Business Process Change
Process Analysis Report
Student Finance
Summary of Recommendations
Methodology
Process Analysis
Workflow Diagrams
B McDowell 19 May 2004Recommendations
The following is a summary of recommendations detailed in the section on process analysis. • Create invoices on a daily basis from start of year and send them out regularly, this will serve
to spread the load of queries
• Do not invoice students who have signed up for direct debit payment as a DD notice is sent out to them, current practice of invoicing these students generates considerable queries. • Locate the student finance staff within the structure of the proposed Student Services Centre
which will provide a larger and more flexible resource to deal with queries.
• Provide a consolidated debt position to students as part of the proposed student portal, availability of accurate and up-to-date information to students will reduce the need for telephone or personal queries.
• Create invoices daily and upload to Integra using automatic overnight processing if possible • Create student accounts in the Integra Finance System on a daily basis as student records
become available rather than waiting on invoice generation. This means that an account should always be available for allocation of cash.
• Daily production of invoices will reduce the back-log of unallocated cash.
• The Integra Cash Management Interface (CMI) module is being purchased and implemented in the 2004-2005 year. This will provide much-improved cash upload and allocation facilities. • Investigate the allocation facilities available on the Sales Ledger Interface (SLI) to establish
if credit notes can be automatically allocated to outstanding debts.
• Extend the facility of credit card and on-line payments to enable students to have greater flexibility for payment. This will be a feature of the proposed student portal.
• In conjunction with the proposal to provide the student with a consolidated debt position the availability of on-line payment can be extended to other areas of the university such as accommodation debts and resit fees.
• Students will be given the facility to check and maintain their module enrolments on-line in the appropriate periods. This should reduce the incidence of module changes not being updated due to forms not being completed or returned.
• Fee-paying status will be available for students to check through the student portal, this will enable action to be taken to correct this in a timely manner.
• Software is available which will check that bank account numbers are valid – costs are to be investigated with a view to procuring the software and interfacing it to the university’s system.
• SLC to be asked to include changes in fee allocations on the BACSFirst transactions files rather than on fee position reports.
• Finance Office are to provide CIIS with details of refinements to fee calculation algorithm to reduce the incidence of individually recording fees.
• Additional fee records (PBOs) are to be set up to reduce the number of non-standard fees which have to be recorded individually.
• Consideration is being given to adjusting faculty allocations where large scale discounting of standard fees has occurred.
• Consultation to take place on suspending IT and/or Library accounts as an aid to debt collection.
• Consultation to take place on barring students from re-enrolling where they have an outstanding debt from previous year.
Methodology
The methodology used in the analysis consisted of three main activities: • One-to-one interviewing
• Workflow Modelling • Workshops
Interviewing
Interviews were conducted with the following: • Finance Office staff
• Faculty Administration – Business and Management
• Course Directors – Informatics F/T, Business and Management P/T, E-learning • Academic Registry
Workflow Modelling
The workflow modelling was carried out using the methodology and techniques recommended by Sharp and McDermott. This methodology is widely used in NI Government and other public sector projects.
Workshop
A half-day workshop was held attended by representatives of: • Student Finance
• Finance Systems Accountant • Academic Registry
• Faculty/Campus Administration – Arts/Belfast • CIIS
Process Analysis
Scope
The analysis covers the processes concerned with the invoicing and debt recovery of student tuition fees.
Overall Trigger: Student registers
Overall Result: Student pays fees
Main Customer: Student
Other Stakeholders: • University management • SLC • Sponsors • DEL • Parents Major Activities
• Record fee details • Calculate fees due • Create invoices • Record fee payments • Chase student debt • Chase sponsor debt
Key Players:
• Student fees office administer student fees • Other Finance cash management
• Faculty offices communicate changes in student circumstances • Academic staff record changes in courses/modules, set individual fees • Registry maintain student records on OES
Timing/Frequency: annual cycle
Mechanisms: OES Student System, Integra Finance System – SLS;SLI;CMS,
Student Finance Processes
Process
Name Triggered by Tasks Result(s)
Record Fee
Details • • Student Registration Amended details from student or sponsor
• Enter sponsor fee split details • Enter individually agreed fee • Maintain fees tables (PBOs)
Amended fee or sponsor contribution recorded on OES for overnight calculation of fees due and invoicing
Calculate Fees Due
Time triggered process on OES,
each night • • Calculate fees due Compare fees due to invoices and create invoice/credit note documents for students and sponsors
Invoice and credit note
documents created in OES for potential upload
Create Invoices
Fees Office staff decide on appropriate time for upload and invoice create
• Upload documents to Integra SLS to create invoices and credit notes
• Print personal and non-Board sponsor invoices using SLS/Formscape and despatch to students and sponsors • Print Board sponsor invoices
using Impromptu
• SLC do not get invoiced
Invoices and Credit Notes generated, printed and sent to students and sponsors
Record Fee Payment
Student or sponsor making
payment of due invoice • Payment received by cash/cheque/credit card/on-line • Lodge to Integra CMS and
allocate to invoice or leave as ‘unknown’ until invoice available
• SLC Remittance plus payment has a set of procedures based on Excel to load and allocate payments to CMS
Payments recorded in Integra CMS against invoices
Chase
Student Debt • Time-triggered, first reminders sent mid March for January due date, 2 further reminders sent.
• Overnight update of debtor flag is time-triggered process in OES • Debtor list requested by
Registry pre-graduation
• Integra SLS selects debtors with outstanding balances and produces statements
• Debtor flag set on OES student record by overnight processing for debts > £25
• On request from Registry a list of outstanding graduating debtors is produced by campus using the debtor flag. This is used to bar student debtors from graduating
• Returning students have debt indication on reenrolment form, current policy is to allow students to reenrol who are in debt.
Statements sent to students, OES updated with debtor indication to enable sanctions on graduation and reenrolment
Chase
Sponsor Debt
3 reminders sent for debt
overdue more than 30 days • Statements produced by Integra SLS as reminders for sponsors where debt older than 30 days
• Despatch statements to sponsors
• Implement debt collection procedures where debt still outstanding after third reminder
Problem Areas and Recommendations
The following areas have been identified for improvement and recommendations made for each. Some of the recommendations may be
implemented in the current system while others may have to await the implementation of a new student system and/or changes in organisational structures.
Problem Area Recommendations
Student Queries
The small number of student finance staff receive a large number of student queries – particularly when invoices have been sent out. Although there is a call handling system to allocate callers and to indicate queuing there is still considerable difficulty in handling volumes of up to 1,000 calls per week.
• Create invoices on a daily basis from start of year and send them out regularly, this will serve to spread the load of queries
• Do not invoice students who have signed up for direct debit payment as a DD notice is sent out to them, current practice of invoicing these students generates considerable queries.
• Locate the student finance staff within the structure of the proposed Student Services Centre which will provide a larger and more flexible resource to deal with queries.
• Provide a consolidated debt position to students as part of the proposed student portal, availability of accurate and up-to-date information to students will reduce the need for telephone or personal queries.
Delays in Invoicing
Currently the upload of invoices to Integra and the subsequent
production of invoices is not an automatic daily process but is carried out when staff decide that it is appropriate and that they have time available. This leads to delays in invoicing with subsequent knock-on effects on recording of payments and in generating queries from students.
• Create invoices daily and upload to Integra using automatic overnight processing if possible
Payment Processing and Allocations
• Payments received during enrolment and subsequently have to be lodged to the Integra Finance system. Frequently there is not a student account present for the lodgement and, as invoices are not available for some time, the allocation of cash to debt is difficult and back-logs quickly build up.
• The student system generates credit notes where students are due a
• Create student accounts in the Integra Finance System on a daily basis as student records become available rather than waiting on invoice generation. This means that an account should always be available for allocation of cash.
• Daily production of invoices will reduce the back-log of unallocated cash.
refund against an invoice previously generated. The allocation process for these is time-consuming
• Availability of on-line payments is limited
• The Integra Cash Management Interface (CMI) module is being purchased and implemented in the 2004-2005 year. This will provide much-improved cash upload and allocation facilities. • Investigation the allocation facilities available on the Sales Ledger
Interface (SLI) to establish if credit notes can be automatically allocated to outstanding debts.
• Extend the facility of credit card and on-line payments to enable students to have greater flexibility for payment. This will be a feature of the proposed student portal.
• In conjunction with the proposal to provide the student with a consolidated debt position the availability of on-line payment can be extended to other areas of the university such as accommodation debts and resit fees.
Data Quality
• Changes to student module enrolments are often not actioned until very late in the academic year. For credit-based fees this presents problems – in some cases the student has left the university when additional module fees are due,
• Student fee-paying status – Home/Overseas – creates difficulties, it is sometimes incorrectly recorded.
• SLC amendments appear not to be included on the BACSFirst transactions but only on fee position reports. These reports are not in a form which enable easy processing.
• Students will be given the facility to check and maintain their module enrolments on-line in the appropriate periods. This should reduce the incidence of module changes not being updated due to forms not being completed or returned.
• Fee-paying status will be available for students to check through the student portal, this will enable action to be taken to correct this in a timely manner.
• Software is available which will check that bank account numbers are valid – costs are to be investigated with a view to procuring the software and interfacing it to the university’s system.
• SLC to be asked to include changes in fee allocations on the BACSFirst transactions files rather than on fee position reports. Fee Calculation
• A large number of fees have to be recorded as ‘individually agreed’ as the fee calculation algorithm is not set up to calculate them correctly.
• There are large numbers of non-standard fees which have to be recorded individually as they are the subject of special
arrangements between students and faculties.
• Finance Office are to provide CIIS with details of refinements to fee calculation algorithm to reduce the incidence of individually recording fees.
• Additional fee records (PBOs) are to be set up to reduce the number of non-standard fees which have to be recorded individually.
• Consideration is being given to adjusting faculty allocations where large scale discounting of standard fees has occurred.
Debt Collection
There are currently few sanctions which can be applied to those students who are in debt
• Consultation to take place on suspending IT and/or Library accounts as an aid to debt collection.
• Consultation to take place on barring students from re-enrolling where they have an outstanding debt from previous year.
Student Fees - Invoicing and Payment
S ponsor F ee s Office OE S Student System S tudent Provide details at registration or when amendment required Send amended details Record Fee Details Calculate Fees Due 765 12 11 10 8 4 2 1 9 3 Create Invoices 765 12 11 10 8 4 2 1 9 3 OvernightFees Office Decides Time
Receive Invoice/
Credit Note Submit Payment
Record Fee Payment
Student Fees - Chase Debt
Integra SLS/ CMS OE S Student System F ee s Office S ponsor S tudent Chase Student Debt 765 12 11 10 8 4 2 1 9 3First reminders sent mid-March for January due date, 2 further reminders
sent Chase Student Debt Receive Reminder 765 12 11 10 8 4 2 1 9 3 Update Debtor Flag Overnight Update
Print Debtor List
To Registry for graduation Chase Sponsor Debt Chase Sponsor Debt Receive Reminder 3 reminders sent for
debt older than 30 days
