CQIN Showcase Session:
Using Baldrige and AQIP to Sustain
Performance Excellence
Julie A. Furst-Bowe
Provost and Vice Chancellor
Janice Coker
Associate Vice Chancellor
University of Wisconsin-Stout
Characteristics of UW-Stout
 Founded in 1891 by James Huff Stout in
Menomonie, Wisconsin
 Polytechnic institution offering primarily
unduplicated programs in the UW System
 Laptop campus
 9,000 students and 1,200 employees
 40 undergraduate programs leading to
professional careers
 95%+ job placement rate for graduates
 1st and only university to receive the Malcolm
Baldrige National Quality Award
 Accredited by the Academic Quality
Improvement Program (AQIP)
Developing a Culture of Performance
Excellence…
 “No confidence” vote in mid-1990s
 Resulted in improvements in leadership, planning,
communication and technology
 Desire to use established criteria (Baldrige/AQIP) to take
the campus to “the next level”
 Desire for high quality feedback
 Trend in higher education accreditation
 National movement toward transparency, accountability
Keys to Developing Performance Excellence
Leadership Systems
Change from traditional, hierarchical system to an
inclusive decision-making process
 Our governance structure provides stakeholder groups
with a voice in UW-Stout policy and decision-making,
and multi-directional communication
– Faculty Senate
– Senate of Academic Staff
– Student Senate
– Five state unions representing classified staff
 Chancellor’s Advisory Council established to provide
horizontal integration of our organization and structure
Chancellor’s Advisory Council
Allows Us To:
 Enable campus-wide involvement
and participation in strategy
development and decision-making
 Plan and review performance
 Aid in assessment of results and
improve performance
 Enhance organizational
performance through team building
 21 members; bi-weekly meetings
Teambuilding – Senior Leaders
Teamwork
 Agendas directed to:
– Collaborative relationship building and
team reformation
– Professional development in leadership,
administration, management, and the
university’s strategic plan
– Discussion of emerging issues
– Visits to high performing organizations
– Invite outside leaders to campus
• Manufacturing
• Education
• Health care
Leadership Development
Opportunities for all employees
• EDGE Program
• Executive EDGE – Department Chairs
• Russell Leadership Program
• ULEAD Program – Students
• Summer programs – Women
• Administrative Internship – Minorities
Strategic Planning at UW-Stout
 The strategic plan includes five-year goals and
shorter-term action plans
 Broad-based participatory planning is used to
identify and fund campus priorities each year
 Action steps, responsible parties and
timelines are clearly outlined
 Review of progress at all levels
 The strategic plan aligns resources
and actions leading to desired results levels
campus
of the
The Strategic Planning Model
MISSION
VALUES
VISION
SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS
Internal Survey
External Survey
Stakeholder Visioning
Five-Year Goals
Gather input
from campus
community
Identify
institutional
performance
measures
Monitor the
institutional
performance
measures
Action Plans Deployment
PERIODIC CHECKS
Report of
accomplishments
Stakeholder Visioning Sessions
Alumni
Board of Regents
Employers
K-12 Schools
University Administrators
Legislators
Unions
Technical Colleges
Foundation Board
State Dept of Public Instruction
UW System Officers
County and City Administrators
Faculty, Staff and Students
Economic Development Specialists
Strategic Planning: Visioning
Group Reviews:
- Emerging Issues
- Enrollment Patterns
- Performance Data
- Survey Data
- Financial Information
Drafts annual campus priorities/AQIP Action Projects
Short-Term Planning:
Determining Annual Priorities
Chancellor
Communicates
Final Plan
Institution-Wide
Winter Budget Planning
at Division/College Level
Fall/Winter Chancellor’s Advisory
Council Budget Planning
Summer Planning
Retreat
Fall Listening
Sessions
Action Plans Include:
Linkage to Strategic Plan
Individual or Groups Responsible
Strategies or Action Steps (High Level)
Timeline
Resources Needed
Performance Indicators
Action Plans Include:
 Academic Plan
 Enrollment Management Plan
 Information Technology Plan
 Affirmative Action Plan
 Inclusive Excellence Plan
 Climate Action Plan
 Alcohol Education Plan
 University Priorities
 AQIP Category Improvement Plan
Planning and Assessment Support
Budget, Planning
& Analysis
Institutional
Research
Annual Operating
Budget Development
Fiscal
Analysis
Capital Budget
Development
- Coordinates all surveys conducted on campus
- Conducts data; analyzes data; generates reports
- Makes data and reports available to campus
- Uses data for informed decision-making
- Coordinates planning process and provides follow-up
- Aligns resources
Evaluating Effectiveness of Planning:
Key Performance Indicators
 Enrollments; transfer enrollments
 Tuition rates
 Tuition revenue
 Retention rates
 Student engagement (NSSE)
 Student e-learning
 Student satisfaction (ACT)
Key Performance Indicators
 Graduation rates
 Job Placement rates
 Employer ratings of student skills
 Distance education
 Curriculum renewal
 Faculty research
 Employee morale
 Employee safety
 Energy efficiency
Employee Involvement
A traditional organization,
complemented by set of
established committees and
other cross-campus structures
 Chancellor’s Advisory Council
 Shared governance committees
 University-wide committees
 Taskforces, improvement teams,
etc.
Key Improvement Groups
 Chancellor’s Advisory Council
 Program Advisory Committees
 Program Review Committee
 Educational Support Unit Review
Committee
 AQIP Category Improvement
Teams
 Taskforces/Improvement Teams
 Each provided with clear charge,
relevant data and timeline/s
Communication
 Annual listening sessions
 Campus email updates
 Web site
 Newsletters
 Personal letters/invitations
 “About Stout” – Video Program
 “Leadership by Walking Around”
Academic Quality Improvement
Program (AQIP)
n
established in 1999 by the NCA Higher Learning Commission
n allows institution to maintain accreditation through involvement
in continuous quality improvement
n involves a sequence of annual activities
n approximately 200 two-year and four-year colleges are in AQIP
Joining AQIP: An Easy Decision
- Continue building on UW-Stout’s successful quality
improvement efforts
- Receive additional CQI training and resources
- Receive feedback from expert reviewers
- Accreditation as a process versus an event
- Decision approved by all shared governance groups
- Baldrige application was used as AQIP application
AQIP Categories
 Helping Students Learn
 Accomplishing Other Objectives – enrollment management, technology
integration, applied research
 Student and Stakeholder Needs
 Valuing People
 Leading and Communicating
 Supporting Institutional Operations
 Measuring Effectiveness
 Planning Continuous Improvement
 Building Collaborative Relationships
AQIP Sequence of Activities
 Organizational self assessment
 Strategy Forum (1st year)
 Selection of action projects
 Action project updates
(annually)
 Systems portfolio (4th year)
 Site visit (5th or 6th year)
 Re-accreditation (7th year)
 Cycle repeats…
Strategy Forum: The Fun Begins
•
•
•
•
•
Campus Teams (leaders, faculty, staff, board member/s)
Sessions on quality tools
Sessions on AQIP categories
Assistance in developing action projects
Networking, discussions and social events
AQIP Action Projects –
Focused on one ore more categories
 2002 - 2004
 Graduate Education
 Leadership Development
 2005 - 2007
 First Year Experience
 Expanding Academic Program Array
 2007 – 2009
 Internal Communication
 Global Society and Workforce
 New Markets and New Programs
 Polytechnic Initiative
 2010 - 2012 – currently being finalized
AQIP Systems Portfolio
 The Systems Portfolio is a 100 page (double-spaced) public
portfolio describing fundamental institutional systems.
 The Systems Portfolio covers all AQIP Categories, describing
context, processes, results, & improvement in each category.
 Created once the Systems Portfolio is continually updated to
reflect changes in the institution's systems and processes.
 The Systems Portfolio is a valuable resource, both internally, and
for the institution's external audiences.
 The review of the portfolio is conducted by a team of trained,
reviewers knowledgeable about quality. The team generates a
detailed Feedback Report the institution can use as it continues
its quality journey.
AQIP Systems Portfolio:
Strengths in Helping Students Learn
 New program development process
 Effective and efficient course delivery
 Program review process
 Learning support services
 Faculty development in teaching and learning
 Laboratory instruction – experiential learning
 Increasing graduation rates
 High job placement rates – high demand fields
AQIP Systems Portfolio:
Concerns in Helping Students Learn
 General education objectives
 Alignment of co-curricular and curricular objectives
 Freshmen retention rates
AQIP Checkup Visit
 Systems Portfolio Clarification and Verification
 Systems Appraisal Follow Up
 Accreditation Issues Follow Up
 Federal Compliance Review
 Organizational Quality Commitment
 Team of Two AQIP Reviewers
Reaffirmation of Accreditation
AQIP Reaffirmation Panelists review:
- Systems portfolio
- Systems appraisal
- Action Project history
- Quality Check-up visit report
- Federal compliance documents
- Quality Program Summary
- Other documents provided by AQIP and
the institution
AQIP panel members generate a report that
indicates if the institution is meeting each
accreditation criterion and also provide
advice for advancing AQIP at that institution
Summary of Review Comments
 The Appraisal Team counts it as a privilege to have been invited to review UWStout’s AQIP Systems Portfolio (November 2009). We have concluded that the
document is the finest systems portfolio we have seen.
 The comprehensive incorporation of processes and metrics throughout the
University, the extensive collection and analyses of data, and the generosity of
sharing best practices with other institutions of higher learning are exemplary
(Systems Portfolio Review Team)
 The Team noted several exemplary activities while on campus including the
continuous improvement approaches exhibited throughout the organization, the
innovative use of technology, an inclusive strategic planning process, the
relationship between planning and budgeting and a culture that is clearly data
driven.” (Check-up Visit Team)
 The Systems Appraisal team concluded that the University of Wisconsin-Stout has
presented evidence that it complies with each of the Criteria for Accreditation and
each of their core components (Reaffirmation Panel)
Using AQIP for Continuous Improvement
• Category Improvement Teams
• Review feedback from systems portfolio, site visit team
and reaffirmation panel
• Work to prioritize and address opportunities for
improvement in each category
• Report on progress every six months
• Part of University’s planning, assessment and
improvement process
• Each team drafts category for Systems Portfolio
and participates in other AQIP activities
Key Components of Performance Culture
 Inclusive leadership system: Chancellor’s Advisory Council
 Structured teambuilding
 Leadership development at all levels
 Broad-based participatory strategic planning process
 Development of comprehensive data collection system
 Utilization of key performance indicators
 Employee participation in all aspects of the university
 Training and development targeted toward organizational
needs, including assessment and improvement
 Multiple employee feedback systems; act on results
Benefits of a Performance Culture
 View of the organization from 30,000 feet
– Systems
– Relationships between units
 Comprehensive framework for assessment and quality
improvement
 Consensus on priorities and needed actions
 Focus on data
 Enhanced communication
 Increased level of teamwork
 Increased rate of change
 External feedback