AQIP Action Project Declaration
A. Project Title/Dates
Process Mapping: Rethinking and Improving Ten Major Processes
Planned project kickoff date: April 5, 2012
Target project completion date: March 30, 2013
B. Project Goal
North Central State College will conduct an internal needs assessment of critical processes and
follow up with a process mapping training program for administrators, faculty and staff with the
focus on mapping and improving ten college processes to enhance efficiency.
C. Key Quality Indicator (s)
AQIP Category: Supporting Institutional Operations
D. Motivation
1. NC State does not require staff and faculty to document major college processes. Few staff
and faculty members are trained in process mapping techniques and have the requisite
experience of analyzing and improving their work processes.
2. NC State has many cross-functional and cross-departmental processes which are poorly
defined and undocumented. Frequently, processes begin in one department and are
continued in another without either department fully understanding the steps before or after
their role. The result is that processes may break down and the steps are undocumented
leading to improvisation and inconsistency in managing affairs. Without clear, welldocumented processes, efficiency and timeliness is compromised and services may be
negatively impacted. Further, in times of crisis and emergency, well-documented processes
will enable stakeholders to maintain services with a well-prepared, efficient, and productive
team.
3. Feedback from the February 15, 2012 AQIP System Portfolio Feedback Report indicated that
NC State can improve in the area of supporting institutional operations. In particular, the
report indicated that, “It is not evident whether these policies and procedures are evaluated
against student and other stakeholder support needs to insure innovation, collaboration, and
the best method to meet support needs which could enhance knowledge sharing, innovation
and empowerment.” Further, “the college has an opportunity to develop a more systematic
process which will provide a comprehensive perspective, assist with prioritizing support
needs, and allocating resources.” This AQIP project addresses the heart of these
recommendations by expanding communication, building upon collaboration, fostering
innovation, and bringing together campus community as a whole to develop a holistic
approach to our process.
E. Organizational Impact
The ultimate beneficiaries of this project are our students who will realize the efforts through
efficient, timely processes resulting in a positive educational experience.
The project will be implemented by creating a Campus Process Mapping Team (CPMT) who will
serve as campus facilitators for mapping initiatives. The CPMT facilitators will be trained by
external mapping professionals and will become campus leaders for specific project mapping
initiatives. The facilitators and mapping project teams will identify and analyze critical steps,
then plan and carry out improvements. Finally, the CPMT will review the results of the individual
mapping project teams and report revised process to stakeholders. Reporting will be done by
electronic distribution and added to a newly created Campus Process Manual.
Facilitator training will be coordinated by project chair Gregg Busch, Dean of Liberal Arts,
Education, Professional and Public Services. The CPMT membership will be recruited by
department heads, Faculty Caucus, and Staff Caucus. Individual project team members will be
recruited by CPMT and effort given to including those who are directly involved in the process
being reviewed and, ultimately, mapped. Members of the individual project teams may include
(but not limited to) those from:
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Administrative services and business office
Academic deans
Faculty (full- and part-time)
o Liberal Arts, Education, Professional and Public Services
o Health Sciences
o Business, Engineering, and Industrial Technology
Financial aid
Facilities and maintenance
Human resources
Information technology
Administration
Institutional Advancement
NC State Foundation
Records Office and registrar
Student Services
Student Success Center
Workforce Development
Tutoring
Disability Services
Campus Security
Legal advisors
Representatives from external stakeholders which may include representatives from The
Ohio State University – Mansfield campus
F. Key Processes
Project Scope:
 This project will focus on reviewing ten college processes.
 The CPMT will collect recommendations from campus stakeholders regarding which
processes to map.
 The CPMT will review the list with the President’s Advisory Committee (PAC) who will
identify and prioritize ten major processes to be mapped.
 Because nearly all processes are cross-departmental and cross-functional, nearly every
department in the college will be affected in the process mapping project. In fact,
special effort will be given to exploring mapping in each area of the college and projects
that are not identified by PAC will be encouraged to map processes that may otherwise
not have been selected in the ten projects to be included in this action project.
Project Constraints:
 We must commit time and resources to the training program.
 Mapping of college processes must become a work standard mandated by all
departments as part of our continuous improvement culture.
Project Assumptions:
 While this action project will focus on ten processes, eventual mapping of all major
existing and future processes is our goal.
 Mapping sessions will focus on actual college work processes. No other college business
can be discussed at the mapping session.
 Each of the ten major processes will be mapped in two 2-hour sessions followed by one
1-hour session to present findings and recommendations to the CMPT.
 Each mapping session will be facilitated by a trained member of the CMPT.
 This project will improve our institutional effectiveness by promoting improved crossdepartmental, cross-functional communication and collaboration; increased employee
efficiencies and job satisfaction; and improved satisfaction of our stakeholders
 Work stations will be populated with Microsoft Visio software to enable all employees to
use common mapping tools and systematize the process of process mapping.
G. Timeline/Milestones
The timeline below indicates the major project tasks, who is responsible for each task, and
approximate completion dates. The ‘completed by’ dates are the latest possible date to have
completed the task. Process mapping may move faster than indicated in the timeline resulting in
earlier ‘completed by’ dates, but must follow the task order.
Task
Assemble the CMPT
Project Kick-Off with project
informational campaign for
campus community
Train CMPT members in
process mapping by external
mapping professional
Recommended processes to
map and improve
Communicate employee
suggestions to PAC
Evaluate and prioritize 10
college processes for mapping
Assemble project team
members
Map processes, identify and
analyze critical steps, plan
improvements and present
proposed action plans
Complete action plans
Analyze results and update
quality indicators
Present findings to CMPT
Present mapped process to
PAC
Electronically share mapped
process with campus
community
Enter mapped process in
Campus Process Manual
Who is responsible
Project chair, department
heads, Faculty Caucus, Staff
Caucus
CMPT
Completed by
April 30, 2012
Project chair
May 30, 2012
All NCSC employees
June 1, 2012
CMPT
June 2012 (1st PAC Meeting)
PAC
June 2012 (2nd PAC Meeting)
CMPT member assigned to
the project
CMPT member assigned,
Project team members
August 31, 2012
CMPT member assigned,
Project team members
CMPT member assigned,
Project team members
CMPT member assigned
CMPT member assigned,
Project chair
Project chair
December 14, 2012
Project chair
March 30, 2013
May 15, 2012
November 16, 2012
March 1, 2013
March 1, 2013
March 2013 (1st PAC Meeting)
March 30, 2013
H. Project Monitoring
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The mapping process will be monitored by trained facilitators who are members of the CMPT.
The processes under examination will be monitored by project team members who are directly
involved in the process.
Department heads and the CMPT members assigned to the project will monitor the progress of
the mapping activity.
The project team will meet, at minimum, on a monthly basis to carry out the mapping process.
The CMPT member assigned to project will report ongoing progress at each CMPT meeting.
The CMPT will meet monthly throughout the project during the academic year.
The Project Chair will report monthly to PAC on the mapping progress.
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Results will be shared with the campus community through electronic process updates and
through the newly created Campus Process Manual.
As the process mapping is completed, reviewed, and approved, the campus community will
receive updates.
I.
Assessment
For each of the ten processes being examined, the following assessment process will be implemented.
After ten processes have been successfully mapped, vetted, and implemented, this action project will be
determined to have been a successfully completed.
Process
Reviewed
Update Quality
Indicators and
Communicate
Identify and
Analyze Critical
Steps
Plan
Improvements
Analyze Results
Complete and
Implement
Action Plans
Prepare
Proposed
Action Plans
Outcome indicators
 Ten processes will be reviewed, mapped, and shared with the campus community by the
conclusion of the action project.
 CPMT members assigned to projects will report monthly to the CMPT on project progress.
 The project chair will report monthly to PAC regarding project progress.
 The project chair and the CPMT member assigned to the project will report the final map to PAC.
 The project chair will share the updated map to the campus community.
Success of the project is defined by meeting each of the stated outcome indicators.