Welcome to Shared Services
Mission Statement
Optimize time and core stakeholder competencies in pursuit of sustainable organizational excellence.
Shared Services is a time-tested model for organizing and optimizing administrative activities adopted by businesses for more than 30 years and at universities across the nation for more than a decade.
San Diego State University initiated a Shared Services pilot program with the College of Sciences in June 2024. Following the successful launch of the College of Sciences Pilot, Shared Services commenced Phase II: Partnership Rollout.
At the core of the Shared Services model is a desire to best enable staff to focus on their core competencies. This is most advantageous not only for those staff members, but also for faculty and the university. There are three goals in our Shared Services model:
Shared Services Model
Time Tested Model
Shared services is a time-tested model for organizing and optimizing administrative activities, adopted by businesses for more than 30 years and by universities across the nation for over a decade. In late spring 2024, San Diego State University launched the Shared Service Pilot. After the successful implementation of Phase I, we initiated a phased, campus-wide rollout.
Phase I: Pilot
- Established a stakeholder engagement strategy that focuses on administrative professionals, faculty, and staff
- Hired the College Care Team to propel the Shared Services model
- Integrated processes and tools that facilitate best practices including: one-time data input, single source of information, and uniform data-analysis
- Implemented continuous improvement methodology at the operational level via the College Care Team
- Applied solution-oriented approaches to constantly enhance processes and services related to faculty startup tracking, procurement, and budgeting
Hear from our College Care Team
Phase II: Partnership
- Initiated Listening Tour with Business & Financial Affairs, College of Engineering, Fowler College of Business, and College of Professional Studies & Fine Arts
- Analyzed stakeholder administrative data to inform next steps
- Fostered partnerships with key constituents
Key Milestones
- Hired Dan Melchior, Director of Shared Services.
- Established Shared Services foundations through Procure-to-Pay
- Hired P2P Director
- Hired P2P Associate Director
- Hired AP Manager
- Established Campus Care Strategy (core tenet of Shared Services)
- Implemented ServiceNow
- Hired Campus Care Coordinator
- Launched Phase I: College of Sciences Shared Services Pilot
- Launched Phase II: Partnership
- Recruited Project & Change Management Analyst
- Instituted Project Management and Change Management Best Practices
- Utilized Microsoft Project Planner to standardize and report on Shared Services projects and allocated resources
- Facilitated Project Management for SDSU’s implementation of SAP Concur using innovative tools and key stakeholder engagement strategies
Shared Services
Implementing Shared Services is one step in San Diego State University’s strategic plan toward building a resilient and sustainable university through innovative practices.
Meet Our Shared Services Director
Shared Services FAQ
Shared Services is the primary method through which Finance, IT, Human Resource, Procure-to-Pay and similar administrative activities are designed, implemented, managed and optimized so that everyone can utilize their time to focus on their core competencies. The model has been utilized in different capacities for companies and organizations for more than thirty years. Colleges and universities have been utilizing Shared Services for more than a decade.
Yes, many colleges and universities across the nation have implemented Shared Services. San Diego State University is the first of the 23 California State University campuses to hire a full-time Director of Shared Services to help define, implement, and optimize our Shared Services strategy.
Like any project, Shared Services needs to be designed, implemented, and managed via proper execution, communication, and facilitation. The Shared Services model has been proven over more than three decades, but there is not a one-size-fits-all model. In successful implementations, organizations develop their models based on the ongoing needs and cultures of their campuses or organizations. At SDSU, we are designing and implementing our model methodically and thoughtfully, based on significant input over a period of months from our departments, colleges, divisions, and campus leadership.
No, it will not. As you know, San Diego State University is growing and thriving. We have many exciting current and future endeavors that promise to further our growth and expansion. Shared Services is a proven strategy that will help enable our faculty and staff to more effectively accomplish the many tasks and activities required to facilitate our continued growth.
Outsourcing will not be utilized at SDSU. Sometimes outsourcing is a tool utilized within a Shared Services organization, but it is not a necessary component. In fact, many very successful Shared Services organizations have never used outsourcing, including those that our newly appointed Director of Shared Services has designed, built, and managed.
Not at San Diego State University. While some organizations do choose to centralize jobs and responsibilities, SDSU is aligning work and responsibilities within colleges, departments, and divisions to best utilize our current and future resources and to more effectively deliver services in support of our university’s mission.
We will continue to update this page and send out future communications regarding Shared Services at SDSU. If you have questions, click the Contact Us button on the page to contact the Shared Services team. The video on the page is also an excellent resource to learn more about Shared Services at San Diego State University.
The Shared Services team welcomes your feedback and questions. Please use the Contact Us button below to contact the Shared Services team.