Fixing Bureaucratic Dysfunction in University Administration

Introduction: A Bureaucracy That Keeps Students Out

There is a growing problem in university administration. Most people would agree with the kind of mission statement that describes a university as an institution that "promotes an institutional culture which values excellent teaching, scholarly achievement, creative activity, and life-long learning." The problem is that dysfunctional administrative processes are often more effective at keeping students out of classrooms than at putting them in. There are too many examples of average students attempting to navigate a bureaucratic nightmare — following up on financial aid, confirming an add/drop with the registrar, or discovering that entire personal files have mysteriously disappeared — to dismiss these concerns. This essay reveals a few of the most commonly observed daily problems and suggests some potential improvements. Addressing these concerns would make the promise of broad opportunity in higher education far more believable.

Lost Documentation and Its Consequences

A university's administrative bureaucracy can become a completely disorganized structure that mismanages routine procedures and basic protocols. One of the biggest concerns is lost documentation across all aspects of day-to-day educational operations. For example, students are regularly required to retake tests because original copies are misplaced, destroyed, or mislabeled. Another serious concern is the frequent loss of financial aid documentation. Many students have lost financial aid for entire semesters because their paperwork did not reach the appropriate state office in time to secure funding.

Improving these two problems alone would greatly enhance the educational experience for a large percentage of students. There is no excuse for an administrative office to miss financial aid deadlines or enrollment registration windows when processing such submissions is its primary function. As organizational theory on bureaucracy suggests, the very purpose of a bureaucratic structure is to standardize and reliably execute routine processes — a purpose that is entirely defeated when core records go missing.

Interoffice Communication Failures

Another area of concern that generates a great deal of student disappointment is the breakdown of basic interoffice communications. The foundation of any great institution often rests on its ability to communicate effectively and efficiently across its various functions. Yet universities frequently mishandle interactions among the Financial Aid office, the Registrar's office, and the Bursar's office. Both direct and routed communications are regularly mishandled, raising the question of whether any phone or correspondence training is taking place at all.

Additional problems arise when anyone attempts to communicate with the transfer office, or when the registrar needs to coordinate with an academic department. University-based bureaucracies traditionally do not create policy — they are needed to enact it. If a bureaucracy must exist to manage the mountains of forms, files, and communications generated by a large student body, then its personnel should at the very least receive adequate training to complete those tasks effectively. Consider the analogy of an army that cannot get food to its troops or ammunition to the front lines because interdepartmental communications are not functioning — the consequences are severe and entirely avoidable.