To:   Members of the Rutgers University Community

From:   Karen Kavanagh
             Executive Vice President for Administrative Affairs

Subject:  Reorganization of Administrative Affairs and Salaries at Rutgers
        for the Coming Fiscal Year

     On February 27, President McCormick provided the university community with a communication outlining the five key values that will guide his administration and announced the restructuring of the academic and administrative offices with the establishment of the Office of Academic Affairs and the Office of Administrative Affairs. After careful review of the administrative structure, and with the endorsement of President McCormick, effective July 1, 2003, I am announcing a reorganization of the areas reporting to the Office of Administrative Affairs which will ensure better use of our resources, improve processes, delegate authority to the lowest level possible, and enhance communications within our own organization, across the university community and with external constituents important to the university. This realignment of functional areas and staff also will position us to contain costs and promote efficiencies, especially as we face the shrinking pool of State dollars.

    During an extensive consultative process, large numbers of academic administrators, deans, directors, and chairs shared the clear and hopeful vision of how the administration could provide better and more efficient, effective services to the academic community. The current structure has often created a silo effect where departments operate independently, diluting process ownership and accountability, and impeding interactions and communications among units. The consolidation of areas with functional similarities and common interests will position us to deliver the types and level of service the academic community deserves. Those services must be faster, less bureaucratic and more responsive in all areas of administrative support.

    The major organization changes will be the alignment of all human resource-type functions reporting to an associate vice president of human resources, the merger of all facilities-related departments under a vice president of facilities and capital planning, and the centralization of most business services under an associate vice president of business services. Parking and transportation services will fall under the Division of Public Safety. In addition, risk management will report directly to the senior vice president and treasurer, and, on an interim basis, procurement services also will report to that office.

     We are already beginning to change policies and procedures, and will implement several changes effective July 1, 2003. For your convenience, we are highlighting these changes, as well as others, below. You should direct any questions regarding the changes to the contact person listed on the departmental web site

University Human Resources (UHR) - Changes Effective July 1, 2003
Web site: http://uhr.rutgers.edu/

• The Quick Order limit will increase from $1,000 to $5,000, thereby giving departments increased purchasing authority for lower cost items.
• The mandatory "sealed bidding" requirement will be increased from $14,700 to $40,000, reducing bid processing time for the purchase of goods and services under the $40,000 limit from 3-4 weeks to 3-4 days.

University Procurement & Contracting (UP&C) - Changes Effective July 1, 2003
Web site: http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~procure/

• The Salary Adjustment Policy for Administrative, Professional and Supervisory (A/P/S) employees will be changed to allow departmental discretion for awarding a salary increase between 5 - 15% in instances of a promotion or reclassification, providing that the new salary is not less than the minimum or more than the maximum of the range or grade. Departments also can request, with the concurrence of their senior management, in-range or in-grade salary adjustments of up to 10% (not to exceed the range or grade maximum). These policy modifications will empower departments, giving them greater flexibility in awarding salary increases for promotions, reclassifications, and other appropriate adjustments, and will reduce the number of reclassification requests.
• UHR will be implementing electronic absence record cards in an effort to streamline the process for recording absences. This will reduce both departmental paperwork and year-end data entry requirements.

Financial Management - Office of the Senior Vice President and Treasurer
Web site: http://www.univcontroller.rutgers.edu

Note: This is the University Controller's web site and a source of information for the changes listed below.

• The Controller's Office will increase capitalization limits from $1,000 to $5,000 thereby reducing the pieces of equipment that must be inventoried . Effective July 1, 2003
• Web-based time reports will replace the paper Time Report Form (TRF) improving efficiency and reducing paperwork and data entry. The expected time frame for implementation is fall 2003.
• The Division of Grant and Contract Accounting (DGCA) and the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) will be revising the subcontracting process to condense the time spent negotiating and executing subcontracts. These areas also will be working in conjunction with RUCS in support of the university's research mission by creating an electronic grant development process similar to those currently available at other universities. A committee of users will be formed and convened in fall 2003 to address sthese issues.

    While the organization is in its initial stages of development, we will strive in the coming months to stabilize the administrative functions, carefully examine processes, and communicate with the members of the academic community to ensure their needs are met. Our long-term goal is to build a culture at Rutgers that embraces and develops collaborative and collegial working relationships. I am looking forward to working with everyone as Rutgers University moves to the next level of achievement as a premier state university. Please ensure that all employees receive a copy of this communication. We are attaching organizational charts showing the administrative services past structure and the new structure that will become effective July 1, 2003. You also can visit the Administrative Affairs website at http://adminaffairs.rutgers.edu/ for more information about the various offices and for details on new initiatives and policy and program development.

If you have any questions or comments about the information contained in this communication or on any other administrative matter, please feel free to contact my office at 732-932-5661 for assistance, or email us at pierce@oldqueens.rutgers.edu. You can also contact any of the administrative affairs vice presidents for assistance with questions specific to their areas.