Key takeaways
- Associate Director of Data & Analytics Lucas Koike identified and helped resolve an issue affecting how some institutional grants were applied.
- The no-cost solution is expected to protect about $1 million in institutional scholarship funding over two years, allowing those resources to support more students.
- Employees with their own efficiency ideas can submit a President’s Flywheel Challenge proposal by Oct. 30 for a chance to earn up to $10,000.
A question in the data led Lucas Koike to a million-dollar opportunity for MSU Denver.
Through his regular work, the associate director of Data & Analytics noticed something unusual in how Banner was applying some last-dollar institutional grants. Rather than stopping at the anomaly, Koike dug deeper, worked with colleagues to understand the issue and helped implement a solution.
The fix cost the University nothing and is expected to protect approximately $1 million in institutional scholarship funding over two years, allowing those dollars to support more students.
It also earned Koike, an MSU Denver alumnus, the maximum $10,000 award through the President’s Flywheel Challenge.
“This did not require a new building, a massive grant or a big committee,” President Janine Davidson, Ph.D., said. “It started with one person noticing something that did not make sense.”
For Buffy Ribble, Ph.D., executive director of Data & Analytics and Koike’s former academic advisor, the project demonstrates the value of following the data beyond the original question.
“Lucas used the data to identify how a process was actually functioning, quantify the impact and point toward a solution,” Ribble said. “It also came at a good time, because we are migrating to Workday Student and have an opportunity to make sure we don’t carry the same process issue into a new system.”
Buffy Ribble, Ph.D., executive director of Data & Analytics, with Lucas Koike at the President's Welcome Back on Sept. 1. Photo by Alyson McClaran
Turn your idea into an improvement
Launched in 2024, the President’s Flywheel Challenge rewards faculty members, staff members and students who identify inefficiencies and develop solutions that save the University time or money. Winners receive a percentage of verified savings, up to $10,000.
Proposals are evaluated primarily on time and financial savings as well as mission and CADRE-values alignment, ease of implementation, and clarity. Submissions are reviewed quarterly, with the next deadline Oct. 30.
Koike’s advice for employees who spot an opportunity? Don’t wait until you have everything figured out.
“Flag it and work with your supervisor,” he said. “You don’t need to have every detail of the solution figured out — sometimes following a relatively small question can uncover a much larger opportunity to make things better.”
