Johns Hopkins UniversityEst. 1876
America’s First Research University
The Student Services Excellence Initiative (SSEI) aims to optimize the student and faculty experience, streamline processes, embrace change, and make data-driven decisions. SSEI is a university-wide initiative serving all campuses at the Johns Hopkins University.
Learn more about our current projects and how we engage students in the process.
FOCUS ON THE ULTIMATE STUDENT EXPERIENCE
Create a climate for change by developing solutions focused on the ultimate student/faculty experience, impact on student/faculty experience takes precedence over jurisdiction; position our students and faculty to reap the benefits of being a part of “One University”
STREAMLINE & SIMPLIFY
Collaboratively develop common student processes and data across JHU while still respecting the differences across schools and divisions, including respect for local decision making and service delivery; engage and empower various constituencies across the university throughout the project; make collaboration across schools and divisions easier; make compliance with legal/regulatory requirements consistent and easily achievable
USE OBJECTIVE ANALYSIS & BEST PRACTICES TO DRIVE INFORMED DECISIONS
Make informed decisions by utilizing easy-to-use management reporting processes and technology; increase data availability and accessibility; openly compare ourselves to peers and learn from others’ best practice
LOOK FORWARD, NOT BACK
Just because something has “always been done that way” does not mean that is the way it should have been done or should continue to be done – no “sacred cows”; strive to implement processes and systems that enable us to best serve our students, both now and into the future; focus on how to improve while also being mindful of resources
Students at Johns Hopkins rely on a wide array of academic and administrative services from the moment they apply to the university through graduation and beyond. In 2016, the JHU launched the Student Services Excellence Initiative (SSEI), which focused on an assessment of six key administrative areas of student services: Recruitment & Admissions, Financial Aid, Billing, Registration, Advising, and Career Services & Alumni Tracking.
Initially, the driving factor for this project was to redesign and replace our student information system. The current outdated system is challenged by functional weaknesses and is no longer meeting the needs of students, staff and faculty in a world of rapidly changing mobile technology. Extensive pre-work and analysis revealed the need for process improvements and better alignment across the above six functional areas; simply adopting a technology solution would fail to address the key underlying issues.
Our students have only ever known a world in which information and services are easily accessible at the push of a button. In the years since this project launched, there have been numerous advancements in technology (e.g. AI), as well as an ever-evolving population of students. Throughout, our project has emphasized an “experience-first” perspective: not merely evaluating systems themselves, but how we might establish and refine processes and technologies to evolve with the needs of our students.