Historical Project Infomation

The ProCard policy and process improvement project was launched in 2018 with the goal of increasing compliance and internal controls while safeguarding university funds through standardized policies, processes, and practices.

All across campus – in the classroom, labs, administrative spaces, or in the field – the university must continuously foster a commitment to an ethical environment. By increasing internal controls and compliance in relation to the ProCard, we are also creating a framework that will define and emphasize a culture of integrity that promotes continuous growth, improvement, trust, and accountability.

The ProCard plays an important procurement role in the day-to-day business of the university. The Purchasing Office was committed to ensuring units did not experience business disruptions while they looked for ways to make the processes more efficient, effective, and easier to understand.

Any individual wanting to hold a ProCard in their name was required to attend training and apply for a ProCard in 2020.

What to Expect:

In spring 2020, new policies, processes, and procedures were rolled out to colleges, schools, and units (CSUs) unit-by-unit. The Purchasing Office worked with each CSU chief business officer to schedule trainings and reissue cards.

All changes to ProCard policies, processes, and procedures were the product of a rigorous business process improvement effort that resulted in recommendations build upon diverse customer feedback.

Recommendations included:

• Reissuing ProCards to employees who: 
   
  • Can attend in-person training and be certified
  • Understand their personal responsibility and liability as a cardholder
  • Take part in compliance training
• Improved standardized processes for: 
   
  • Applying and issuing ProCards
  • Reconciliation of receipts and payments through VP7
  • Consequences for infractions and misuse
  • Alternative tools such as Amazon Business accounts, virtual cards, and declining balance cards
• Continuous Improvement and Decision-making 
   
  • An Advisory Committee to monitor the implementation
  • Better access to reporting and auditing tools to drive future policy and process improvements

For More Information:

• Visit the Reports and Recommendations page
• Download the ProCard Final Report (PDF) for all recommendations and improvements
• Download the Expanded Voice of the Customer Report (PDF)

Governance and Teams:

The Central ProCard Program was committed to engaging leadership and governance from across the university including:

• The Council of University Business Officers (CUBO)
• The ProCard Program Advisory Committee (PDF)
• ProCard Implementation Teams comprised of users across the university at all levels 
   
  • Expanded Voice of the Customer Charge  (PDF)
  • Policy and Procedures Team (PDF)
  • Process Development Team (PDF)
  • Card Sharing Transition Team (PDF)
  • Training Development Team (PDF)
• For More Information visit the Governance and Teams page 

How Did We Get Here?

The ProCard Program was introduced in with 1990s and was welcomed as a new purchasing tool that would not delay research-related purchases. Over the span of 30 years, the program evolved in a way that caused the university to be out compliance. Additionally, staffing, monitoring, guidance, training, and internal controls were found to be inadequate.

In Fall 2018, the ProCard Policy and Process Improvement project was initiated by the Office of the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer to conduct a rigorous and detailed business process improvement project to review the ProCard program’s internal controls, compliance, policies, processes, training, and tools.

A cross-functional team was formed of representatives from across the university comprised of college, school, and unit business officers, central business owners, and Internal Audit. These stakeholders from 12 units engaged in understanding processes and issues across units and developed a comprehensive and detailed list of recommendations for change that have been outlined in a final report.

For More Information:

• Project Charter (PDF)
• Project General Updates Prior to Nov. 2019

What is Business Process Improvement?

Business process improvement provides a strategic roadmap to standardization and improved efficiency and effectiveness. By engaging in business process improvement, we can provide clearer guidance, better tools, and improved training.

Business process improvement is a repeatable process that can be scaled to fit the problem. Business process improvement projects should engage the right stakeholders on all levels, empowering them to participate in developing solutions while making better informed decisions. Business process improvement can be applied to a continuum of issues from small, practical changes to large-scale, re-engineering of processes from start to finish with the goal of creating a culture of continuous improvement.