Discover and share good practice for smarter working universities

A cartoon case study of Edinburgh Napier's exam logistics project

First class results delivered in exam logistics process improvement project

When Edinburgh Napier trialled streamlining the logistics around the production of exam papers they expected the changes would save some time for staff. But the benefits produced went further than that as Louise McElhone and Steve Yorkstone explain.

Big change vs small change

Examinations at Edinburgh Napier used to be a complicated process. This cartoon case study on redesigning the university's examination process shows how a series of small changes saved time for students and staff while improving security.
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What do you mean – business process improvement?

From ‘change management’ to ‘business process improvement’ – it’s all the same thing, and it all matters, writes Steve Butcher on the Higher Education Funding Council for England blog.

Donna Kendall: striving for success, the Coventry way

Coventry University has been one of the star performers in recent university ranking tables. The university’s pro vice chancellor for strategic development, Donna Kendall, tells Rosie Niven the role she plays in building on this success for the future.

Don’t wait for Godot, start fixing things now

Inspired by the absurdist Samuel Beckett play Waiting for Godot, the University of Sheffield's Rachel McAssey issues a call to arms in her blog; instead of waiting for big change to happen, get some problem solving skills and start making small improvements.
Heather Lawrence, University of Strathclyde

The cross-cutting themes of the ITF projects

Managers should witness first-hand how processes earmarked for improvement work before agreeing to those changes, Heather Lawrence of the University of Strathclyde's business improvement team writes. Her blogpost, focusing on lessons from the Innovation and Transformation Fund, also advises capturing feedback and communicating findings throughout the projects.
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Doing better knowledge exchange

With funding pressures increasing, universities are being asked to demonstrate the return they are delivering on HEFCE's funding for knowledge exchange. In this post HEFCE's Alice Frost looks at how the newly-launched McMillan group on technology transfer will support a culture of continuous improvement in university knowledge exchange.

Evidencing the benefits of a business improvement project from the start

Following the launch of the University of Strathclyde's Guide to Evidencing the Benefits of Business Process Improvement in July 2015, Nicola Cairns shares an example of how this approach can be seamlessly integrated into existing business improvement projects.

Engagement driven approach to process improvement – University of Hertfordshire

This report describes a project to develop an approach to process improvement within Higher Education that focuses on people, acknowledges their different perspectives and uses these perspectives to enhance capability.

Putting Students at the Heart of Our Processes – University of Leicester

This report is a guide to the University of Leicester's exploration into whether connecting senior leaders more closely to the student experience created an impetus for organisational improvement. It contains information on “what works” in engaging senior leaders and seeks to provide insights for institutions looking to develop similar approaches.