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As part of the Office of Information Technology’s vision to be the primary strategic business partner at the university, the Finance and Administration team works diligently every day meeting the fundamental objectives to reach this aim. A team of nine manages billing for information technology services across both campuses, human resources efforts including key partnerships with other campus departments and projects as well as outreach and communication for the university’s IT initiatives.

Fred Manly, director of finance and administration, is proud of what has been accomplished and “of the team we’ve created here – every member is customer-focused and proactive when it comes to making changes for the better,” he said. Manly, a navy veteran, who previously worked at the Department of Defense, has been with the university for more than 15 years. His vision for the team is: “From Trust and Service to Insight and Responsiveness” which he believes the team can continue building on “from where we are into this future state.”

As the team ensures resources and funds are allocated properly and a pricing strategy is set for the university’s IT services, work has been done to improve the efficiency of many processes for loading, validating, and distributing billing data. Many of the review and re-engineering processes have allowed for rate reductions and as new customers continue to adopt OIT services, rates will continue to decrease.

“For our hosted server environment, we’ve continued to bring on customers which has helped make our cost per customer lower. In just over a year, we increased participation by 47%,” explained Manly. The billing team is looking forward to implementing a new, more helpful, billing statement in the next year.

The Finance and Administration (F & A) team is very diverse in the services and work that each area does including encompassing human resources. A focus on recruitment and retention of high quality, diverse staff has been an ongoing effort within OIT and is an important asset in higher education in general. The team previously led the way with quantifying our total benefit compensation for university employees – helping to recognize the opportunity within our university community to make meaningful contributions to both CU and our own personal and career goals. Recognizing the critical importance of satisfaction and engagement of faculty and staff, the team celebrates the interconnectedness of many departments including working with central Human Resources staff and other OIT teams to help sustain a vital faculty and staff.

The group has partnered on projects to increase productivity, be more proactive and reduce workload as well as business process reengineering approaches to optimize best practices. Additionally, outreach and communication efforts to clarify and communicate the focus and direction of OIT help shape the department culture and build a collective commitment to our customers. The team connects with constituents through many tools including the OIT website (go here to participate in helping to enhance the functionality and content of the site), social media, and promotional and educational strategies for both campuses. No matter their role, everyone on the F & A team remains focused on partnering with university faculty, staff and students to provide exceptional service as part of our SPLICE values – providing our constituents with Service, Professionalism, Leadership, Innovation and Excellence.

F & A looks forward to helping our partners better understand and make informed decisions regarding information technology universitywide. School, college and department fiscal leads receive the billing reports. You can also visit the OIT billing and rate information webpage for pricing details and to learn more about the OIT culture initiatives, visit our Culture webpage.  

Services in the Spotlight is a series of articles highlighting teams within the Office of Information Technology. OIT has been instrumental in helping move exciting initiatives forward and impacting success for the university. For an overview of more services offered by the department, watch the CU Productions video on our YouTube channel or visit our website: oit.ucdenver.edu.