Continuous Improvement

Goal: Create a culture of service excellence to support the University’s mission

Notre Dame is committed to creating a culture of operational and service excellence. Here are some notable recent achievements toward this goal:

  • Campus growth
    Expansion and renovation are the core of a Notre Dame master plan that lays out $300 to $400 million in construction over a five-year period. Major projects include athletic facilities such as new lacrosse and soccer stadiums, a new hockey arena and the renovated Purcell Pavilion, as well as Irish Green and the off-campus Eddy Street Commons.
  • Employee experience
    Notre Dame has been identified as one of the top 10 higher education workplaces in the country in a survey by the Chronicle of Higher Education, a leading resource for higher education news and information. The “Great Colleges to Work For” survey places Notre Dame among 10 large universities that have achieved multiple high marks in such categories as overall job satisfaction, employee benefits, quality facilities, safety, and employee commitment to the institution’s mission.
  • Financial Aid
    Notre Dame has steadily built its investment in financial aid since instituting a need-blind admissions policy and committing to meet the full demonstrated need of all admitted students. The undergraduate scholarship endowment currently exceeds $1 billion, and financial aid has grown from nearly $64 million in 2005-06 to more than $106 million projected in 2011-12.
  • Game weekends
    Improvements to the Notre Dame football game-day experience were instituted in 2009 in the areas of hospitality, communication and safety. The improvements include a hospitality village on Irish Green, stadium tunnel tours, sportsmanship guidelines, ticket scanners, tailgating on the golf course and an interactive Gameday website.
  • Office of Continuous Improvement
    Launched in 2010, this office helps the University meet its strategic goals through the use of special methods and tools to improve processes across campus. It offers continuous improvement training opportunities for University employees to prepare them to lead or participate in improvement projects, as well as project support and guidance.
  • Office of Sustainability
    Opened in 2008, the Office of Sustainability has helped Notre Dame increase its environmental grade on an independent report for four straight years. This improvement is due in large part to increased participation in sustainability education and outreach programs, LEED certification for new buildings and energy conservation programs that have reduced carbon emissions despite campus growth.
  • Spirit Campaign
    Notre Dame has become the first university without the powerful gift-giving attraction of a medical school to surpass $2 billion in a traditional seven-year capital campaign. The largest fundraising effort in the history of Catholic higher education ended in June 2011 by reaching 134 percent of the $1.5 billion goal.