Academic Quality Improvement for FHSU Departments

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Academic Quality Improvement for FHSU Departments
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What is AQIP?

• New model of accreditation for NCAs Higher
  Learning Commission
• Based on Baldridge Award criteria, adapted to
  institutions of higher education
• Criteria encompasses all aspects of university,
  student learning is focus
• Requires assessment, tracking, and improvement of
  systemic processes and outcomes critical to
  student learning
• Focus is on process, not people

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Why AQIP?

• Many forces are pushing higher education toward a
  quality improvement focus
• Emergence of competition
• Limited public revenues
• Innovation, information technology revolution
• Allows FHSU to innovatively build on successes
• AQIP is the intersection of strategic planning,
  continuous improvement, knowledge management, and
  evolution toward a learning organization

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What Does AQIP Mean to FHSU?

• Most basic function Our current method of
  maintaining regional accreditation
• More important A great way to study ourselves
  through our own acknowledged strengths and
  weaknesses
• Most important Commitment to quality improvement
  embraced by the university culture to better
  serve our students

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AQIP Quality Criteria (AQIP 9)

• Helping Students Learn
• Accomplishing Other Distinctive Objectives
• Understanding Students and Other Stakeholders
  Needs
• Valuing People
• Leading and Communicating
• Supporting Institutional Operations
• Measuring Effectiveness
• Planning Continuous Improvement
• Building Collaborative Relationships

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Possible AQIP Vital Goals (AQIP 5)

• Foster an Environment Supportive of Faculty
  Research (Status In progress)
• Meeting Kansas Virtual Students Needs (Status
  New)
• Increase Hispanic Participation in FHSU Degree
  Programs (Status New)
• Improving Student Engagement in the Educational
  Process (Status New)
• Participate Meaningfully in the American
  Democracy Project (Status New)

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Regents Performance Agreements

• Meeting Kansas Virtual Students Needs
• Increase Hispanic Participation in FHSU Degree
  Programs
• Improving Student Engagement in the Educational
  Process
• Participate Meaningfully
  in the American Democracy
  Project
• Meet NCATE Standards

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Current Status of Quality Improvement _at_ FHSU

• Coordinating/Steering Mechanisms
• University community
• Council for Institutional Effectiveness
• Quality Champions
• Reporting Opportunities
• Kansas Award of Excellence - KAE
• Performance Agreements KBOR
• Quality Criteria/Vital Goal Tracking AQIP
• Annual Update and System Portfolio - AQIP

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Future Challenges

• Acculturation
• Cascading AQIP processes and thinking into every
  level of the campus community
• Building a campus-wide norm of quality
  improvement
• Automation and Integration
• Refocus KPIs
• Merge high tech AND high touch
• Combine duplicative efforts

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Future Challenges, cont.

• Align strategic planning and AQIP
• AQIP System Portfolio Reporting
• Requires campus community support
• Action Projects/Vital Goals
• Work with campus constituencies to find interest
  and commitment to new vital goals
• Continuous tracking and measurement of new and
  existing vital goals with analysis

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AQIP Year of the Department

• Identify and take ownership of problems and
  opportunities
• More than accountability and bizspeak
• What do we want to focus on?
• How do we want to accomplish it?
• How does this fit into the big picture?
• Annual reports and departmental
  goal setting
• Strategic planning

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Final Comments

• Move from a four letter word to a four word plan
• Plan, Do, Check, Act
• Challenge is to cascade quality improvement
  throughout the FHSU culture
• There are no problems, only opportunities
  move forward into the next phase
• Harnessing what we do already to make a tipping
  point difference for our students