january 20, 2006 mais hr unit liaison meeting international center improvement project division of...

January 20, 2006 MAIS HR Unit Liaison MeetingInternational Center Improvement Project

Division of Student Affairs

1

International Center Improvement Project

& INSZoom System Rollout

Frances MuellerDivision of Student Affairs



2

Agenda

International Center Improvement ProjectBackgroundVision, goalsKey accomplishments to dateUpcoming initiatives that may impact units

INSZoom web system OverviewImpact to units

How you can helpQ & A



3

International Center ChallengesExternal (since 9/11)

U.S. Department of Homeland Security immigration and national security regulationsStudent and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS)Global competition

InternalTechnical infrastructureBusiness processesLimited institutional policies



4

The Big Questions

How is the U-M International Center handling these challenges?What about the future?



5

Reviews

Division of Student Affairs External immigration services consultant (Fragomen, LLP)U-M Faculty & Staff Immigration Task Force review

20-member task force Chaired by Liz Barry, Managing Director, Life Sciences Institute



6

Assessments & RecommendationsAssessed

State of immigration and national security regulations in the U.S. since 9/11Faculty and staff immigration services at other higher education institutionsFaculty and staff immigration services at U-M

Recommended improvements to U-M institutional immigration policies and business practices to ensure compliance with U.S. immigration regulationsApproved and supported by

U-M Executive OfficersPresident Mary Sue Coleman

Project officially began July 2005



7

Faculty & Staff Immigration Task Force

International Center – Rudie Altamirano*, Kay Clifford

International Institute – Doug Kennedy Life Sciences Institute – Liz Barry*, Halima Cherif

HRAA – Diane Benson

General Counsel – Donica Varner

Provost/Academic Affairs – Jeff Frumkin

Research – Curt Smitka

Risk Management – Kathleen Rychlinski

* Task Force Chair



8

Faculty & Staff Immigration Task Force (cont.)

Business – Izak Duenyas Engineering – Karen Liska LSA – Mamadou Diouf, Donald Lopez, Robin Sarris

Medical – Clarissa Hunter, Deb Komorowski, Jan Mulcrone

Rackham– John Godfrey Dearborn – Reynolda Brown, Emily Wang



9

Project Vision

Ensure that the U-M International Center is in a position to meet changing demands in

U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security immigration and national security regulationsHigh-volume U-M immigration service needsU.S. and U-M interests in attracting international students, scholars, faculty and staff to increase international perspective in higher education

Position the U-M International Center as a leader in higher education immigration services and operations



10

Project Goals

Leverage technology to improve International Center service delivery and responsivenessImprove institutional immigration policies, business processesStreamline internal operations to gain efficienciesImplement methods for continued improvements



11

Key Accomplishments to Date

Technical infrastructureMacs to PCsHealth insurance billing, remittance & tracking in M-PathwaysEmail management system for tracking & archiving email to students, scholarsNew phone systems for North Campus and Central Campus locations

Internal process improvements



12

Key Accomplishments (cont.)

Retained Immigration Counsel Policy (10/05) Use U-M approved, retained law firms to process selected Permanent Residency (PR) and other immigration petitionsFund employment-based U.S. government immigration petition filing feesPay for employment-based immigration petition filing fees with University checksEnsures consistency across U-M and compliance with U.S. Department of Labor regulations

Faculty & Staff Immigration Advisory Council



13

Upcoming Initiatives

March 06INSZoom web system rollout

May 06Web site redesign

June 06Additional institutional policy and process changes for the hiring of foreign nationalsUpdates to U-M SPG related to the hiring of foreign nationals



14

INSZoom System



15

What is INSZoom?

Web-based system used to process H-1B visa petitions for U-M employmentUsed by

International CenterHiring departmentsForeign national employees

Developed and hosted by an outside vendor (INSZoom)



16

Benefits to U-M

Replaces a manual, paper-based processReduces overall turnaround time for H-1B visas by the International CenterShifts some responsibilities from departments to International CenterImproves communication between International Center, hiring departments, foreign national employees Available 24/7 for global use



17

Pilot Results

Decreased overall H-1B visa processing time by the International Center by approximately 35%Decreased department staff effort by approximately 38%100% of departments and 100% of foreign national employees were satisfied or very satisfied with the system



18

Impact to Units

Go-live targeted for March 06Rollout to Ann Arbor, Flint, and Dearborn campusesBusiness process changes

Transition from paper-based process to INSZoomDepartment and IC roles, responsibilities



19

Workstation Recommendations

PC Windows 98, 2000, or XPInternet Explorer 5.5 or aboveAdobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 or above

Mac OS XInternet Explorer 5.5 or above (preferred) or Safari 1.0 or aboveAdobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 or above



20

Known Technical Issues

MacsVendor is not committed to maintaining Mac compatibility in the futureBrowsers, other than Internet Explorer, may not display all pop-up windows and may not be able to open forms

Email programsMust allow links to HTML files via Internet Explorer



21

Communications & Training

Email messages toDeans, directors, department chairsKnown department administrators

Information posted to International Center web site http://www.umich.edu/~icenter/admin/INSZoom/index.htmlOptional INSZoom orientation sessions prior to go-liveOnline simulations, job aids



22

System Access

International Center assigns user logins and passwordsSystem access authorization based on

Initial user list updated by MAIS HRMS unit liaisonsSigned Access and Compliance form



23

How You Can Help



24

Faculty/Staff Immigration ContactsWhat we have

One International Center email list including:Department staff responsible for initiating visa petitionsUniversity staff who do not process petitions but who are interested in policy and procedure changes

M-Pathways hiring role is too broad for targeted email

What we needList of authorized users for INSZoom (individuals who submit H-1B employment visa petitions on behalf of a department)Updated list of interested parties who need or want faculty/staff immigration policy and procedure information, but do not need to access INSZoom



25

Faculty/Staff Immigration Contacts (cont.)

What we needReview spreadsheet for your unitAdd/delete authorized INSZoom usersAdd/delete individuals who currently need or may need process and policy information on faculty/staff immigration or foreign national hiring



26

Other Ways You Can Help

Inform your units about INSZoom Ask department administrators to visit the International Center web site for more info:http://www.umich.edu/~icenter/admin/INSZoom/index.html

Stay tuned in to International Center Improvement Project news that may impact your units



27

Questions?

Frances Mueller

Senior Project ManagerInternational Center Improvement Project

[email protected]

january 20, 2006 mais hr unit liaison meeting international center improvement project division of...

Documents