Reference story FH Münster

Process optimisation through the introduction of digital contract management. FH Münster relies on ECM technology to improve internal processes:

• electronic file
• digital student file
• electronic teaching assignment allocation and billing workflows

FH Münster relies on ECM technology to improve internal processes.

FH Münster optimises internal processes using Enterprise Content Management (ECM) technology. Whether commissioning external lecturers, managing contracts, or processing electronic invoices – FH Münster has been improving its internal workflows for some time now through the use of ECM technology.

Prof. Dr Tobias Rieke teaches and conducts research at the Institute for Process Management & Digital Transformation. Since 2015, he has been leading digitalisation projects at FH Münster, particularly focusing on the implementation of electronic invoice processing and digital records. At the outset, he conducted a nationwide survey among German universities.

The results: One third of German universities already had ECM systems in place, another third were in the process of implementing them, and the remaining institutions had yet to begin. Since then, the proportion of universities equipped with ECM technology has likely increased significantly.

ECM as a Quality Initiative at FH Münster

The use of Enterprise Content Management (ECM) has become a key quality topic at FH Münster. The reasons are clear – and they were decisive in the university’s decision to introduce an ECM system in 2017. Given the geographically distributed faculties and central services, working with digital documents offers significant efficiency gains for any university. Personnel files, invoices, contracts, and other documents can now be accessed simultaneously from multiple locations. In addition to the HR and Finance departments, the faculties of Health, Social Work, and Business also expressed a desire for an electronic records system. Prof. Dr Tobias Rieke took on the role of project manager for the implementation of a document management system. The project is based at the Wandelwerk, FH Münster’s Centre for Quality Development.

The software was tendered across Europe, and FH Münster clearly opted for d.velop documents (formerly marketed as d.3ecm). The solution was implemented shortly thereafter by d.velop public sector GmbH (formerly codia Software GmbH). “We were looking for a partner for the entire university, and d.velop made the best impression,” says Tobias Rieke. A wide range of requirements were considered, including IT security. While integration with specialised administrative systems is often a key issue for local governments, it was less critical here due to the more streamlined IT landscape in higher education. More important was the availability of open interfaces to support cross-system processes and services. The ECM project began with contract management and digital teaching assignments – covering electronic application, allocation, and billing of teaching contracts.

Contract Management as a Starting Point

The university’s commercial facilities management team handles a large number of contracts in the areas of services and maintenance. When these contracts are stored both physically and electronically across network and local drives, access becomes cumbersome and it’s often unclear whether the most up-to-date version is being used. Monitoring cancellation deadlines is also difficult, as there were previously only self-developed solutions based on Office tools – prone to errors and inconsistencies. The contract management module from d.velop provides a remedy and is therefore set to be rolled out to other areas of the university. This would include additional contract types such as cooperation agreements with other universities or framework agreements with financial service providers.

Contract management is of strategic importance for the entire university – especially in light of the introduction of Section 2b of the German VAT Act (UStG), which stipulates that public bodies are subject to VAT when they generate income independently and on a sustained basis. The contract management system is intended to support the university in assessing whether contracts fall under this regulation. FH Münster is developing a corresponding assessment framework. Currently, contracts are being scanned and existing Excel-based contract data is being transferred into the system. Once fully implemented, around 50 staff members will be working with the contract management system.

eTeaching Assignments Involve the Entire University

While contract management primarily targets central administrative and service units, the eTeaching assignments process also involves the university’s faculties. Prof. Dr Tobias Rieke explains: “This topic was ideal as a pilot project because it focuses on a process that offers real added value across many areas – faculties, the HR department, staff council, and finance department – all of them are involved in teaching assignments.” Today, all 13 faculties at FH Münster use d.velop documents for managing eTeaching assignments.

What is an eTeaching Assignment?

An eTeaching assignment refers to the process of commissioning external lecturers entirely electronically, without any paper-based steps. At FH Münster, around 700 teaching assignments are issued each year.