Transformation Tracker

July and August

• The successful launch of the new Tuition Payment by Credit Card system on August 7th, following extensive configuration and testing.

• Finalized process mapping for Graduate Teaching Assistant Allocation, which will help identify areas for future improvement

June

• Setting up the credit card tuition payment system for staff and students ahead of Fall billing. This is a new offering for Laurentian University.

• Documented the refund process as part of the Fees Modernization project. Today, there are over 280 steps involved. Mapping out the future state will make it more consistent and efficient for all payment types with fewer handoffs and manual intervention.

• Reviewing the allocation of graduate teaching assistant (GTA) positions in collaboration with the Faculty of Graduate Studies.

May

• Improving fees and payment options for students, including exploring credit card tuition payments.

• Optimizing the refund process for students.

April

• Implemented an Instant Enrolment portal for Micro Credentials and Non-Credit programs that resulted in a significant increase in registration and retention of registrants. The number of dropped registrants in Spring 2025 enrolment decreased by over 80% compared to 2024, driving up revenue by more than $100K, and reducing administrative work by approximately 60 hours. 

• Implemented a waitlist feature (for high demand courses) that enters students in a prioritized alerting system, notifying them as soon as a spot opens up. This saves students from always checking back to see if there is an opening.

• Implemented customized email templates that proactively provide students with highly relevant information aligned to their expressed preferences, nurturing lead generation and engagement.

• Implemented personalized document reminders where an alert is triggered once a document is added to myLaurentian, notifying the applicant/student that a document is waiting for them. This improves the student experience and reduces manual follow-up.

• Added a new Accessibility Services section to the applicant portal allowing applicants to submit their information using a form and receive guidance from Accessibility Services on accommodations and support. 

July and August

•  Rollout of a new compensation model and the launch of an updated careers webpage. 

• Newly developed framework for responding to online reviews, further helping to improve the organization's public image. 

• Completion of a new job posting process. 

• Development of a new recruitment policy.

• Ongoing gathering of requirements for position management. 

June

• Approximately 50% of Laurentian University's new Position Management methodology has been defined. Position Management provides the mechanism to uniquely match each position to each individual person, containing invaluable personalized attributes about the role. This is critical for both the HR and Finance functions.

• The new recruitment process's definition is just over 60% complete. It is intended to provide the most expedient approach for managers in selecting and interviewing candidates.

May

• Optimizing the process of job postings and candidate selection within the onboarding process.

• Completed the process map of the current state of ‘Position Management’ and now planning the future state with HR and Finance. 

April

• The Notice of Separation process for employees is now active. The same process is being developed for student-employees and contract employees. This ensures managers have a clear, consistent, and standardized process for every employee departure.

• Implemented a new Hiring Requisition process for full-time and grant-funded roles that is integrated into myLaurentian, replacing the old paper system. HR has already received its first request using the new system. Part-time and student roles are next and in progress. A tracking system has also been put in place to help managers monitor progress and stay aligned with HR. 

• A guide and checklist for the onboarding process has been created to ensure clarity and consistency among hiring managers when starting a new employee.

• All job evaluations have been updated, creating a clear and consistent process across the University. This streamlines how roles are reviewed and ensures every evaluation follows the same fair and efficient approach.

July and August 

• Initiated a new project to streamline the institutional grant application. 

• Concentration was on preparing for the new budgeting tool, where the team completed numerous consultation and configuration sessions to ensure the new tool will be fully optimized. 

June 

• Collecting and preparing data required for budgeting system. 

• Completed a massive cleanup of 53,000+vendors in preparation for the new purchasing (Procure-to-Pay) system.

May

• Completed prerequisite work on the General Ledger (GL) structure for the new budgeting system.

• Achieved an 82% reduction in vendors for the new purchasing system.

• Hosted official kick-off for the new budgeting system in May.

April

• Implemented a new finance organizational model that streamlines operations, implements succession planning, and provides more coverage.

• Reassessed and made changes to the General Chart of Accounts to align with current business operations. These changes are critical for the implementation of the new budgeting system.

• Performed a product market assessment and selected the budgeting system (Axiom). This system replaces the archaic excel version and ties in with the core ERP financial system and the procure-to-pay system (P2P).

• Performed a product market assessment and selected the procure-to-pay system (Jaggaer). This is a huge step forward in replacing two separate systems and manual processes. Similar to the budgeting system, among other enhancements it embeds internal financial controls and compliance.

July and August

• Secure updates to the OneCard administration process, and the printing, payment, and access technological functionality of the cards. 

• Successful implementation and setup of the new data system integration software, Ethos, which will enable seamless data flow between all administrative and academic applications

June

• Work Intake Management Plan is 84% complete, determining a clear and organized way for IT to receive and manage requests.

• Modernizing OneCard's underlying infrastructure and applications to ensure a stable and effective service while introducing a mobile application for students to track account balances. The OneCard project is making progress with phase one set for July, followed by phases 2 and 3 throughout the fall months.

May

• Launched the OneCard VIP project to modernize equipment and provide mobile access.

• New Records Management policy approved.

April

• Assessment, Evaluation, and Recommendation for the core Information System (ERP). This was necessary as the ERP is the business backbone of the University’s technology infrastructure, housing key data such as financials, student data, employee data and more.

• Developed a new governance framework and policy approved by the Executive Team.

• Created a new Incident and Escalation framework and matrix that will assist in responding to incidents (i.e. systems outage, cyberattacks, authentication, etc.) ranging in severity from significant to low. This matrix identifies when, who, and how incidents will be addressed, thereby reducing meant time to resolution with improved communications.

• Developed an IT Service Catalogue that will be configured into myLaurentian, enabling the Laurentian University community to see all approved and standard IT products and services.