Performance Excellence at Northwest Technical College

NTC’s Approach to Continuous Quality Improvement

EXCELLENCE ..

• Academic Excellence• Institutional Excellence• Co-Curricular Excellence• Individual Excellence• Service Excellence

Academic Excellence

• How do we know?–Learner achievement–Placement–Graduation–Program accreditations–Program review–Enrollment

Institutional Excellence

• How do we know?–Accountability Indicators (MnSCU)–College Scorecard

• Efficiency Measures• Quality Indicators

–Accreditation• AQIP Systems Appraisal

Co-Curricular Excellence

• How do we know?–Satisfaction rates–Participation rates–Perkins accountability measures–Enrollment –Learner retention

Individual Excellence

• How do we know?–Certifications and licensure–Educational credentials–Performance Reviews–Professional Development participation–Achievement of growth goals

Service Excellence

• How do we know?–Learner and constituent satisfaction–Retention–Reputation–How are we doing? feedback

Performance Excellence System

• What is NTC’s Performance Excellence System and how does it work?

• We have mission/purposes, values, priorities, goals, objectives, action strategies, processes, measures…. how do they all fit together?

• Why are we using a Systems approach?

SuppliersPeople or

organizations that provide inputs

SuppliersWho gives us what we need

InputsWhat we need

InputsPeople, material,

information, supplies, etc., requiredto perform job

Processes

ProcessesSeries of activities

performed to achieveresults

Who does it

How we do it

OutputsProduct or service

produced from process.

OutputWhat we produce

StakeholdersPeople impacted by

results or that receiveoutputs.

StakeholdersWho we do it for

High Schools Colleges Community Recruiters Various

Vendors Taxpayers MnSCU Board

Chancellor Legislature Employers Learners Etc.

Learners Faculty and staff Administration Facilities Supplies Technology Educational

Materials Equipment Finances Policies, Goals Etc.

Learning Design/

Curriculum Development

Instructional Delivery

Learning Assessment

Registration

Scheduling

Planning

Feedback

Grading

Learners Employers Community Businesses State Other

Employees Other

Colleges, schools

Funding agencies

Alumni Etc.

More knowledgeable learner

Curriculum—courses, programs

Learning activity Evidence of

learning Grade/transcript Degrees,

diplomas Contract Policies, Goals Etc.

Staff Development

Recruitment

Affirmative Action

Performance Improvement

Certification

Strat Planning

Decision-Making

Data Collection

Budgeting

Payroll

Planning

Meet/Confer

Counseling

Financial Aid

Academic Support

Registration

Admin. Process Union Processes

HR Processes

Student Support Processes

Learning Processes

PERFORMANCE EXCELLENCE THROUGH A SYSTEMS APPROACH TO CONTINUOUS QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

What? Northwest Technical College’s Performance Excellence System

Northwest Technical College’s Performance Excellence System is aligned with the Higher Learning Commission’s Academic Quality Improvement Project Categories of Excellence:

Through conscious adherence to these PRINCIPLES… FOCUS A mission and vision that focuses on learners’ and other constituencies’ needs.

INVOLVEMENT Broad-based faculty, staff, and administrative involvement.

LEADERSHIP Leaders and leadership systems that support a quality culture.

LEARNING A learning-centered environment.

PEOPLE Respect for people and willingness to invest in them (faculty, staff, and administrators).

COLLABORATION Collaboration and a shared institutional focus.

AGILITY Agility, flexibility, and responsiveness to changing needs and conditions.

FORESIGHT Planning for innovation and improvement.

INFORMATION Fact-based information-gathering and thinking to support analysis and decision-making.

INTEGRITY Integrity and responsible institutional citizenship.

We will strive to achieve excellence in all of these categories of our performance…

HELPING STUDENTS LEARN Identifies the shared purpose of all higher education organizations, and is accordingly the pivot of any institutional quality analysis.

ACCOMPLISHING OTHER DISTINCTIVE OBJECTIVES

Addresses the processes that contribute to the achievement of an institution's major objectives that complement student learning and fulfill other portions of the institution's mission.

UNDERSTANDING LEARNERS’ AND OTHER CONSTITUENCIES’ NEEDS

Examines how a quality-driven institution, knowing it will ultimately be judged by all of those external or internal individuals and groups that have a major stake in the institution's success, works actively to understand their needs.

VALUING PEOPLE Allows the higher education institution to demonstrate its commitment to the development of the talents of all of its faculty, staff, and administrators since the efforts of all are required for institutional success.

LEADING AND COMMUNICATING

Addresses how an institution's leadership and communication structures, networks, and processes guide the institution in setting directions, making decisions, seeking future opportunities, and building and sustaining a learning environment. The leadership system includes not only those who have day-to-day supervisory or decision-making responsibility to manage the institution, but also the oversight entities (boards).

SUPPORTING INSTITUTIONAL OPERATIONS

Addresses the variety of institutional support processes that, while they do not directly impact student learning, help to provide an environment in which learning can thrive.

MEASURING EFFECTIVENESS

Examines the information system the institution employs to collect and use data to responsibly manage itself and to drive performance improvement.

PLANNING CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

Examines how an institution aligns what it wants or hopes to do with what it actually does.

BUILDING COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIPS

Examines an institution's relationships -current and potential - to analyze how they contribute to the institution's accomplishing its mission.

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Northwest Technical College’s Commitment to Performance Excellence

Northwest Technical College’s PURPOSE is to educate individuals for employment and for life—to prepare our learners to be skilled, resourceful, and imaginative leaders who will effectively address the challenges of life in a technological society, a pluralistic nation, and a multicultural world.How will we do this?

Through conscious adherence to these AQIP PRINCIPLES… FOCUS A mission and vision that focuses on learners’ and other constituencies’ needs.

INVOLVEMENT Broad-based faculty, staff, and administrative involvement.

LEADERSHIP Leaders and leadership systems that support a quality culture.

LEARNING A learning-centered environment.

PEOPLE Respect for people and willingness to invest in them (faculty, staff, and administrators).

COLLABORATION Collaboration and a shared institutional focus.

AGILITY Agility, flexibility, and responsiveness to changing needs and conditions.

FORESIGHT Planning for innovation and improvement.

INFORMATION Fact-based information-gathering and thinking to support analysis and decision-making.

INTEGRITY Integrity and responsible institutional citizenship.

Be recognized as a LEARNING CENTERED college that

ANTICIPATES and RESPONDS to constituency needs;

Is OUTCOMES and ASSESSMENT driven;

Is TECHNOLOGICALLY centered;

Provides LIFELONG LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES for all; and

Is a PARTNERING and LEVERAGING institution

That is CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVING.

LEARNER FOCUSWe will increase retention by serving the academic and co-curricular needs of all individuals through leadership, pluralism and reasoned discourse…

LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

by creating and sustaining a campus milieu that encourages excellence, builds community, promotes involvement, supports personal and professional growth, values diversity and engenders pride.

ALIGNMENT We will effectively align programs and services with Bemidji State University and other partners to leverage effectiveness, efficiency and opportunities for all, and…

FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY

we will identify fiscal opportunity that enhances our ability to provide quality technological education to our region, state and nation.

STRENGTH THROUGH GROWTH

We will achieve growth by strengthening existing and developing new programs, and …

QUALITY REPUTATION

the college will be recognized as the region’s premiere technological learning center because of its innovative programming, its growth through partnerships and by continuously improving.

…we will take actions to accomplish

these STRATEGIC PRIORITIES… …by pursuing these STRATEGIC GOALS…

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How do we know how well we meet their needs? Identify Key Outcome Measures and Performance Indicators

What is our purpose? Identify/Update Mission

Who do we serve? Identify Constituents

What do they need? Assess constituents’ needs

How can we improve how well we meet their needs? Establish goals/objectives based on assessment results

FEEDBACK LOOP

Determine needsConduct assessment/collect dataAnalyze data/assessment resultsDetermine program impact

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How will we achieve our goals/objectives? Plan action strategies

Implement action strategies

What do we do to meet their needs? Identify Key Outcomes, Processes, Products, and Services

NTC’s Integrated Academic and Strategic Planning Process

NTC’s Quality Teams

• Purpose: to assist the college leadership in developing and deploying action strategies to meet college goals. Each team is also assigned to champion at least one AQIP category.

• Academic Team• Recruitment and Retention Team• Continuous Quality Improvement Team• Operations Team• Executive Team

Dean of Academic and Co-Curricular Affairs

Counselor/Co-Curricular Services Coordinator

Director of Institutional Effectiveness

Business Manager Provost

Continuous Improvement TeamCHARGE:Continuous Improvement systemAQIP Steering Institut. effectivenessMeasures/ processesSurveys, etc.Project Action TeamsPerkins planSystems Portfolio#7 MEASURE EFFECTIVENESS #8 PLANNING CONTIN. IMPROVE- MENT CHAMPIONS

Executive TeamCHARGE:Strategic PlanningIntegrate college plansCollege policiesCollege measures (scorecard)Budget and Resources planningGrowth & InnovationsExternal relations: advisory and legislative#5 LEADING & COMMUNICATING #9 BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS CHAMPIONS

Academic TeamCHARGE:Academic PlanningProgram Review processPlanning for faculty developmentAssessment of learningReview Academic Program Improvement reportsIssues related to instructionNew program developmentFaculty relicensureEnrollment goals #1 HELPING STUDENTS LEARN #4 VALUING PEOPLE CHAMPIONS

Recruitment and Retention Team

CHARGE:Recruitment/Retention PlanningEnroll. Manage procRecruiting processesRetention processesCollege marketing opsScholarship manageAlumni activitiesLearner appeals procPlacement processes#2 ACCOMP DISTINCTIVE OBJ.#3 UNDERSTANDING LEARNER/STAKEHLDNEEDS CHAMPIONS

Operational TeamCHARGE:Operational planningTechnology planFacilities planHealth and safety#6 SUPPORTING INSTITUTIONAL OPERATIONS CHAMPIONS

Academic Affairs and Standards

CouncilCHARGE:Give direction regarding curriculum matters: Course outlines, award requirements, academic standards, course/program components, course/program inventory, academic appeals process

Shared Governance

CouncilCHARGE:Make recommendations re: personnel, student affairs, facilities, fiscal and general matters

Explanation of planning flow: Each Planning Team is responsible for developing plans within its areas of responsibility, as indicated in its charge.The Executive Team is responsible for strategic planning and the integration of all team plans. The Academic Team’s plan is the foundational plan for the college and all other plans are designed to support the academic plan. All plans are guided by the college’s Strategic Priorities and Goals. The Master Academic Planning process will guide the plan development for all plans. The gray boxes denote contractual faculty councils.Any Team or individual can recommend policy following the college Policy Management System process (see dotted lines). The Policy Series Managers Team reviews and recommends policy to the Provost/President.

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NORTHWEST TECHNICAL COLLEGE PLANNING STRUCTURE

7 Step Improvement Method

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Improvement Projects for AQIP

• Charting our Course: Implementing a Comprehensive Planning Process

• Staying The Course: Implementing A Standardized System For Managing Policies And Processes

• Monitoring and Adjusting The Course: Developing A Comprehensive Measurement System To Improve Student Learning

• Retaining our Learners through an Intrusive Advising System

• Building Collaborative Relationships

Other Improvement Projects

• Program Review Process• Faculty Evaluation Process• Work Group Improvement Projects

– Orientation/Pre-registration Process– College Readiness Assessment Process– Prospect - Applicant Communications Process– Survey Administration Process

Communicating an institutional philosophy where quality is not only expected, but required;

Creating new and improved programs and services that reflect national and other standards by improving existing processes;

Planning for quality systematically and consistently; Collecting data to measure effectiveness; Working together; Collaborating with others to create best practices; Benchmarking results against constituent needs and best

practices; and Using Quality Improvement Processes:

Seven-step Improvement Method: Quality tools

NTC Commits to Systematic Performance Excellence and Continuous Quality Improvement by…

What Can You Do?

• Participate as a member of a Quality Team.

• Review own/department processes for potential improvements. What hasn’t been working well that you’d like to improve?

• Propose/participate in a process improvement project for your area.

• Set personal growth/ performance goals.

• Assist with data collection.– Track key measures (how many, how quickly, etc).– Administer assessments (tests, surveys, etc).– Participate in surveys when asked.

• Use data/information/results to make decisions and improvements in your own area of influence.

• Set performance targets for yourself/your work group/your area of influence.

• Provide feedback on college performance measures.

• It’s a NEW YEAR and we all have a NEW OPPORTUNITY to RECOMMIT to our 40th Anniversary theme…

NTC…The Best is Yet to Be!