A positive development in Emory’s virtual experience this year has been the launch and growing implementation of Enterprise DocuSign as a platform for electronically submitting legal forms and documents across Emory. During the pandemic, the university negotiated a contract with DocuSign to provide unlimited free access to the service for all Emory University employees. 

The Enterprise DocuSign service is managed through Emory’s Office of Information Technology (OIT, formerly LITS) and has already gone into wide use by the School of Medicine, Winship Cancer Institute and the Student Financial Aid Office, to name a few.

Enterprise DocuSign is accessible with an Emory login and password at https://docusign.emory.edu. Students will also be able to use Enterprise DocuSign but will need to get approval from faculty or staff to use the service for business-related purposes.

Additionally, the service also includes CFR21 Part 11, which provides additional elements that allow for FDA submissions for research. Enterprise DocuSign is HIPAA-compliant.

DocuSign first gained widespread use in the mortgage industry, replacing handwritten signatures with mouse clicks. In this increasingly digitized age, DocuSign has unlimited uses at Emory. 

“We anticipate that adoption will spread throughout admissions, academics, Campus Life, financial services, advancement and athletics,” says Steve Collins, senior OIT web manager. “Anything that requires a regular signature can be converted to a digital signature with this service.”

DocuSign success stories

There are already many success stories from using the new service. Don McVay, Emory’s executive director of financial aid, is among those currently using DocuSign.

“The DocuSign-OnBase integration enables students to submit an electronic form, receive and complete the DocuSign signature request, and complete the corresponding OPUS action items in less than 30 minutes,” McVay says. “The same paper-based process can take days to complete.”

McVay added that the functionality allowing students and parents to concurrently sign documents from separate locations has removed roadblocks and streamlined the aid application process.

According to Madhu Behera, Winship Cancer Institute director of cancer informatics and the Winship Research Informatics Shared Resource, “Using DocuSign’s e-signature capabilities, the Winship Clinical Trials Office gained immediate increases in efficiencies, visibility and workflow process improvement, therefore, return on investment, and directly-supported business continuity and operations during the pandemic.” 

Advancement and Alumni Engagement (AAE) has also adopted DocuSign to streamline gift giving. 

“We were heavily dependent on gift officers and executive assistants to walk documents around campus or using Fed Ex to ship documents around the country,” says Benjamin Tompkins Jr., senior associate vice president for advancement operations and AAE chief operating officer. “We’ve streamlined the process from three weeks to three days.”

For further reading about Enterprise DocuSign and stay up to date regarding future training sessions, go to these two Emory Knowledge articles and subscribe to the DocuSign listserv:

• Enterprise DocuSign Information
• FDA Submissions CFR Part 11 via DocuSign
• To subscribe to the Listserv, please follow these steps to subscribe to the list. The list name is DOCUSIGN-USERS and emails for posting to the list should be sent to DOCUSIGN-USERS@LISTSERV.CC.EMORY.EDU