GW students not only have the opportunity to submit ideas about saving money and improving the University through GW’s Innovation Task Force, but recently, said task force has notably been actively seeking out ideas from students. As administrators have received around 200 suggestions as to how to ensure GW is spending money wisely, the efforts of the task force should not go unnoticed. To ensure that students understand what it is the Innovation Task Force is both looking for and seriously considering, those ideas that will most likely be pursued should be published online for the GW community to see.
The laudable efforts of the Innovation Task Force in collecting suggestions from students have proven successful thus far. In providing students with a place to submit ideas online at www.innovation.gwu.edu, working with SA President Julie Bindelglass to solicit ideas from various student organizations and having about 20 prospective Presidential Administrative Fellows offer ideas through their applications, the task force has acquired about numerous suggestions. The group is tasked with saving about $60 million over five years, and looking to the GW community for their plans will help the University in reaching that goal. Specifically, Associate Vice President for Academic Operations Jeffrey Lenn deserves credit for his work as chair of the task force’s steering committee to include student input on how GW can most effectively spend money.
Still, to fully ensure that all available student input is acquired in this process, the Innovation Task Force must publish those ideas that are the most likely to be put into effect. Although some of the strongest ideas should be implemented as soon as possible, the general student body needs to know what ideas are being considered. By posting such ideas on the Web site, other students will attain a better understanding of what the Innovation Task Force both does and looks for in relation to University spending. This simple action will not only allow for more general feedback in terms of suggestions, but also feedback related to the submitted ideas that will be policies in the future.
The Innovation Task Force has done a lot to ensure that student input is considered, and this marks a significant step for the University. Such a response from students as to how the University can save money, all while making sure that programs are spending wisely, is vital to the future of GW.
