In the Spotlight

Meet Paul Tyler

Paul Tyler, Assistant Director of Auditing and Consulting Services, recently spoke with Donna Holmes about Auditing and Consulting Services.  Mr. Tyler has worked for UTSA for almost 9 years. He previously worked at UT Austin in the Continuing Legal Education department of the law school for 3 ½ years.

Have you worked in any other areas at UTSA?
No, all of my UTSA experience has been with the Office of Auditing and Consulting Services.

How is your position different from the Executive Director of Audit, Compliance and Risk Services?
As Assistant Director, I manage the daily activities of the Auditing and Consulting Services function.   The Executive Director of Audit, Compliance and Risk Services oversees both the Office of Auditing and Consulting Services and the Office of Institutional Compliance and Risk Services. 

How does Audit differ from Institutional Compliance?
I see the role of Auditing and Consulting Services as one of providing assurance to executive management through our audits that controls and processes are functioning appropriately to mitigate risks that UTSA faces and to make recommendations that will improve the operations of the university.

The two offices complement each other in that Compliance and Risk Services identifies the university’s high-risk areas through their risk assessment process. We then audit those areas to ensure the control environment is effective in managing the risks.  This allows the Office of Auditing and Consulting Services to focus our limited audit resources to those areas identified as high-risk. 

What is the biggest change you’ve seen at UTSA
since you’ve been here?
The transformation of UTSA from a commuter school to a university with a growing campus life has been the biggest change. A large apartment style dormitory has been opened which includes an on-campus dining hall for campus residents. There are plans for several more dormitories to be constructed in the next few years.

The recreation center, which is available to students, staff, and faculty, was opened a few years ago. The facility is currently being expanded due to overwhelming demand.  Also, the expansion of the university center has been approved and will begin construction this year.  

What is the biggest challenge facing UTSA right now?
UTSA is the university that provides higher education opportunities for students in the South Texas region.  However, UTSA has a vision of becoming the next premier research institution in Texas, which is a lofty goal, while still being an institution that is geared towards providing educational opportunities for all individuals interested in attaining a college education.

It will be a challenge of balancing excellence with access issues at UTSA.  UTSA is currently developing a strategic plan and it will be extremely important to incorporate both of these goals within our mission.  

When I began at UTSA in 1998, the student population was around 18,000.   The enrollment as of fall 2006 was over 27,000 students.  UTSA is desperately attempting to create the infrastructure both in buildings and staff in order to deal with the explosive student growth we have experienced.