Client Need and Issue
A civil rights office at a mid-sized public university faced years of staff burnout, frequent leadership changes, and expanding responsibilities. What began as a request to TNG for interim leadership quickly revealed broader operational and structural challenges.
The office had taken on duties beyond its Title IX and compliance scope, including ADA and religious accommodation requests and employee-on-employee concerns. A substantial backlog accumulated, and case records remained paper-based despite the availability of a case management system.
Eliminating the backlog alone would not solve the underlying challenges. The university needed a sustainable solution to clarify the office’s responsibilities and restore its effectiveness.
TNG Approach and Solution
TNG provided interim leadership while conducting a comprehensive assessment of the office’s structure, operations, staffing model, and case management practices. In collaboration with senior administrators, legal counsel, and campus stakeholders, TNG helped realign responsibilities, allowing the office to refocus on its core mission of addressing discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and Title IX-related concerns rather than managing unrelated HR functions.
TNG also modernized operations by digitizing more than 700 paper records, reviewing and resolving more than 100 aging open matters, improving case management processes, and creating new operational protocols. Through transparent change management and relationship-building, stakeholders became invested in the new solutions.
Outcome
Recognizing that lasting change required more than temporary support, TNG partnered with the university for a six-month transition. This collaboration eliminated most of the backlog and restored the office’s intended function.
During this period, the office became fully staffed, onboarded a new director, and established a more sustainable organizational structure. Renewed campus engagement rebuilt trust with stakeholders. Most importantly, the institution moved beyond short-term fixes to create a solid foundation for effective civil rights operations, leadership continuity, and ongoing improvement.