Message from President Cook 8/18/2022

August 18, 2022

Dear Colleagues,

We are excited to share that NDSU is preparing to conduct a comprehensive review of the University’s financial business processes. We have partnered with the Huron Consulting Group to assist in gathering information regarding how financial activities are distributed across our workforce. Beginning 8/22/2022, NDSU will be administering an online survey, conducted by the Huron Consulting Group. The survey will be sent by the Huron Consulting Group with the subject line “Huron Financial Activities Survey Link” to select staff allowing participants to detail financial functions and activities they perform.

Staff have been selected for inclusion in the survey based upon specific thresholds of financial activity they are estimated to perform on a daily or annual basis. Participation in this exercise is highly encouraged for all participants identified in this group to provide sufficient insight for recommended improvements.

The Huron financial activities survey will be conducted from 08/22/2022 through 09/02/2022.

• This exercise will gather information about the amount of time spent on a variety of financial activities.
• This exercise is NOT intended to measure or be associated with an individual’s job performance or ability to complete their job duties efficiently and effectively. Data is collected to help establish a baseline estimate for effort current financial processes require so that we may evaluate how to enhance or improve our business operations. The results from this exercise will be combined with other quantitative and qualitative analyses being conducted as a part of this project.
• Your feedback will be held in confidence with the Huron Consulting Group. Individual responses will not be published as a part of this project, information will only be presented in aggregate.
• You can expect this exercise to take about 15 minutes to complete. NDSU’s executive leadership team is aware of staff participation and supports the completion of the study during work hours.

Next Steps and Point of Contact

In the coming days, you will receive further information regarding this initiative and ways you can prepare. If you have immediate questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to our contact at Huron – Silvana Gutierrez at sigutierrez@hcg.com.

Thank you in advance for your support and participation in this important initiative as we all work together to better our financial operations for the benefit of our students and the fulfillment of our mission.

Sincerely,

David Cook, President