Leveraging Technology to Simplify Administrative Tasks

Written by
Autumn A. Arnett

Published
Oct 22, 2024

Oct 22, 2024 • by Autumn A. Arnett

“Hello, I'm a university professor. My job is to answer email and complete mandatory online training courses,” said a post on X from Fernanda Ferreira, a professor of psycholinguistics at the University of California–Davis on Sept. 12.

Several others chimed in, echoing Ferreira's snark and obvious frustration.

Lillian Edwards, professor emerita at the United Kingdom's Newcastle Law School, said, “No risk assessments and student feedback forms?!”

“Don't forget dealing with fake phishing emails to see if your online university security training was successful,” said Janice Paskey, an associate professor of journalism Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

The cheeky discourse reveals a growing frustration with the amount of time faculty members are having to spend on administrative tasks since the start of the pandemic.

“The email burden was already heavy but has become even more so during the pandemic, with ever-changing rules and regulations,” wrote assistant professor of history at East Carolina University, NC, Helen Dixon and Hanna Tervanotko, an assistant professor of religious studies at McMaster University in Ontario, in a 2021 article for the Chronicle of Higher Education. “Dealing with all of those messages seems more like pure administration than research, teaching, or service. And what about other difficult-to-categorize tasks, such as training, informational meetings, or professional development?”

The authors pointed out that nearly every task or meeting brought with it additional administrative requirements, and argued for help for junior faculty in particular to manage the workloads. They estimated about 12 to 25% of their time is spent on administrative tasks, like responding to emails. And a 2014 faculty time-use study by Boise State University, ID, anthropologist John Ziker found that faculty members were spending 30% of their time on email and meetings—a number that, by all accounts, has grown drastically since the start of the pandemic.

“I honestly feel for all of you so much more now that I've had a month away from academic STEM and literally couldn't look at my email without shutting down internally once I finished my PhD in July,” said Jacqueline Howells, whose LinkedIn page lists her as a graduate liaison at Brown University, RI, on X. “[I] Recently sent out several emails to many professors and got insanely fast response times, so fast that I honestly felt a lot of compassion for all professors. I can't imagine the kind of demand required to respond so quickly and also the guilt associated with responding only a few hours later…”

The authors rightly argued that time spent on administrative tasks was taking them away from the important work of research and publishing.

But many others suggested that this isn't a problem in academia; it's a shift in the workforce in general.

“I'm a research scientist who left academia (in very small part) to reduce emails and mandatory training courses,” said Karla McGregor, professor emerita in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Iowa. “Guess what…”

However, for all of the unknowns around artificial intelligence and the ethical use of technology in academia, there are plenty of tools that can help streamline administrative tasks. These AI-driven tools help streamline email management by automatically handling repetitive inquiries, and improving communication speed and efficiency, especially when managing large volumes of student emails.

Here are some tips for leveraging technology to help manage inbox overwhelm:

  • Automated scheduling. AI tools such as x.ai or Clara can manage scheduling requests directly from emails, suggesting available times and automatically setting up meetings.
  • Categorizing action items. AI-based tools can analyze the content of emails to flag action items, extract deadlines, or suggest next steps. For example, tools like Cortana or Google Assistant can set reminders based on email content. Platforms like Zapier or Microsoft Power Automate can use AI to link various systems together, automatically triggering actions like creating calendar events, sending reminders, or filing emails based on certain triggers.
  • Inbox prioritization. Tools like SaneBox, Spark, and Mailbird can help automatically sort emails based on importance, flagging urgent messages while filtering out low-priority ones.
  • Auto-response for frequently asked questions. AI can send pre-programmed responses to FAQs from students or colleagues, ensuring faster communication without taking up your time. For example, Microsoft Outlook offers “Quick Parts” (pre-written text blocks) and “Quick Steps” (multi-action shortcuts) that help automate responses to common queries. Similarly, Gmail built-in “Templates” feature, previously called “Canned Responses,” that allows users to create pre-programmed responses to common emails. Other tools, like Drift, Front, or Tidio, can be plugged into any email system.
  • Templated responses/emails. Leverage tools like ChatGPT to generate templates for common administrative requests or emails you might send often to save time on drafting.