California State University is building a centralized approach to managing workflows across its 22 campuses to reduce bottlenecks created by decentralized decision-making and legacy processes. Operations analyst Karen Malone in the CSU Chancellor’s Office said the system has long struggled to maintain continuity and consistency. The centralized model is designed to address siloed departmental workflows and standardize processes that can delay staffing, reporting, and service delivery. In systems with constrained budgets and staffing gaps, even minor operational friction can cascade into student-facing problems like slower turnarounds for administrative services. For other multi-campus public systems, CSU’s focus suggests a practical playbook: centralize workflow orchestration while aiming to preserve clarity and follow-through across campus units that previously operated on their own timelines.