Customer Story

Streamlining Funding Requests with Workflow Automation

Customer Story

Streamlining Funding Requests with Workflow Automation

Customer Story

Streamlining Funding Requests with Workflow Automation

Customer Story

Streamlining Funding Requests with Workflow Automation

Customer Story

Streamlining Funding Requests with Workflow Automation

Paper forms are difficult to track and often lead to bottlenecks. When CU Denver was looking to transform their funding requests into a seamless digital process, they turned to Formstack’s powerful workflow automation solutions.
Download PDFDownload PDF
The Auraria Library supports not only CU Denver, but the Metropolitan State University of Denver, and the Community College of Denver as well. The library serves around 42,000 students and 5,000 staff annually.
Higher Education
2015
Workflow Automation
Forms
Approvals, Email Confirmations and Notifications
Customer Story

Streamlining Funding Requests with Workflow Automation

/
Customer Story

Streamlining Funding Requests with Workflow Automation

MIN
/
About the Episode
Episode Highlights
Meet our Guest
Episode Transcript

Neena Weng’s title at the University of Colorado Denver is Web Services Manager, but she often tells people her unofficial title is problem solver. Her role revolves around identifying and implementing technology that helps solve major problems throughout the university.

The position sits within the Auraria Library, which supports not only CU Denver, but the Metropolitan State University of Denver, and the Community College of Denver as well. The library serves around 42,000 students and 5,000 staff annually.

Weng’s role focuses on transforming inefficient processes in order to save the university time, money, and headaches. She’s incredibly passionate about discovering simple solutions to the library’s toughest problems, which is what brought her to Formstack in 2015. Her original goal was to simply eliminate paperwork and improve processes with online forms. But as time has passed, Formstack has helped CU Denver create robust workflows that are used campus-wide.

The Challenge

Paper-based processes were a big part of campus administrative tasks when CU Denver first came to Formstack. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for paper forms to sit in faculty and staff mailboxes for days, weeks, or sometimes even longer.

“I frequently observed that it took too much time to approve requests,” Weng stated. “We needed to simplify and streamline our processes.”

Those paper forms were difficult to track and would cause confusion when employees sent scanned paper forms to their bosses to be electronically signed. Processes that should take only a week were sometimes taking months. This was especially true for their funding request for professional development form.

“By the time the professional development form was approved, the conference had already passed!” Weng shared.

This form was something that impacted everyone, yet there was no standard process for employees to follow. Once Weng’s team found Formstack, that all changed.

The Fix

Because CU Denver places a large emphasis on employee learning and development, Weng decided to tackle fixing the funding request for professional development form first. In the past, developing new processes and workflows would take Weng and her team months. Thanks to Formstack, it only took a few days.

“I spent less than two days building the form, which includes three steps of workflow approval settings,” Weng remarked.

Using Formstack Workflows, Weng created a dynamic form that flowed across supervisors and departments. She also used the Approvals feature to get the needed approvals in a timely manner. There was no longer a need for paper, and approvals were coming in quicker than ever before. Supervisors especially loved that they now received email notifications about approvals straight to their inbox. Even better, they can approve requests directly from their inbox.

“Formstack is a really thoughtful and very polished product. Out of the box it saved me a lot of time to build a traditional yet complex workflow form,” Weng said. “The Approvals feature is very powerful—we love it! That was the number one reason we jumped on board with Formstack.”

The Outcome

With the new process in place, funding requests were being processed 87% quicker, allowing more employees to fulfill their education goals. To get quick adoption from employees, department heads, and division heads, Weng knew she had to produce education on the new process and how to best utilize Formstack.

“I set up a demo and demonstrated it at the next admin meeting to show them how it makes the process better and holds everyone more accountable,” Weng mentioned.

Soon, word started to spread around the library about how Formstack can transform processes, speed up workflows, and eliminate tedious, paper-based processes. The IT team began receiving invites to many different user group meetings across departments to teach people how to best use Formstack. Weng noted that Formstack provides these teams the freedom and empowerment to transform complicated and inefficient processes, thanks to Formstack’s ease of use and accessibility.

“The bottom line is we want to create processes that are easy and fast,” Weng said. “More departments are reaching out to us and asking, ‘Can we meet to see if we have potential to convert this process into a Formstack workflow?’ That is affirmation that the previous implementations actually worked and helped them.”

In all, CU Denver has transformed their data collection through 1,800 forms, 17 integrations, and multiple features. More than 850 employees access Formstack on a normal basis. Problem-solver Weng continues to investigate challenges and offer up solutions to her teammates using Formstack’s powerful tools.

“The University had the foresight to purchase this product and open this door for us,” Weng stated. “They see the value and a tool they can be proud of.”

Key Results

CU Denver Key Results

Want to learn more? Watch this webinar to hear directly from CU Denver.

Customer Story

Streamlining Funding Requests with Workflow Automation

Customer Story

Streamlining Funding Requests with Workflow Automation

Get the Report

Not a valid e-mail address

Great, thank ya!

You can now access the content.
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Customer Story

Streamlining Funding Requests with Workflow Automation

Panelists
No items found.
Introduction
Introduction

Great, thank ya!

You can now access the content.
Download NowDownload Now
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Neena Weng’s title at the University of Colorado Denver is Web Services Manager, but she often tells people her unofficial title is problem solver. Her role revolves around identifying and implementing technology that helps solve major problems throughout the university.

The position sits within the Auraria Library, which supports not only CU Denver, but the Metropolitan State University of Denver, and the Community College of Denver as well. The library serves around 42,000 students and 5,000 staff annually.

Weng’s role focuses on transforming inefficient processes in order to save the university time, money, and headaches. She’s incredibly passionate about discovering simple solutions to the library’s toughest problems, which is what brought her to Formstack in 2015. Her original goal was to simply eliminate paperwork and improve processes with online forms. But as time has passed, Formstack has helped CU Denver create robust workflows that are used campus-wide.

The Challenge

Paper-based processes were a big part of campus administrative tasks when CU Denver first came to Formstack. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for paper forms to sit in faculty and staff mailboxes for days, weeks, or sometimes even longer.

“I frequently observed that it took too much time to approve requests,” Weng stated. “We needed to simplify and streamline our processes.”

Those paper forms were difficult to track and would cause confusion when employees sent scanned paper forms to their bosses to be electronically signed. Processes that should take only a week were sometimes taking months. This was especially true for their funding request for professional development form.

“By the time the professional development form was approved, the conference had already passed!” Weng shared.

This form was something that impacted everyone, yet there was no standard process for employees to follow. Once Weng’s team found Formstack, that all changed.

The Fix

Because CU Denver places a large emphasis on employee learning and development, Weng decided to tackle fixing the funding request for professional development form first. In the past, developing new processes and workflows would take Weng and her team months. Thanks to Formstack, it only took a few days.

“I spent less than two days building the form, which includes three steps of workflow approval settings,” Weng remarked.

Using Formstack Workflows, Weng created a dynamic form that flowed across supervisors and departments. She also used the Approvals feature to get the needed approvals in a timely manner. There was no longer a need for paper, and approvals were coming in quicker than ever before. Supervisors especially loved that they now received email notifications about approvals straight to their inbox. Even better, they can approve requests directly from their inbox.

“Formstack is a really thoughtful and very polished product. Out of the box it saved me a lot of time to build a traditional yet complex workflow form,” Weng said. “The Approvals feature is very powerful—we love it! That was the number one reason we jumped on board with Formstack.”

The Outcome

With the new process in place, funding requests were being processed 87% quicker, allowing more employees to fulfill their education goals. To get quick adoption from employees, department heads, and division heads, Weng knew she had to produce education on the new process and how to best utilize Formstack.

“I set up a demo and demonstrated it at the next admin meeting to show them how it makes the process better and holds everyone more accountable,” Weng mentioned.

Soon, word started to spread around the library about how Formstack can transform processes, speed up workflows, and eliminate tedious, paper-based processes. The IT team began receiving invites to many different user group meetings across departments to teach people how to best use Formstack. Weng noted that Formstack provides these teams the freedom and empowerment to transform complicated and inefficient processes, thanks to Formstack’s ease of use and accessibility.

“The bottom line is we want to create processes that are easy and fast,” Weng said. “More departments are reaching out to us and asking, ‘Can we meet to see if we have potential to convert this process into a Formstack workflow?’ That is affirmation that the previous implementations actually worked and helped them.”

In all, CU Denver has transformed their data collection through 1,800 forms, 17 integrations, and multiple features. More than 850 employees access Formstack on a normal basis. Problem-solver Weng continues to investigate challenges and offer up solutions to her teammates using Formstack’s powerful tools.

“The University had the foresight to purchase this product and open this door for us,” Weng stated. “They see the value and a tool they can be proud of.”

Key Results

CU Denver Key Results

Want to learn more? Watch this webinar to hear directly from CU Denver.

Panelists
No items found.
Infographic

Streamlining Funding Requests with Workflow Automation

Neena Weng of CU Denver shares how Formstack transformed the university’s data management through powerful workflow automation.
Download InfographicDownload Infographic

Neena Weng’s title at the University of Colorado Denver is Web Services Manager, but she often tells people her unofficial title is problem solver. Her role revolves around identifying and implementing technology that helps solve major problems throughout the university.

The position sits within the Auraria Library, which supports not only CU Denver, but the Metropolitan State University of Denver, and the Community College of Denver as well. The library serves around 42,000 students and 5,000 staff annually.

Weng’s role focuses on transforming inefficient processes in order to save the university time, money, and headaches. She’s incredibly passionate about discovering simple solutions to the library’s toughest problems, which is what brought her to Formstack in 2015. Her original goal was to simply eliminate paperwork and improve processes with online forms. But as time has passed, Formstack has helped CU Denver create robust workflows that are used campus-wide.

The Challenge

Paper-based processes were a big part of campus administrative tasks when CU Denver first came to Formstack. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for paper forms to sit in faculty and staff mailboxes for days, weeks, or sometimes even longer.

“I frequently observed that it took too much time to approve requests,” Weng stated. “We needed to simplify and streamline our processes.”

Those paper forms were difficult to track and would cause confusion when employees sent scanned paper forms to their bosses to be electronically signed. Processes that should take only a week were sometimes taking months. This was especially true for their funding request for professional development form.

“By the time the professional development form was approved, the conference had already passed!” Weng shared.

This form was something that impacted everyone, yet there was no standard process for employees to follow. Once Weng’s team found Formstack, that all changed.

The Fix

Because CU Denver places a large emphasis on employee learning and development, Weng decided to tackle fixing the funding request for professional development form first. In the past, developing new processes and workflows would take Weng and her team months. Thanks to Formstack, it only took a few days.

“I spent less than two days building the form, which includes three steps of workflow approval settings,” Weng remarked.

Using Formstack Workflows, Weng created a dynamic form that flowed across supervisors and departments. She also used the Approvals feature to get the needed approvals in a timely manner. There was no longer a need for paper, and approvals were coming in quicker than ever before. Supervisors especially loved that they now received email notifications about approvals straight to their inbox. Even better, they can approve requests directly from their inbox.

“Formstack is a really thoughtful and very polished product. Out of the box it saved me a lot of time to build a traditional yet complex workflow form,” Weng said. “The Approvals feature is very powerful—we love it! That was the number one reason we jumped on board with Formstack.”

The Outcome

With the new process in place, funding requests were being processed 87% quicker, allowing more employees to fulfill their education goals. To get quick adoption from employees, department heads, and division heads, Weng knew she had to produce education on the new process and how to best utilize Formstack.

“I set up a demo and demonstrated it at the next admin meeting to show them how it makes the process better and holds everyone more accountable,” Weng mentioned.

Soon, word started to spread around the library about how Formstack can transform processes, speed up workflows, and eliminate tedious, paper-based processes. The IT team began receiving invites to many different user group meetings across departments to teach people how to best use Formstack. Weng noted that Formstack provides these teams the freedom and empowerment to transform complicated and inefficient processes, thanks to Formstack’s ease of use and accessibility.

“The bottom line is we want to create processes that are easy and fast,” Weng said. “More departments are reaching out to us and asking, ‘Can we meet to see if we have potential to convert this process into a Formstack workflow?’ That is affirmation that the previous implementations actually worked and helped them.”

In all, CU Denver has transformed their data collection through 1,800 forms, 17 integrations, and multiple features. More than 850 employees access Formstack on a normal basis. Problem-solver Weng continues to investigate challenges and offer up solutions to her teammates using Formstack’s powerful tools.

“The University had the foresight to purchase this product and open this door for us,” Weng stated. “They see the value and a tool they can be proud of.”

Key Results

CU Denver Key Results

Want to learn more? Watch this webinar to hear directly from CU Denver.

Neena Weng’s title at the University of Colorado Denver is Web Services Manager, but she often tells people her unofficial title is problem solver. Her role revolves around identifying and implementing technology that helps solve major problems throughout the university.

The position sits within the Auraria Library, which supports not only CU Denver, but the Metropolitan State University of Denver, and the Community College of Denver as well. The library serves around 42,000 students and 5,000 staff annually.

Weng’s role focuses on transforming inefficient processes in order to save the university time, money, and headaches. She’s incredibly passionate about discovering simple solutions to the library’s toughest problems, which is what brought her to Formstack in 2015. Her original goal was to simply eliminate paperwork and improve processes with online forms. But as time has passed, Formstack has helped CU Denver create robust workflows that are used campus-wide.

The Challenge

Paper-based processes were a big part of campus administrative tasks when CU Denver first came to Formstack. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for paper forms to sit in faculty and staff mailboxes for days, weeks, or sometimes even longer.

“I frequently observed that it took too much time to approve requests,” Weng stated. “We needed to simplify and streamline our processes.”

Those paper forms were difficult to track and would cause confusion when employees sent scanned paper forms to their bosses to be electronically signed. Processes that should take only a week were sometimes taking months. This was especially true for their funding request for professional development form.

“By the time the professional development form was approved, the conference had already passed!” Weng shared.

This form was something that impacted everyone, yet there was no standard process for employees to follow. Once Weng’s team found Formstack, that all changed.

The Fix

Because CU Denver places a large emphasis on employee learning and development, Weng decided to tackle fixing the funding request for professional development form first. In the past, developing new processes and workflows would take Weng and her team months. Thanks to Formstack, it only took a few days.

“I spent less than two days building the form, which includes three steps of workflow approval settings,” Weng remarked.

Using Formstack Workflows, Weng created a dynamic form that flowed across supervisors and departments. She also used the Approvals feature to get the needed approvals in a timely manner. There was no longer a need for paper, and approvals were coming in quicker than ever before. Supervisors especially loved that they now received email notifications about approvals straight to their inbox. Even better, they can approve requests directly from their inbox.

“Formstack is a really thoughtful and very polished product. Out of the box it saved me a lot of time to build a traditional yet complex workflow form,” Weng said. “The Approvals feature is very powerful—we love it! That was the number one reason we jumped on board with Formstack.”

The Outcome

With the new process in place, funding requests were being processed 87% quicker, allowing more employees to fulfill their education goals. To get quick adoption from employees, department heads, and division heads, Weng knew she had to produce education on the new process and how to best utilize Formstack.

“I set up a demo and demonstrated it at the next admin meeting to show them how it makes the process better and holds everyone more accountable,” Weng mentioned.

Soon, word started to spread around the library about how Formstack can transform processes, speed up workflows, and eliminate tedious, paper-based processes. The IT team began receiving invites to many different user group meetings across departments to teach people how to best use Formstack. Weng noted that Formstack provides these teams the freedom and empowerment to transform complicated and inefficient processes, thanks to Formstack’s ease of use and accessibility.

“The bottom line is we want to create processes that are easy and fast,” Weng said. “More departments are reaching out to us and asking, ‘Can we meet to see if we have potential to convert this process into a Formstack workflow?’ That is affirmation that the previous implementations actually worked and helped them.”

In all, CU Denver has transformed their data collection through 1,800 forms, 17 integrations, and multiple features. More than 850 employees access Formstack on a normal basis. Problem-solver Weng continues to investigate challenges and offer up solutions to her teammates using Formstack’s powerful tools.

“The University had the foresight to purchase this product and open this door for us,” Weng stated. “They see the value and a tool they can be proud of.”

Key Results

CU Denver Key Results

Want to learn more? Watch this webinar to hear directly from CU Denver.

Collecting payments with online forms is easy, but first, you have to choose the right payment gateway. Browse the providers in our gateway credit card processing comparison chart to find the best option for your business. Then sign up for Formstack Forms, customize your payment forms, and start collecting profits in minutes.

Online Payment Gateway Comparison Chart

NOTE: These amounts reflect the monthly subscription for the payment provider. Formstack does not charge a fee to integrate with any of our payment partners.

FEATURES
Authorize.Net
Bambora
Chargify
First Data
PayPal
PayPal Pro
PayPal Payflow
Stripe
WePay
Monthly Fees
$25
$25
$149+
Contact First Data
$0
$25
$0-$25
$0
$0
Transaction Fees
$2.9% + 30¢
$2.9% + 30¢
N/A
Contact First Data
$2.9% + 30¢
$2.9% + 30¢
10¢
$2.9% + 30¢
$2.9% + 30¢
Countries
5
8
Based on payment gateway
50+
203
3
4
25
USA
Currencies
11
2
23
140
25
23
25
135+
1
Card Types
6
13
Based on payment gateway
5
9
9
5
6
4
Limits
None
None
Based on payment gateway
None
$10,000
None
None
None
None
Form Payments
Recurring Billing
Mobile Payments
PSD2 Compliant

Neena Weng’s title at the University of Colorado Denver is Web Services Manager, but she often tells people her unofficial title is problem solver. Her role revolves around identifying and implementing technology that helps solve major problems throughout the university.

The position sits within the Auraria Library, which supports not only CU Denver, but the Metropolitan State University of Denver, and the Community College of Denver as well. The library serves around 42,000 students and 5,000 staff annually.

Weng’s role focuses on transforming inefficient processes in order to save the university time, money, and headaches. She’s incredibly passionate about discovering simple solutions to the library’s toughest problems, which is what brought her to Formstack in 2015. Her original goal was to simply eliminate paperwork and improve processes with online forms. But as time has passed, Formstack has helped CU Denver create robust workflows that are used campus-wide.

The Challenge

Paper-based processes were a big part of campus administrative tasks when CU Denver first came to Formstack. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for paper forms to sit in faculty and staff mailboxes for days, weeks, or sometimes even longer.

“I frequently observed that it took too much time to approve requests,” Weng stated. “We needed to simplify and streamline our processes.”

Those paper forms were difficult to track and would cause confusion when employees sent scanned paper forms to their bosses to be electronically signed. Processes that should take only a week were sometimes taking months. This was especially true for their funding request for professional development form.

“By the time the professional development form was approved, the conference had already passed!” Weng shared.

This form was something that impacted everyone, yet there was no standard process for employees to follow. Once Weng’s team found Formstack, that all changed.

The Fix

Because CU Denver places a large emphasis on employee learning and development, Weng decided to tackle fixing the funding request for professional development form first. In the past, developing new processes and workflows would take Weng and her team months. Thanks to Formstack, it only took a few days.

“I spent less than two days building the form, which includes three steps of workflow approval settings,” Weng remarked.

Using Formstack Workflows, Weng created a dynamic form that flowed across supervisors and departments. She also used the Approvals feature to get the needed approvals in a timely manner. There was no longer a need for paper, and approvals were coming in quicker than ever before. Supervisors especially loved that they now received email notifications about approvals straight to their inbox. Even better, they can approve requests directly from their inbox.

“Formstack is a really thoughtful and very polished product. Out of the box it saved me a lot of time to build a traditional yet complex workflow form,” Weng said. “The Approvals feature is very powerful—we love it! That was the number one reason we jumped on board with Formstack.”

The Outcome

With the new process in place, funding requests were being processed 87% quicker, allowing more employees to fulfill their education goals. To get quick adoption from employees, department heads, and division heads, Weng knew she had to produce education on the new process and how to best utilize Formstack.

“I set up a demo and demonstrated it at the next admin meeting to show them how it makes the process better and holds everyone more accountable,” Weng mentioned.

Soon, word started to spread around the library about how Formstack can transform processes, speed up workflows, and eliminate tedious, paper-based processes. The IT team began receiving invites to many different user group meetings across departments to teach people how to best use Formstack. Weng noted that Formstack provides these teams the freedom and empowerment to transform complicated and inefficient processes, thanks to Formstack’s ease of use and accessibility.

“The bottom line is we want to create processes that are easy and fast,” Weng said. “More departments are reaching out to us and asking, ‘Can we meet to see if we have potential to convert this process into a Formstack workflow?’ That is affirmation that the previous implementations actually worked and helped them.”

In all, CU Denver has transformed their data collection through 1,800 forms, 17 integrations, and multiple features. More than 850 employees access Formstack on a normal basis. Problem-solver Weng continues to investigate challenges and offer up solutions to her teammates using Formstack’s powerful tools.

“The University had the foresight to purchase this product and open this door for us,” Weng stated. “They see the value and a tool they can be proud of.”

Key Results

CU Denver Key Results

Want to learn more? Watch this webinar to hear directly from CU Denver.

Neena Weng’s title at the University of Colorado Denver is Web Services Manager, but she often tells people her unofficial title is problem solver. Her role revolves around identifying and implementing technology that helps solve major problems throughout the university.

The position sits within the Auraria Library, which supports not only CU Denver, but the Metropolitan State University of Denver, and the Community College of Denver as well. The library serves around 42,000 students and 5,000 staff annually.

Weng’s role focuses on transforming inefficient processes in order to save the university time, money, and headaches. She’s incredibly passionate about discovering simple solutions to the library’s toughest problems, which is what brought her to Formstack in 2015. Her original goal was to simply eliminate paperwork and improve processes with online forms. But as time has passed, Formstack has helped CU Denver create robust workflows that are used campus-wide.

The Challenge

Paper-based processes were a big part of campus administrative tasks when CU Denver first came to Formstack. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for paper forms to sit in faculty and staff mailboxes for days, weeks, or sometimes even longer.

“I frequently observed that it took too much time to approve requests,” Weng stated. “We needed to simplify and streamline our processes.”

Those paper forms were difficult to track and would cause confusion when employees sent scanned paper forms to their bosses to be electronically signed. Processes that should take only a week were sometimes taking months. This was especially true for their funding request for professional development form.

“By the time the professional development form was approved, the conference had already passed!” Weng shared.

This form was something that impacted everyone, yet there was no standard process for employees to follow. Once Weng’s team found Formstack, that all changed.

The Fix

Because CU Denver places a large emphasis on employee learning and development, Weng decided to tackle fixing the funding request for professional development form first. In the past, developing new processes and workflows would take Weng and her team months. Thanks to Formstack, it only took a few days.

“I spent less than two days building the form, which includes three steps of workflow approval settings,” Weng remarked.

Using Formstack Workflows, Weng created a dynamic form that flowed across supervisors and departments. She also used the Approvals feature to get the needed approvals in a timely manner. There was no longer a need for paper, and approvals were coming in quicker than ever before. Supervisors especially loved that they now received email notifications about approvals straight to their inbox. Even better, they can approve requests directly from their inbox.

“Formstack is a really thoughtful and very polished product. Out of the box it saved me a lot of time to build a traditional yet complex workflow form,” Weng said. “The Approvals feature is very powerful—we love it! That was the number one reason we jumped on board with Formstack.”

The Outcome

With the new process in place, funding requests were being processed 87% quicker, allowing more employees to fulfill their education goals. To get quick adoption from employees, department heads, and division heads, Weng knew she had to produce education on the new process and how to best utilize Formstack.

“I set up a demo and demonstrated it at the next admin meeting to show them how it makes the process better and holds everyone more accountable,” Weng mentioned.

Soon, word started to spread around the library about how Formstack can transform processes, speed up workflows, and eliminate tedious, paper-based processes. The IT team began receiving invites to many different user group meetings across departments to teach people how to best use Formstack. Weng noted that Formstack provides these teams the freedom and empowerment to transform complicated and inefficient processes, thanks to Formstack’s ease of use and accessibility.

“The bottom line is we want to create processes that are easy and fast,” Weng said. “More departments are reaching out to us and asking, ‘Can we meet to see if we have potential to convert this process into a Formstack workflow?’ That is affirmation that the previous implementations actually worked and helped them.”

In all, CU Denver has transformed their data collection through 1,800 forms, 17 integrations, and multiple features. More than 850 employees access Formstack on a normal basis. Problem-solver Weng continues to investigate challenges and offer up solutions to her teammates using Formstack’s powerful tools.

“The University had the foresight to purchase this product and open this door for us,” Weng stated. “They see the value and a tool they can be proud of.”

Key Results

CU Denver Key Results

Want to learn more? Watch this webinar to hear directly from CU Denver.

Neena Weng’s title at the University of Colorado Denver is Web Services Manager, but she often tells people her unofficial title is problem solver. Her role revolves around identifying and implementing technology that helps solve major problems throughout the university.

The position sits within the Auraria Library, which supports not only CU Denver, but the Metropolitan State University of Denver, and the Community College of Denver as well. The library serves around 42,000 students and 5,000 staff annually.

Weng’s role focuses on transforming inefficient processes in order to save the university time, money, and headaches. She’s incredibly passionate about discovering simple solutions to the library’s toughest problems, which is what brought her to Formstack in 2015. Her original goal was to simply eliminate paperwork and improve processes with online forms. But as time has passed, Formstack has helped CU Denver create robust workflows that are used campus-wide.

The Challenge

Paper-based processes were a big part of campus administrative tasks when CU Denver first came to Formstack. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for paper forms to sit in faculty and staff mailboxes for days, weeks, or sometimes even longer.

“I frequently observed that it took too much time to approve requests,” Weng stated. “We needed to simplify and streamline our processes.”

Those paper forms were difficult to track and would cause confusion when employees sent scanned paper forms to their bosses to be electronically signed. Processes that should take only a week were sometimes taking months. This was especially true for their funding request for professional development form.

“By the time the professional development form was approved, the conference had already passed!” Weng shared.

This form was something that impacted everyone, yet there was no standard process for employees to follow. Once Weng’s team found Formstack, that all changed.

The Fix

Because CU Denver places a large emphasis on employee learning and development, Weng decided to tackle fixing the funding request for professional development form first. In the past, developing new processes and workflows would take Weng and her team months. Thanks to Formstack, it only took a few days.

“I spent less than two days building the form, which includes three steps of workflow approval settings,” Weng remarked.

Using Formstack Workflows, Weng created a dynamic form that flowed across supervisors and departments. She also used the Approvals feature to get the needed approvals in a timely manner. There was no longer a need for paper, and approvals were coming in quicker than ever before. Supervisors especially loved that they now received email notifications about approvals straight to their inbox. Even better, they can approve requests directly from their inbox.

“Formstack is a really thoughtful and very polished product. Out of the box it saved me a lot of time to build a traditional yet complex workflow form,” Weng said. “The Approvals feature is very powerful—we love it! That was the number one reason we jumped on board with Formstack.”

The Outcome

With the new process in place, funding requests were being processed 87% quicker, allowing more employees to fulfill their education goals. To get quick adoption from employees, department heads, and division heads, Weng knew she had to produce education on the new process and how to best utilize Formstack.

“I set up a demo and demonstrated it at the next admin meeting to show them how it makes the process better and holds everyone more accountable,” Weng mentioned.

Soon, word started to spread around the library about how Formstack can transform processes, speed up workflows, and eliminate tedious, paper-based processes. The IT team began receiving invites to many different user group meetings across departments to teach people how to best use Formstack. Weng noted that Formstack provides these teams the freedom and empowerment to transform complicated and inefficient processes, thanks to Formstack’s ease of use and accessibility.

“The bottom line is we want to create processes that are easy and fast,” Weng said. “More departments are reaching out to us and asking, ‘Can we meet to see if we have potential to convert this process into a Formstack workflow?’ That is affirmation that the previous implementations actually worked and helped them.”

In all, CU Denver has transformed their data collection through 1,800 forms, 17 integrations, and multiple features. More than 850 employees access Formstack on a normal basis. Problem-solver Weng continues to investigate challenges and offer up solutions to her teammates using Formstack’s powerful tools.

“The University had the foresight to purchase this product and open this door for us,” Weng stated. “They see the value and a tool they can be proud of.”

Key Results

CU Denver Key Results

Want to learn more? Watch this webinar to hear directly from CU Denver.

Neena Weng’s title at the University of Colorado Denver is Web Services Manager, but she often tells people her unofficial title is problem solver. Her role revolves around identifying and implementing technology that helps solve major problems throughout the university.

The position sits within the Auraria Library, which supports not only CU Denver, but the Metropolitan State University of Denver, and the Community College of Denver as well. The library serves around 42,000 students and 5,000 staff annually.

Weng’s role focuses on transforming inefficient processes in order to save the university time, money, and headaches. She’s incredibly passionate about discovering simple solutions to the library’s toughest problems, which is what brought her to Formstack in 2015. Her original goal was to simply eliminate paperwork and improve processes with online forms. But as time has passed, Formstack has helped CU Denver create robust workflows that are used campus-wide.

The Challenge

Paper-based processes were a big part of campus administrative tasks when CU Denver first came to Formstack. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for paper forms to sit in faculty and staff mailboxes for days, weeks, or sometimes even longer.

“I frequently observed that it took too much time to approve requests,” Weng stated. “We needed to simplify and streamline our processes.”

Those paper forms were difficult to track and would cause confusion when employees sent scanned paper forms to their bosses to be electronically signed. Processes that should take only a week were sometimes taking months. This was especially true for their funding request for professional development form.

“By the time the professional development form was approved, the conference had already passed!” Weng shared.

This form was something that impacted everyone, yet there was no standard process for employees to follow. Once Weng’s team found Formstack, that all changed.

The Fix

Because CU Denver places a large emphasis on employee learning and development, Weng decided to tackle fixing the funding request for professional development form first. In the past, developing new processes and workflows would take Weng and her team months. Thanks to Formstack, it only took a few days.

“I spent less than two days building the form, which includes three steps of workflow approval settings,” Weng remarked.

Using Formstack Workflows, Weng created a dynamic form that flowed across supervisors and departments. She also used the Approvals feature to get the needed approvals in a timely manner. There was no longer a need for paper, and approvals were coming in quicker than ever before. Supervisors especially loved that they now received email notifications about approvals straight to their inbox. Even better, they can approve requests directly from their inbox.

“Formstack is a really thoughtful and very polished product. Out of the box it saved me a lot of time to build a traditional yet complex workflow form,” Weng said. “The Approvals feature is very powerful—we love it! That was the number one reason we jumped on board with Formstack.”

The Outcome

With the new process in place, funding requests were being processed 87% quicker, allowing more employees to fulfill their education goals. To get quick adoption from employees, department heads, and division heads, Weng knew she had to produce education on the new process and how to best utilize Formstack.

“I set up a demo and demonstrated it at the next admin meeting to show them how it makes the process better and holds everyone more accountable,” Weng mentioned.

Soon, word started to spread around the library about how Formstack can transform processes, speed up workflows, and eliminate tedious, paper-based processes. The IT team began receiving invites to many different user group meetings across departments to teach people how to best use Formstack. Weng noted that Formstack provides these teams the freedom and empowerment to transform complicated and inefficient processes, thanks to Formstack’s ease of use and accessibility.

“The bottom line is we want to create processes that are easy and fast,” Weng said. “More departments are reaching out to us and asking, ‘Can we meet to see if we have potential to convert this process into a Formstack workflow?’ That is affirmation that the previous implementations actually worked and helped them.”

In all, CU Denver has transformed their data collection through 1,800 forms, 17 integrations, and multiple features. More than 850 employees access Formstack on a normal basis. Problem-solver Weng continues to investigate challenges and offer up solutions to her teammates using Formstack’s powerful tools.

“The University had the foresight to purchase this product and open this door for us,” Weng stated. “They see the value and a tool they can be proud of.”

Key Results

CU Denver Key Results

Want to learn more? Watch this webinar to hear directly from CU Denver.

Neena Weng’s title at the University of Colorado Denver is Web Services Manager, but she often tells people her unofficial title is problem solver. Her role revolves around identifying and implementing technology that helps solve major problems throughout the university.

The position sits within the Auraria Library, which supports not only CU Denver, but the Metropolitan State University of Denver, and the Community College of Denver as well. The library serves around 42,000 students and 5,000 staff annually.

Weng’s role focuses on transforming inefficient processes in order to save the university time, money, and headaches. She’s incredibly passionate about discovering simple solutions to the library’s toughest problems, which is what brought her to Formstack in 2015. Her original goal was to simply eliminate paperwork and improve processes with online forms. But as time has passed, Formstack has helped CU Denver create robust workflows that are used campus-wide.

The Challenge

Paper-based processes were a big part of campus administrative tasks when CU Denver first came to Formstack. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for paper forms to sit in faculty and staff mailboxes for days, weeks, or sometimes even longer.

“I frequently observed that it took too much time to approve requests,” Weng stated. “We needed to simplify and streamline our processes.”

Those paper forms were difficult to track and would cause confusion when employees sent scanned paper forms to their bosses to be electronically signed. Processes that should take only a week were sometimes taking months. This was especially true for their funding request for professional development form.

“By the time the professional development form was approved, the conference had already passed!” Weng shared.

This form was something that impacted everyone, yet there was no standard process for employees to follow. Once Weng’s team found Formstack, that all changed.

The Fix

Because CU Denver places a large emphasis on employee learning and development, Weng decided to tackle fixing the funding request for professional development form first. In the past, developing new processes and workflows would take Weng and her team months. Thanks to Formstack, it only took a few days.

“I spent less than two days building the form, which includes three steps of workflow approval settings,” Weng remarked.

Using Formstack Workflows, Weng created a dynamic form that flowed across supervisors and departments. She also used the Approvals feature to get the needed approvals in a timely manner. There was no longer a need for paper, and approvals were coming in quicker than ever before. Supervisors especially loved that they now received email notifications about approvals straight to their inbox. Even better, they can approve requests directly from their inbox.

“Formstack is a really thoughtful and very polished product. Out of the box it saved me a lot of time to build a traditional yet complex workflow form,” Weng said. “The Approvals feature is very powerful—we love it! That was the number one reason we jumped on board with Formstack.”

The Outcome

With the new process in place, funding requests were being processed 87% quicker, allowing more employees to fulfill their education goals. To get quick adoption from employees, department heads, and division heads, Weng knew she had to produce education on the new process and how to best utilize Formstack.

“I set up a demo and demonstrated it at the next admin meeting to show them how it makes the process better and holds everyone more accountable,” Weng mentioned.

Soon, word started to spread around the library about how Formstack can transform processes, speed up workflows, and eliminate tedious, paper-based processes. The IT team began receiving invites to many different user group meetings across departments to teach people how to best use Formstack. Weng noted that Formstack provides these teams the freedom and empowerment to transform complicated and inefficient processes, thanks to Formstack’s ease of use and accessibility.

“The bottom line is we want to create processes that are easy and fast,” Weng said. “More departments are reaching out to us and asking, ‘Can we meet to see if we have potential to convert this process into a Formstack workflow?’ That is affirmation that the previous implementations actually worked and helped them.”

In all, CU Denver has transformed their data collection through 1,800 forms, 17 integrations, and multiple features. More than 850 employees access Formstack on a normal basis. Problem-solver Weng continues to investigate challenges and offer up solutions to her teammates using Formstack’s powerful tools.

“The University had the foresight to purchase this product and open this door for us,” Weng stated. “They see the value and a tool they can be proud of.”

Key Results

CU Denver Key Results

Want to learn more? Watch this webinar to hear directly from CU Denver.

Meet The Host
Content Marketing Manager
Connect
Lindsay is a writer with a background in journalism and loves getting to flex her interview skills as host of Practically Genius. She manages Formstack's blog and long-form reports, like the 2022 State of Digital Maturity: Advancing Workflow Automation.