given an
orgy of regulations. Governments must free
universities of the fiscal straight) acket. If
they are not able to provide funding, they
must give us the regulatory will to do it."
— James Downey, president of Waterloo.
"Most people look into the future as a
driver looks at the road:
"At Laurentian, we practice not just
straight
a cross-functional review, we have an
a h e a d ,
inter-university review for business
with the past
process re-engineering (BPR). Three
universities,
all
small,
receeding
are
into the background. Newfoundlanders
look into the
future
as
a
rower in a boat,
l o o k i n g at the
future b a s e d on
where he or she
ms been."
- James
s
Downey.
«'ee«|,
Talk About Quality!
Congratulations to all 21 universities that
submitted creative applications to the
1993 CAUBO Quality and Productivity
Awards Program. Six entries stand out as
showing the most impressive results,
based on portability of the idea, the level
of i n n o v a t i o n , and h o w the idea has
improved the quality of campus life.
The prize winners for the seventh
annual awards program are:
First Prize: ($10,000) The University of
Manitoba, which strengthened its method
of filling academic staff vacancies by
empowering department heads and program directors;
Second Prize: ($5,000) McMaster University, for boosting bookstore services
using printing on demand technology;
Third Prize: ($3,000) Acadia University,
for its advanced planning model, which
can project budget deficits and surpluses
to help facilitate wise decisions;
H o n o u r a b l e M e n t i o n : U n i v e r s i t y of
Alberta, for its "retrieval on demand"
book depository called the BARD;
Honourable Mention: Concordia Uni-
versity, for its electronic textbook inventory system;
H o n o u r a b l e M e n t i o n : U n i v e r s i t y of
Toronto, for cleaning up its caretaking
services through re-egineering.
In all, the 41 entries accounted for
$2.5 million in annual net savings or
recovery.
C A U B O ' s Quality and Productivity
Awards P r o g r a m is sponsored by the
Royal Bank of Canada and Xerox Canada Limited.
See next issue for more information.
I V E R S I T Y
M A N A G E R
2 3
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news & views from page 23
Hi rdcover
Sof ware
Two students at Universite du Quebec a
Montreal have developed software to
record and manage consignment sales of
Managing Diversity, Communications,
Certificate Program from page 26
Managing Change and Financial Man-
and viewpoints. Another advantage is the
agement for Non-Financial Managers.
opportunity to network with colleagues.
All are being offered for 1994/95, with a
The p r o g r a m is targeted to the some
course on conflict resolution planned for
6,000 administrators in post-secondary
1995/96. Other electives will be devel-
institutions across Canada. This group
oped to address recent developments.
includes executive administrators, deans
To register for a particular option,
and directors, d e p a r t m e n t h e a d s , and
c a n d i d a t e s w o u l d h a v e to m e e t the
affiliated college heads.
admission requirements of the core pro-
used textbooks, a growing market given
Senior executive assistants and others
gram. The program can be completed in
the soaring prices of new books. "We
who aspire to administrative positions
two to three years of part-time study,
have even seen cases where parents have
within the post-secondary education com-
with four years as the m a x i m u m time
lobbied for the creation of such services,"
munity will also benefit from the program.
allowed for completion.
says J o c e l y n L e m a y , one of the two
All courses have been designed to
founders of LOGISOM.
In developing the certificate propos-
address specific administrative areas and
al for presentation to the University of
Lemay and partner Louis Laflamme
will offer a rigorous education workout.
M a n i t o b a Senate, the centre w o r k e d
were instrumental in setting up such a
Considerable emphasis has been placed
with an advisory board, nominated by
service for the 13,000 management stu-
on peer teaching/learning; courses last
CAUBO. This advisory board will con-
from three days (25 hours) to 12 days
tinue to assist the centre and C A U B O
(100 hours) and are residential.
with broad policy issues and curriculum
dents at UQAM. In just four weeks, the
service sold $120,000 worth of used textbooks on consignment, a task that would
prove daunting without computer backup.
"The program generates a file for
each s u p p l i e r , then p r o d u c e s a sales
sticker based on the price set by the student and a receipt. When a book is sold, a
cheque is produced," explains Lemay.
P a r t i c i p a n t s can c h o o s e from two
topics, as well as in the implementation
options, with the University M a n a g e -
and general evaluation of the program.
ment Course (UMC) forming the core of
Advisory board members include
the program.
K a r e n M i n d e n ( c h a i r of C H E R D ) ,
U M C is d e s i g n e d to e n h a n c e the
CAUBO standing committee on human
m a n a g e r i a l a n d l e a d e r s h i p s k i l l s of
resources members Brian Fijal (Universi-
The idea has caught on. T h e pro-
administrators who hold positions,
ty of Manitoba), Glenn Harris (Universi-
gram is now running in four Montreal-
which gives them direct responsibility
ty of Alberta) and Sharon MacFarlane
r e g i o n C E G E P s , as w e l l as at the
for r e c o m m e n d i n g and i m p l e m e n t i n g
(Mount Allison University) to name a
Hautes Etudes Commerciales. The pro-
policies within academic and support
few, Ron Chrysler (as current president
gram w a s d e v e l o p e d on C l i p p e r and
units, or on a university-wide basis.
of CAUBO) and Ken Clements.
runs on any 386 PC. The price tag is
$995 for the master station and $100 for
every additional station.
LOGISOM provides a two-hour
training session for Montreal-area residents and is contemplating a 1-800-number for customer support. Lemay and
Participants must also complete
Registration for the program, which
five elective courses to fulfil the 200
began this fall, was strong. Financial
contact hours required for completion
M a n a g e m e n t for Non-Financial Man-
of the certificate program.
agers is the first elective being taught.
Laflamme plan further Canadian expansion and are eyeing the United States and
tors who are responsible for making insti-
~by Louise Legault
Next issue of
University Manager
Quality and Productivity
Award Marketplace
Risk Management
Environmental Auditing
about finally establishing a program that
versity Administrators Course (SUAC).
SUAC is for experienced administra-
European markets.
C A U B O and C H E R D are enthused
The second option is the Senior Uni-
recognizes the continuing professional
development needs of administrators.
tutional policy. This course is designed to
For full details on the Certificate Pro-
broaden and enhance their skills in recog-
gram in University Management, inter-
n i z i n g , m e e t i n g , and h a n d l i n g policy
ested i n d i v i d u a l s s h o u l d c o n t a c t the
issues and management problems across a
Centre for Higher Education Research
wide spectrum of circumstances. Partici-
and Development at the University of
pants in the S U A C option would then
Manitoba. (204) 474-8309.
•
choose either four electives to complete
the program, or UMC and one elective.
Stephanie
Electives for both options include
U
Gapinski
is with CHERD
at
the University of Manitoba.
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n t i n u i n g
Back to school for
administrators
CAUBO and CHERD unveil with great pride a new certificate
program aimed at addressing the professional development needs
of university administrators... Ely SlGPilfllHC 03 DiIISkI
R
ecognizing
their
common
to such programs as the Senior Univer-
learning outcomes.
interest in improving research,
sity A d m i n i s t r a t o r s C o u r s e and the
That the program has both a practical and theoretical mix is underlined by
e d u c a t i o n , and i n f o r m a t i o n
U n i v e r s i t y M a n a g e m e n t C o u r s e , the
relating to administrators in
c e n t r e h a s offered short c o u r s e s as
the fact that c o n t e m p o r a r y Canadian
h i g h e r education in Canada,
well, so it seemed appropriate to com-
case studies, written by the faculty and
C A U B O and the C e n t r e for
b i n e the v a r i o u s c o m p o n e n t s into a
participants, will be used for approxi-
formal certificate program."
mately 60 per cent of classroom/small
Higher Education Research and Devel-
opment (CHERD) at the University of
The certificate, to be awarded by the
group activities.
Manitoba have entered into an exciting
University of Manitoba, is mandated by
The program has been developed to
partnership to offer a certificate program
the i n s t i t u t i o n ' s s e n a t e . It has b e e n
teach participants timely and relevant
in university management.
designed to meet U of M standards and
professional skills, while creating an
r e q u i r e m e n t s , which include the suc-
environment that encourages and pro-
According to program director Dr.
Karen Minden of CHERD, the Certifi-
cessful completion of a program of stud-
motes effective university administration.
cate Program in University Management
ies, normally at least 200 contact hours,
It will also promote a team approach to
is a logical extension of the programs
and formal evaluation of course work.
university management through a cur-
currently offered to administrators.
The courses in the certificate pro-
riculum that addresses both academic and
administrative issues and skills.
centre,
gram are being taught by faculty from
t h r o u g h Dr. S h e r y l B o n d , has b e e n
across Canada who have a wide range of
involved with the c o n t i n u i n g profes-
disciplinary expertise and senior admin-
ponents, participants will be introduced
sional education of faculty and admin-
istrative experience. A highly interactive
to innovative ideas and new knowledge,
istrators in p o s t - s e c o n d a r y education
teaching approach is being used, which
and be exposed to a range of manage-
since its inception in 1987. In addition
has demonstrated its ability to produce
ment systems
As she e x p l a i n s : " T h e
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As well, in each of the program com-
Continued on page 25
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