• Prospective students apply and track applications on line.
  
• A one-stop-shopping student services mall allows students to find answers to admissions, registration, financial aid, billing, and ID card questions at a single location.
  
• Graduating seniors apply for jobs and set up interviews with employers on line, 24 hours a day, eliminating long lines and much paper.
  
• Academic and administrative departments have self-assessment and planning support services available to them free of charge.
  
• Current, past and future deans and department chairs share experiences and information about academic and institutional issues and leadership responsibilities through luncheon sessions and anew Web site.
  
• Employees develop new job skills and pursue areas of personal growth via a professional development program.
  

They're all changes that have taken place at the university in the last ten years.

"Rutgers 2003: A Progress Report" summarizes many of the changes that have taken place since then to make the university a more welcoming, easier place in which to learn and work. The report was prepared by the Center for Organizational Development and Leadership with guidance and input from many within the Rutgers community. It is intended for distribution throughout the university community to recognize our many accomplishments in the past ten years, to identify continuing and emerging challenges, and to encourage us to ambitiously pursue further improvements and innovations in the years ahead.

Many of us who were working at the university in 1991 will remember the "Red Tape" Report, and the recommendations made by the Committee on Administrative Efficiency about ways in which we might collectively improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and user-friendliness of services, and how we could enhance collaboration and communication among and between faculty, staff, and students.

The report made recommendations in five broad areas of concern:

1. The establishment of a universityprogram for continuous improvement;
   
2. Creating a welcoming environment for students, parents, and our numerous stakeholders;
   
3. The development and enhancement of programs and services designed to eliminate bureaucracy and meet the varied and unique needs of those for whom we provide services;
   
4. Improvement in communication and collaboration among and between departments; and
   
5. Using technological advancements to enhance service and efficiency.