Updates

This page will be used to provide updates throughout the Operational Excellence process.

September 26, 2024

• 30+ interviews conducted with university leadership, Working Group members, Board of Trustee leaders, and Student Government Association members.
• Huron has begun analysis of university information.
• President’s Town Hall officially launched the process (review the presentation here).
• Confidential feedback form opened to encourage Loyola community members participation.

October 30, 2024

• Huron completed 42 interviews and 4 focus groups with students, faculty, staff, and administrators, meeting with 66 members of the community in total. Specifically, Huron met with:
  • The Student Government Association
  • 20 faculty department chairs with representation across all three schools as well as 8 additional faculty members from different departments
  • 32 administrators from the Academic Affairs, Administration, Advancement, Athletics, Business & Finance, Enrollment, Student Development, Equity and Inclusion, and Mission divisions
  • All Cabinet members and Working Group members
  • 4 Board of Trustee members
• Huron also analyzed over 170 data elements as part of the information gathering phase of work. These data elements included information such as:
  • Loyola’s employee census
  • Budget documents and models
  • Enrollment strategy
  • Class offerings
  • Space usage
• The Operational Excellence initiative received approximately 45 submissions to the confidential feedback email from Loyola community members. We encourage the community to continue to share their thoughts and feedback via this  submission form.
• University leadership and Huron presented to the Board of Trustees on October 15^th about the Operational Excellence engagement.
• Huron reviewed current state findings and discussed initial insights into campus culture, institutional strengths, and opportunities for improvement with the President’s Cabinet and Working Group. Highlights from the current state report are detailed below:

  • Loyola has a number of strengths that make the institution a great place to be a student, faculty, administrator, or staff member:

    • Values Driven: Stakeholders spoke highly of Loyola’s efforts to preserve and incorporate its Jesuit values, guiding University initiatives and efforts.
    • Staff and Faculty Commitment: Stakeholders demonstrated a commitment to excellence in their programs and to student success.
    • Initiative for Change: Stakeholders demonstrated a commitment to Loyola and recognized change is a necessary component to assure a vibrant future for the University.
    • Student Wellbeing: Stakeholders keep Loyola’s students in mind while making decisions, resulting in high levels of student satisfaction and academic success.

  • Stakeholders also recognized that there is opportunity for Loyola to make tangible enhancements that will strengthen the student and employee experience and facilitate better coordination and decision-making:

    • Governance and Decision-Making: Stakeholders highlighted a need to adjust current governance structures to drive forward progress on initiatives that came out of the strategic planning process.
    • Employee Experience: Stakeholders identified the need to address turnover, clarify roles and responsibilities, and strengthen career pathways to make Loyola a destination employer.
    • Student Experience: Stakeholders communicated a desire to continue investing in student support and the student experience.
  • Functional leaders have begun to meet with Huron to validate and refine emerging recommendations. A final set of recommendations will be provided to Loyola leadership for initial consideration in November.

December 5, 2024

• The Operational Excellence initiative received over 50 submissions to the confidential feedback email from Loyola community members. We thank the community for sharing their insights and perspectives as we start to translate feedback gathered into action over the coming months.
• The Operational Excellence Working Group and Vice Presidents reviewed and validated the full set of proposed recommendations aimed at advancing the University’s institutional positioning, resource efficiency, operational maturity, and financial resiliency. Recommendations were categorized to advance primary areas of Loyola’s strategic plan and were derived from data analysis, industry best practices, and stakeholder engagement.
• Considering strategic alignment and potential financial impact of proposed recommendations, the Working Group conducted an initial prioritization. The results from the Working Group’s prioritization exercise emphasizes a balance of initiatives that involve:
  • Strengthening undergraduate and graduate students’ curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular experiences
  • Optimizing delivery of services to meet the needs of Loyola’s students, faculty, administrators, and staff
  • Identifying and growing more diverse revenue streams, including enrollment and other external sources
• The State of the University address provided additional context and information (view the address here).
• In December, the President and President’s Cabinet will review the Working Group’s initial prioritization and finalize the short list of recommendations for design and implementation.
• Huron will provide business cases to further supplement decision-making and help drive a roadmap for action. The President and Cabinet members will appropriately consult with managers and teams who may be impacted by some of the recommendations, so all perspectives are heard.
• The Operational Excellence leadership team will continue to provide updates around recommendation prioritization and next steps as decisions are made.