Technology transformation with students at the heart
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The University of Alabama at Birmingham celebrates its immense digital transformation WRITTEN BY
AMBER DONOVAN-STEVENS PRODUCED BY
CRAIG DANIELS
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U N I V E R S I T Y O F A L A B A M A AT B I R M I N G H A M
In an exclusive interview with Vice President and CIO, Dr. Curt Carver Jr., he shares the hundreds of ‘wins’ achieved in streamlining the university experience
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mpowering greatness in others is at the heart of every technical solution the University of Alabama at Birmingham
(UAB) has made, and this could not be more evident from the technology transformation that has taken 04
place over the past four years under the leadership of Dr. Curt Carver. It is no surprise that the University of Alabama at Birmingham was keen to enlist Carver to spearhead IT operations with his impressive career history and dedication to student and staff wellbeing. Carver previously worked as the Vice Chancellor for Information Technology and CIO at the University System of Georgia. Prior to that, during his time at the US Military Academy at West Point, he rose through the academic ranks from instructor to full professor, before becoming Vice Dean, serving as deputy to the Chief Academic Officer. Whilst in this role, Carver also participated as an American Council of Education fellow at George Mason University, visiting 40 other universities across the United States, gaining a holistic view of task management across various universities.
$3.4bn Approximate revenue (2018)
1969
Year founded
23,000
Approximate number of employees
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U N I V E R S I T Y O F A L A B A M A AT B I R M I N G H A M
“ When I started in 2015, it took us about 800 minutes to close out a phishing attack. Today we do it in 11” 06
— Dr Curtis Carver, Vice President and Chief Information Officer
He has been with UAB since 2015 and, under his leadership, the university has had over 420 ‘wins’. Carver defines a ‘win’ as a concern raised by the community, which is met with solutions that are validated as successful by staff and students, while in line with the strategic plan. Averaging around 100 wins a year, Carver could not begin to list all of the achievements, but shared with us some from the 2017 and 2018 reports. This year marks the university’s 50th anniversary, which has seen the University of Alabama at Birmingham ranked number one amongst young
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘UAB. POWERED BY WILL’ 07 universities (those under 50 years of age) in the United States and 11th in the world. “We are trying to empower greatness in our students, faculty, and researchers and clinicians,” explains Carver. “That means removing obstacles preventing them from accomplishing their research and teaching tasks, and trying to figure out mechanisms to co-author solutions to not only achieve their goals, but to create a competitive advantage for them compared to other universities.” Carver emphasizes the need to build strong partnerships with students to create solutions that do not only “comply or w w w.u a b . ed u
Be Future Ready. Outpace Change. With student success a top-of-mind issue for the higher education industry, institutions are poised to have their day in the sun—proving not just their academic worth but their strategic value as well. To make good on that promise and thrive in the digital age, institutions must stay ahead of the fast-changing forces that are driving new educational models, a student-minded culture and new ways of working. They must Be Future-Ready and Outpace Change. The focus for many institutions is on improved student outcomes, which means retaining students in any possible way for them to reach their academic goals. But this requires many human resources, engaged faculty and skilled talent. Catering to your students also means that institutions and their workforces have the right insight and data at their fingertips to advise students properly. Answering the many student inquiries— from common to more complex financial aid questions—can be time-consuming, and often ends up being costly to institutions. How do you stay ahead in a world that is changing faster than ever? Human intelligence alone isn’t enough. Innovations in AI, machine learning and digital assistants are analyzing data, providing answers, and suggesting next steps to help students and employees respond in minutes, not weeks or months. Predictive analytics are forecasting multiple scenarios to help institutions be ready for future disruptions. Human resources, finance, and student-focused offices will play a pivotal role in building a future-ready institution that can not only withstand change, but outpace it. Digital transformation is a challenge for any institution. In the past, most have relied on disparate, on-premises solutions designed to serve specific purposes. This meant that processes for core functions like recruiting, talent management,
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U N I V E R S I T Y O F A L A B A M A AT B I R M I N G H A M
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satisfy, but delight their expectations.”
of people when devising a business
“These are solutions that they feel that
strategy. “On my first day as CIO,
they are a part of,” he comments.
we created a crowd-sourcing site,
Another motivation of the company’s
and we had some 800 meetings in the
technological transformation is the goal
first 100 days. By creating a voice for
of easing the workload of both staff and
everyone, you can work towards the
students. “Some of the ways in which
best possible solution and provide
we have achieved this is by moving to
each aspect of the university with
unlimited email, creating passwords that
its own competitive edge.” This level
don’t expire, and having unlimited storage,
of communication enabled staff
as well as creating the fastest networks
and students to be receptive to the
and research computers in the state.
technical changes, because they
When you’re working with genomics
were solutions requested by them.
and personalized medicine, these small
For example, one goal was to
factors make a great deal of difference.”
leverage the faculty’s disciplinary
Carver cannot emphasize enough
expertise. “We can’t treat faculty as the
the importance of listening to a variety
most expensive typists on the planet,”
jokes Carver. At the end of each term, staff are tasked with the movement of student records from the learning management system to the student information system. “So if you’re teaching 300 students, that’s about 900 clicks to complete this task, taking hours. And if you make an error, the staff member then has three different permissions and five forms to complete to rectify the mistake,” explains Carver. “So we built a button, and all of the information is transported across 11
E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE
Curtis A. Carver Jr Curtis A. Carver Jr., Ph.D., was named Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer in June 2015, following a national search. A senior leader in higher education information technology, Carver came to UAB from his position as Vice Chancellor and CIO for the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, having previously held key leadership positions at the US Military Academy at West Point. Carver earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the US Military Academy at West Point and his Master’s Degree and Doctorate in computer science from Texas A&M University. Throughout his career, he has received numerous national and international honors and awards for military, teaching, and research excellence. Carver is a frequent keynote speaker and has published extensively.
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13 systems in about a second, eradicating
and deployed a tool where the students
the previously arduous process.
could input their desired classes,
“If we’re going to change the world,
when they are working or when they
let’s be serious about changing the
would rather not be on campus, and it
world, and that means empowering
automatically builds multiple schedules
people and taking some of these
for them, and they just pick the schedule
bureaucratic tasks off their plate,”
they want.”
Carver continues, with reference to the
Carver notes that part of the success
university’s students. “When students
of the strategy is to be a servant leader,
were scheduling, they would go into
and not a Napoleonic one. “It’s not
the student information system and
about control. It’s about empowerment.”
they would download the schedules
Carver believes that it is important to
into Excel, and they would try to build
hire people smarter than himself, as
a schedule. So we worked with the
it empowers employees, instilling within
registrar and enrollment management
them a sense of responsibility to find w w w.u a b . ed u
U N I V E R S I T Y O F A L A B A M A AT B I R M I N G H A M
“ We are trying to empower greatness in our students, faculty, and researchers and clinicians” — Dr Curtis Carver, Vice President and Chief Information Officer
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a solution. He commends his team
undergraduate classes into the
of staff, who are particularly committed
learning management system. “This
to the improvement of cybersecurity.
cloud-based solution enabled students
Carver reflects on how cybersecurity
to push one button, and all of their
has improved: “When I started in 2015,
undergraduate classes, all of the
it took us about 800 minutes to close
requirements then transfer into their
out a phishing attack. Today we do it in
mobile device calendar.” This is a
11.” He returns to the topic of passwords,
drastic change from the previous
sharing another solution that was
organization where staff either handed
deployed. “We gave students and staff
out paper timetables or posted them
a mobile-enabled platform that tracks
on their own websites.
passwords and generates strong unique ones, strengthening security further.”
Looking ahead, Carver notes some of the solutions that the university
Of the many wins, Carver said his
is currently piloting. “We’re working
favorite was the movement of 1,250
on building a navigation system that
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U N I V E R S I T Y O F A L A B A M A AT B I R M I N G H A M
“ If we’re going to change the world, let’s be serious about changing the world” — Dr Curtis Carver, Vice President and Chief Information Officer 18
automatically locates free parking space for students.” Carver and his team are working toward a new strategic plan that, in the true spirit of his ethos, is a compilation of stories about those who will benefit from the technology solutions. “This puts customers at the center of the conversation and it focuses on digital moments that delight them. So we’re very excited about the future and what we’re going to be able to do with this kind of customer centric approach.” In a time where technology and AI is considered to be detached if not impersonal, Carver is subverting this with his leadership, and using technology to improve the lives and relationships of staff and students. With any hope, his innovation will spread to other universities, with the University of Alabama at Birmingham leading the way.
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1720 2ND AVE S Birmingham, AL 35294 T 205.934.5493 www.uab.edu