Operating model
In the vision and implementation of U of A for Tomorrow, we are focused on the future university—one that is relevant, responsive, and nimble. A university that can grow and adapt to changing demographics and student needs. A university that engages with the critical issues and questions of our time and discovers the social and technical innovations the world needs.
The university’s new operating model consists of a hybrid of centralized and decentralized services which promotes consistency, avoids duplication, and supports a one-university approach and service culture. By integrating and centralizing administrative and professional services with academic services, the new operating model reduces the administrative burden on academic units.
Leadership structure
The U of A has four main academic and administrative levels: university, college, faculty, and department. These levels work together to align institutional strategy and structure across both academic and administrative components of the university. Importantly, there is minimal duplication among levels.
New structures
In order to integrate and centralize the delivery of academic and administrative services that are common across the university, several new structures have been established. These include the Colleges (fundamental to the provision of academic services), Centres of Expertise (the core of the reorganized AVP units) and two service centres (one for students and another for staff). Advisory support services are distributed within the colleges and faculties through embedded service partners who report primarily into the Centres of Expertise.
Administrative and academic services
A chief goal of UAT is to restructure the university's administrative and academic services so that we work as one university, with a clear vision, with aligned and consistent best practices, and a shared commitment to providing service excellence. To achieve this goal, the UAT team is completely redesigning major processes across all university functions to promote consistency, avoid duplication, and support a university-wide service culture.
UAT profiles
In this new series, get to know some of the people who have taken on new roles as part of the university’s operating model.
- Meet Asha, Faculty General Manager, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry
- Meet Annette, Senior HR Service Partner, HRHSE
- Meet Orsi, Team Lead, Student Service Centre
- Meet Ibtissam, Finance Partner, Campus Saint-Jean
- Meet Julia, Manager of Internal Communications (Students), External Relations
- Meet Melanie, Finance Partner, Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences
- Meet Julie, General Manager, College of Natural and Applied Sciences (CNAS)
- Meet Anna, Shared Services Advisor, Staff Service Centre
- Meet Salena, Director, Communications and Marketing Partnerships
- Meet Corey, Manager, Learning Space Technology
- Meet Karmeni, Academic Department Manager, Alberta School of Business