The Director of the university's ICT Directorate monitoring a recent conducted electronic test for candidates applying for admission into the University.

The Registry

Introduction

The Registry is a large and ubiquitous organ in the University. The office of the Registrar is responsible to the Vice-Chancellor for a variety of routine and day-to-day smooth operations of the University system. The Registry is no doubt the veins and arteries that supplies essential nutrients for the functioning of the various organs of the University system. The Registry thus provides services to enable the University achieve its goals of teaching, learning, research and public service. The Registry therefore coordinates all activities of the University by ensuring that there is an uninterrupted calendar and enforcing that everything is in place for effective rules and regulations to flow.

The effectiveness of the Registry can be measured through policy implementation, social and strategic advice to the Vice-chancellor and the entire University system. All these are predicated on a sound and functional structure. The structure is therefore built within the responsibilities being carried out which tend to be split into specialist functional areas and organized around tasks performed. Within the structure, however, managers are placed to strategically handle units and the effectiveness of the structure depends entirely on the ability of the managers to work as a team with efficient coordination.

Human Resources Management and the Registry

The structure of the Registry is based on Human Resources Management (HRM) and focuses on the operating procedures and practices in order to meet demands in the dynamic and challenging University environment. This is designed to make the University fit-for-purpose and thus meet the needs of the community in service delivery. By reorienting the human resources (HR) of the University to acquire the needed values for the attainment of the vision and mission of the University, the objective is designed to change and transform the nature and structure of the work environment to bring about cost effectiveness and efficiency in the service delivery. It is also designed to increase in operational efficiency and effectiveness through significant changes in the organizational structure.

The driving force is that human resources within the structural changes ensure that there is effective and efficient planning of jobs and people with a view to balancing demand against supply. This ensures that there is always the right number of quality employees at the right time and at the right places, doing the right jobs. However, strategic and integrated motivational devices to productivity ensure job satisfaction; through job enlargement, job rotation, participation, team working and networking as well as feedback circle will become the essential ingredients in modeling and streamlining human resources management to duty.

Since human resources management is involved in the process of coordinating and directing employees to meet organizational objectives, it is also designed to keep pace with the rapid technological changes to meet the entire institutional demands. Registry therefore ensures that the University has the right caliber of people at right places doing the right jobs and thus capable of delivering its strategic products – training and research.

The designed structure in the Registry deals with human resources management that establishes the paradigm of policies, procedures, regulations, systems, practices, ethics and schedules penetrating the entire human resources management (HRM) of the University. This structure is in consonance with best practice centered on timeline service delivery, repetitive tasks, and relatively low overheads, efficient, relatively simple lines of control or communication and promotes competitive advantage through specified functions. These functions include manpower planning, recruitment and selection, employee motivation, employee evaluation and compensation, industrial relation, provision of employee service, employee training/development and evaluation, public relation etc.

Structure of the ABU Registry

The Registry is structured within the Human Resources Management in order to respond to the operational processes and challenges of the University and bring about positive change within the environment based on the changing circumstances so as to achieve the vision and mission of the University. The organization of the Registry consists of four major Departments each with its own strategic responsibility. The overall strategic responsibility of the Registry is quality assurance and ethical business practices. The four main Departments are:-
(a) Human Resources Development (b) Human Resources Administration (c) Academic Affairs (d) Public Affairs.

However, Council Affairs remains statutorily under the office of the Registrar and Secretary to Council. Under the office of the Registrar includes the Secretarial Services of the Senate and Congregation. In addition, the Registrar’s Office also comprises the Legal, Liaison and Mails Services.

The Council Affairs Unit of the Registrar’s Office is the Secretariat for the Governing Council of the University and it Committees. The Unit assists the Registrar who is also Secretary to Council to service the meetings of both the Governing Council and its Committees, and performs other related functions as may be determined. The Committees of Council include:-
1. Finance and General Purposes Committee 2. Joint Council and Senate Selection Board. 3. Endowment Fund Board of Trustees. 4. Honorary Degrees Committee.

The Unit also assists the Registrar in implementing the decisions of these bodies. It is headed by a Deputy Registrar who is under the supervision of the Registrar and who is responsible to him for the day-to-day activities of the Unit. The Deputy Registrar is assisted by a number of other subordinates staff. As Secretariat of the Governing Council, the Unit keeps records of minutes of the Governing Council meetings from inception of the University to date. The Unit is also a reference point that supplies information about the Governing Council.

The organogram for the Registry is thus based on divisions with work divided by functions performed by units. The synergy of the units and other organs of the University like Students’ Affairs Division, Bursary, Academic Planning etc will provide a great deal of communication, good span of control, quick and quality decisions as well as quick implementation with good results and feedback. This constitutes the central operating unit. Furthermore, the simplicity and functionality of the structure provide instinctive inspiration from the boss and learning from both the boss and staff. Hence the staff becomes reliable and trusted to exercise a degree of initiative and relative autonomy to take proactive actions based on established order.

Each of the main positions in the structure as well as the subordinate units have their areas of responsibility, main purpose of the job, specific responsibilities and tasks as well as scope of responsibilities. For example Budget and monitoring deals basically with the preparation and monitoring of budget for personnel costs, budget for overhead costs, costs of goods and services for the Registry as well as budget for training of personnel among others. All other units have been designed to handle specific areas of operations and responsibilities and scope. Other field units are however designed to execute specific responsibilities as dictated by specific functionalities.