Every University needs this position……

I’ve been in higher ed long enough to see my share of head-scratching policies, processes, and practices — the kind that make life harder for students, cost them more money, delay graduation, or even push them to leave altogether. This also includes the policies that make it unnecessarily complicated for faculty and staff to do their jobs, fulfill the institution’s mission, and support the modern learner.

It’s convinced me that every institution needs one role with the authority to stop this nonsense before it reaches students: Director of Bureaucracy Simplification (or, more directly, Director of B.S.).

The Director of B.S. would report directly to the president and oversee the Student Needs and Fairness Unit (S.N.A.F.U.). Their mission? Hunt down and eliminate any policy, process, or practice that hurts students — whether it lives in Academic Affairs, Student Life, or Enrollment — and remove the roadblocks that keep faculty and staff from doing their best work.

This is part satire, part serious proposal. The humor is in the title, but the need is real. I’m working on a longer deep dive into this idea, including what a full position description might look like, and why a role like this could have a bigger impact on student success than another round of “strategic” initiatives.