[vimeo width=”700″ height=”393″]http://www.vimeo.com/110410123[/vimeo]
Category: News
The OE2C Steering Committee has reviewed and approved recommended changes to SMU’s current travel and entertainment policies. These policy changes were developed by the OE2C Travel Initiative with representation from various offices across campus. Over the past three months the Travel Initiative has spent time conducting a complete review of existing policies; engaging other campus members through meetings, demonstrations and focus groups; and benchmarking current policies against more than 20 peer and aspirant universities. The approved changes are the result of this effort and represent the “best practices” identified during their review. These policy changes will be enacted in conjunction with the implementation of the Concur Travel & Expense management system beginning in spring 2015.
We are six months into Project SMU: Operational Excellence for the 2nd Century (OE2C) and work is on schedule. The insights revealed through this process will help SMU strengthen its economic vitality and academic mission with operational improvements and savings.
As we near the conclusion of the diagnostic phase and prepare for the design phase of the project, Julie Forrester, professor of law and former dean ad interim of Dedman School of Law, replaces Martin Sweidel as the OE2C project co-coordinator along with Bill Detwiler. She will serve as the academic liaison for day-to-day communications with Bain for the remainder of the project and will work closely with the executive and steering committees.
We are grateful to Dr. Forrester for her willingness to serve SMU in this capacity and wish Dr. Sweidel all the best in his new position at Goucher College.
The final diagnostic report will be shared with the SMU community by the end of October.
Executive Sponsor Marc Christensen and the OE2C Travel and Entertainment Committee is pleased to announce the selection of Concur® as SMU’s new electronic travel and expense management solution. The initiative committee would like to thank the faculty, staff, and students who provided feedback and attended the finalist demonstrations in early September.
Based on the feedback received from across campus and from consultation with peer and aspirant universities, Concur® emerged as the best option for SMU. Concur® offers higher education organizations an absolute, integrated, and tailored solution for easier management of travel, expense, and travel risk management obligations.
The Travel and Entertainment Initiative Committee will continue their review of the University Travel and Entertainment Policy to build a simpler, more standardized process as the implementation of Concur® begins in the coming months. Additional suggestions or feedback from the SMU community are encouraged as this important initiative moves forward.
Thank you to those who attended our four travel-tool vendor demonstrations on Thursday and Friday, Sept. 4-5, 2014! If you have additional feedback about the vendors or your preferences, please send it to us via the OE2C questions and comments form by end of day Monday, Sept. 15, 2014. Select the “Travel/Entertainment” dropdown.