The University Judiciary Committee recently implemented a new online system designed to improve case reporting and increase efficiency within the organization. Preliminary reporting results suggest the system may be accomplishing those goals.
Former UJC Chair Connor Sullivan said the official transition to the new system took place during his term in January, but noted that as the program was in its initial phases at that time,UJC is continuing to update it.
"The system itself is an extraordinary piece of work," Sullivan said, adding that it is, "just making the job of the new [executive committee] easier."
Before the creation of the online system, UJC predominantly dealt with cases, complaints and internal coordination via physical documentation, Chair Merriam Mikhail explained.
The old system, she said, often resulted in coordination and scheduling difficulties. She said it also created an extra administrative burden for UJC, because members had to go through a lengthy series of steps to process reported cases. First, she said, the committee would have to send a written letter to the accused, wait for the accused to respond and provide available dates, then confirm those dates with support officers, complainants and judges before finally rescheduling with the accused, if necessary. In reference to the new online system, she said, "I think it cuts the frustration for all people involved in the [judiciary] system."
UJC Data Management Chair Gavin Reddick, said all parties can now preselect which days they are available, and the online system will determine a time suitable for everyone involved.
"The best part of the new system is efficiency," Sullivan said, noting that when the previous system was in place it could take several days to get in touch with the accused. As a result of the new system, he added that he felt the initial contact time between the UJC and the accused has been almost cut in half.
The system "has [the] ability to send out automated e-mails to all parties about charges," Reddick said, noting parties not affiliated with UJC receive instructions about how to log onto the online system.
With the new system, Sullivan noted, UJC has, on average, cut down initial case-processing time, which includes both the time spent filing charges and staffing the cases.
"In some cases it is a week shorter," he said. "On average we are probably saving two days."
Currently, the online system is a multi-tier system offering different levels of access based on the user's status within the system, Reddick explained.
Members of the Executive Committee are able to see all information related to a case, such as judges assigned, trial dates, investigation deadlines and the accused student's name, he said, while the complainant only has access to pertinent dates, but not other potentially sensitive information,
The tiered information system and the time saved on scheduling, though, are not the only benefits of the online system, Mikhail said.
After an investigation is completed, the investigating officer is now able to post his report online, she said, which makes the report immediately available to the accused student.
Sullivan noted that this speedy access to information is perhaps the most important benefit to students.
"The point is, the more time the accused has from being aware of charges to trial date, the more time the student has to mount a competent defense," he said.
In the past, UJC similarly has tried to increase efficiency by using a partial online system, Reddick said. The recently implemented system, though, builds on the successful aspects of the earlier online system and fixes some flaws.
"We had an old system we developed a while ago, but it was not secure so we could not have any personal information," Reddick said. "It was just used as an internal scheduler, but a lot of what we did was typing and retyping the same information, and this [new system] tries to eliminate those gaps."
Mikhail noted that the new system's online case-reporting feature is similarly an improved version of a program UJC attempted to use in the past. Now, she said, reporting is synchronized with the entire system, making it easier to report cases and streamlining the process. With the new, easier-to-use system in place, UJC has seen an increase in the number of cases filed, especially student-reported cases, she said.
According to data compiled by Mikhail, 40 cases were filed with UJC in the spring 2007 semester, with four being initiated by students. Thus far in spring 2008, 73 cases have been filed using the online system, she said. This number includes the re-filling of 27 outstanding cases from the previous semester. Eleven of the 73 cases reported up until now, she noted, were initiated by students.
Sullivan, however, was hesitant to draw extensive conclusions based on the limited amount of data.
"I think it is too early to read anything out of the data, but the benefits to the community at large could be significant over time as the system integrates," he said.
As the system undergoes this integration process, it will continue to change, Reddick said, noting that the online system will be implemented in three phases. Currently, he said, the system is only in phase two.
"Phase one started at the end of last fall semester, and it was a very simple internal thing," he said, adding that the phase one system consisted of a committee Web page listing phone numbers and titles of UJC members.
Phase two dealt with case procedures that occur between the filing of a complaint and a trial, he explained.
The third and final phase, which has yet to be implemented, will bring most of the post-trial paperwork online, including recordings of innocence or guilt, sanctions and their due dates, and statistical reports, Reddick said.
In the final phase, Sullivan said, "we can eliminate paper trails, free up space for executive officers and make the vice chairs' jobs easier in terms of filing."
As the system continues to grow and develop, UJC will focus on educating the University community about the new system, Mikhail said.
The main focus for UJC at present is educating the new first-year students, Senior Educator Sarah Gray Tullidge said.
Tullidge noted that UJC will continue traditional education methods, such as tabling at the Student Activities Fair, but added that UJC also plans to reinstate "dorm talks" with the Honor Committee next semester.
Former Senior Educator Sara Hutter also noted that UJC will use dorm liaisons as an additional educational resource.
"Dorm talks [are] more introductory, while dorm liaisons will get down to more controversial issues, like the varying degree of sanctions and statistics," Hutter explained.
Mikhail said she has seen the system comes together and looks forward to the possibility of increased education in the fall semester and the final additions to the online system.
Reddick said UJC hopes to see the final phase in operation toward the end of this semester.
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