6P1 Quality Improvement Initiatives

• Selecting, deploying and evaluating quality improvement initiatives;
• Aligning the Systems Portfolio, Action Projects, Comprehensive Quality Review and Strategy Forums.

Selecting Quality Improvement Initiatives

Quality improvement initiatives are selected based on the various levels they impact and their connection to the strategic plan and Southeast Tech’s mission, vision and values. Therefore, the method of selection varies accordingly (see the Academic Quality Improvement Program Framework in 6P2 for additional information):

• Institutional-Level Quality Improvement Initiatives:  At the Institutional level, quality initiatives may be selected in several ways:
  • Directly by the Southeast Tech Board, Council, Administration or Futures Team: The Board, Council, Administrative or Futures Team may determine a specific initiative be implemented in order to meet a specific strategic goal or need of the Institute;
  • Through an Institutional Strategy Forum:  Conducted every summer, the Strategy Forum provides the opportunity to develop new initiatives and implementation action steps.  Strategy Forums involve stakeholders from across campus and may include external stakeholders. The Forum follows a defined CQI process, facilitated by a Forum leader, to assure maximum output during the day-long event. Approximately 30 to 40 employees participate in the Forum, giving them the opportunity for engagement in planning processes and direct training on CQI tools.

The initial concept or idea for the initiative, however, may have come from an individual stakeholder (internal or external), a committee, team, or other established group that was brought before the Futures Team or taken directly to administration; however, final selection of any initiative at the Institutional level requires administrative or higher approval.  These initiatives are determined to be vital to the continued success of the Institution, an enhancement to the Institute’s ability to meet its mission or its strategic plan, or required by federal, state, accreditation or other entities. For example, AQIP-defined Strategic Issues during Systems Appraisal and Comprehensive Quality Review processes are recognized and evaluated as Institutional-level quality initiatives because of their direct impact on accreditation.​​​

• Established AQIP Team Institutional-Level Quality Improvement Initiatives:  Many quality initiatives directly impact one or more stakeholder groups associated with the Institute.  Southeast Tech has developed specific AQIP Teams to select quality initiatives in their defined areas (6P2).  These initiatives are directly related to the areas assigned to each team and include any assigned strategic plan initiatives as determined by the Futures Team. 
• Program and Department Improvement Initiatives:  Quality initiatives are also selected within program and department teams.  These initiatives are frequently linked directly to internal processes that affect the Institute at the program or department levels, but may include initiatives that impact the Institute at all levels.  Initiatives are often designed to improve efficiencies, increase service offerings, or better meet student needs at the program or department level.
• Committee Improvement Initiatives:  Although many committees and sub-committees flow directly into program, department, or AQIP teams and are therefore included in those quality improvement initiatives, Southeast Tech has a number of stand-alone committees developed for a single, defined purpose.  These committees, such as the Credential Committee, which reviews, approves, and tracks faculty credentialing, and the Curriculum Committee, which assures that curriculum standards are maintained across the Institute, may also develop quality initiatives at the committee level to improve efficiencies or the services provided within the committee.

Regardless of the Institutional level or type of team or committee, it is the responsibility of the Futures Team (6P2) to assure that all initiatives support Southeast Tech’s Strategic Plan, which is tied directly to the mission and vision of the Institute through the Strategic Planning and Annual Planning processes (4P2).  To further assure this alignment, a connection to the strategic plan is required as part of the quality initiative documentation in the Institute’s Planning and Assessments database.

Approval of initiatives varies according to the level and impact.  Initiatives that impact only a particular department or team may be approved by the immediate supervisor.  Initiatives that will have a wider impact, or will require additional funding, require higher level approval.  The Futures Team oversees the overall process to assure alignment and implementation (6P2). 

These initiatives are then included in the Institute’s Annual Plan, which is reviewed and approved by administration, the Council, and the Board, to assure they are consistent with one another and are monitored to determine effectiveness.

Deploying and Evaluating Quality Improvement Initiatives

The Southeast Tech Deploying Actions Process (Figure 6P1.1) applies to all quality initiatives at the Institute – Institutional, program, department, committee and team. Regardless of whether the action involves program development, a request for resources, changes within a department, or a major strategic planning initiative, the Institute strives to follow the Deploying Actions Process.

Capture:  The process starts by capturing the data associated with the requested action to be taken. Southeast Tech first identifies stakeholder needs through a variety of sources important to the action, such as enrollment, retention and graduation rates, stakeholder survey data, input from internal and external stakeholders, dialogue with other programs, departments or external stakeholders, etc. 

Develop:  Once a focused need is identified by capturing the data, Southeast Tech develops an action project by researching and justifying the need, identifying expected outcomes, and linking the action project to a strategic goal.  An implementation measure is developed and a target level is set.  Finally, the developed plan is documented in the Planning and Assessments database.

Southeast Tech frequently uses its annual Strategy Forum for initial development of Institutional-level quality improvement initiatives. During forums, employees from across campus and at all levels, as well as external stakeholders as applicable, take an assigned new initiative and the captured inputs, and through a CQI defined process, develop the initial stages of initiative development. The resulting outcome of the forum is then given to the appropriate team/committee for further development and final consideration for implementation. (Strategy Forum events generally follow the following process:  Affinity Map, The Five Whys, Our Current State, Our Desired State, Strategies for Improvement, Final Report and Presentation.) 

Decide:  Depending upon the level of the action project, a decision is made about whether or not to pursue the project.  This decision may involve state or federal offices, the Southeast Tech Council, Southeast Tech Board, administration, the Futures Team, and/or a program or department team or Institutional committee.

Deploy/Implement:  Various factors play a role in implementing a particular action project.  Expenses may need to be budgeted, infrastructure may need to be developed, relationships may need to be established, etc.  Each of these areas is addressed as the action project is implemented.  Implementation is the responsibility of the team, committee, program or department that developed or was assigned the particular action project.

Evaluate: Outcomes of the action project are evaluated by the assigned group and are based on the measures established during the development stage.  Comparisons are made against the set target, and trends are monitored over time.  When appropriate and available, benchmarking through external stakeholder comparison data is used as part of the evaluation process. Results are discussed and an evaluation is written within the Planning and Assessments database.  Depending upon the level of the action project, the overall effectiveness of the action may be further reviewed by the Futures Team, administration, a Celebrating Learning coach, a department or team, Southeast Tech Council or Board, etc. Revisions are then made, based upon the results, to further improve the effectiveness of the action project.  

Publish:  Publication of action projects takes many forms, both internal and external, depending upon the level of the action project and its impact on the Institute.  These publications include documentation in the Planning and Assessments database, Campus Notes, meeting minutes, emails, the President’s Report, newsletters, annual planning reports, etc. 

Reflect:  To assure that Southeast Tech continually strives for quality improvement, the Deploying Actions Process itself is reviewed by the Futures Team.  This reflection helps the Institute refine the process for further improvements not only in the newly implemented action projects, but also in how the Institute operates.  Reflections for improvement are documented in Futures Team minutes and adjustments are made as needed.

Finally, the process loops back to stakeholders to capture additional stakeholder needs.  The cycle is then repeated.

Aligning the Systems Portfolio, Action Projects, Comprehensive Quality Review, and Strategy Forums

Southeast Tech’s Systems Portfolio/Appraisal, Action Projects, Comprehensive Quality Review and Strategy Forums are all included as initiatives within the Institutional-Level Quality Improvement Initiatives selection process. The Futures Team oversees these AQIP processes and assures that the feedback received (Systems Portfolio/Appraisal, Comprehensive Quality Review, Strategy Forum), as well as Institutional actions taken (Action Projects, Strategy Forum), are integrated into and aligned with the Institute’s overall continuous quality improvement initiatives.  The Futures Team then assigns these initiatives to specific teams and committees in a similar process to how the Futures Team assigns strategic planning implementation to the various teams (6P2).  The Deploying Actions Process is then used for implementation.