University of Utah

The challenge

Utah deployed quite a few departmental solutions, and some of the legacy technology systems had “hit their sunset,” Product Manager Mark Curtz said.

The application process for certain degree programs was paper-based. The accounts payable department at the University of Utah Hospital “used to pass paper around,” Curtz said.

The solution

Utah initially selected OnBase, a Hyland content services platform, to aid its admissions efforts. Soon, though, the university began to utilize OnBase enterprise-wide.

OnBase serves as the university’s enterprise document management system. Utah is storing about 11 million documents, tallying more than 13 terabytes of information, in the platform. “Many thousands” of university constituents access OnBase documents via an integration with the school’s Management Reports system.

OnBase “touches almost every department and college on campus,” Curtz said. Utah deploys OnBase in the Hyland Cloud, which allows universities to scale quickly to their needs while supporting security and compliance requirements and providing an average uptime of 99.99%.

With OnBase, institutions can securely store and easily retrieve documents and other electronic files. Utah utilizes OnBase’s many capabilities to digitize paper records, create and manage online forms, and automate processes via the platform’s robust workflow engine.

The admissions department is the university’s heaviest OnBase user, but the school’s 1,400-plus accounts span the university alphabet — from the academic advising center to university information technology and undergraduate studies.

The difference

Robust workflows: Utah’s College of Social Work processes and stores applications in OnBase for its bachelor’s degree and Substance Use Disorder Treatment certificate programs. Requests for reference letters are sent and applications are routed for review by faculty members. Two faculty members are assigned to review and provide decisions, and split decisions are sent for a third review. The system then notifies applicants of the decision, and those who are admitted receive a link to an Intent to Enroll form.

Anywhere, anytime access: Utah’s Graduate School uses OnBase to store program review documents and provide online access to deans, department chairs and professors. There’s also a workflow in which students submit their thesis and dissertation manuscripts to be reviewed and approved by assigned groups. A reporting dashboard allows students to see the status of their work as it flows through the review and approval cycles.

Seamless contract management: The university’s Office of Global Engagement obtains proposal requests for international agreements with OnBase’s Unity Forms. The requests are uploaded and routed for approval. When all of the stakeholders give their OK, the contracts are sent for final signatures with OnBase’s DocuSign integration. When contracts near expiration dates, notifications are sent so the office can work on renewals.

Positive word of mouth: Curtz said the IT department has received feedback that the enterprise-wide digital solutions have made processes “a lot easier.” The formerly paper-heavy AP group in the university’s hospital now routes electronic vouchers to other groups in their department.

“They’re constantly saying, ‘Wow, this is like night and day. This has really helped us be a lot more productive,’” Curtz said.

By deploying the enterprise-wide platform in the Hyland Cloud, Utah doesn’t have to maintain a large staff of IT workers and system administrators, and it doesn’t have to worry about system backup and disaster recovery.

“From an IT perspective, we don’t have to support them, because it’s hosted,” Curtz said.

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