Performance Excellence at Northwest Technical College

1. Performance Excellence at Northwest Technical College NTC’s Approach to Continuous Quality Improvement

2. EXCELLENCE .. • Academic Excellence • Institutional Excellence • Co-Curricular Excellence • Individual Excellence • Service Excellence

3. Academic Excellence • How do we know? • Learner achievement • Placement • Graduation • Program accreditations • Program review • Enrollment

4. Institutional Excellence • How do we know? • Accountability Indicators (MnSCU) • College Scorecard • Efficiency Measures • Quality Indicators • Accreditation • AQIP Systems Appraisal

5. Co-Curricular Excellence • How do we know? • Satisfaction rates • Participation rates • Perkins accountability measures • Enrollment • Learner retention

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

7. Service Excellence • How do we know? • Learner and constituent satisfaction • Retention • Reputation • How are we doing? feedback

8. 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?

9. Processes Suppliers Who gives us what we need How we do it Stakeholders Who we do it for InputsWhat we need OutputWhat we produce Learning Design/ Curriculum Development Instructional Delivery Planning Feedback Learning Assessment Grading Registration Academic Support Financial Aid Scheduling Counseling Registration Recruitment Staff Development Strat Planning Planning Decision-Making Meet/Confer Certification Data Collection Performance Improvement Budgeting Affirmative Action Payroll Who does it Suppliers People or organizations that provide inputs Inputs People, material, information, supplies, etc., required to perform job Processes Series of activities performed to achieve results Outputs Product or service produced from process. Stakeholders People impacted by results or that receive outputs. PERFORMANCE EXCELLENCE THROUGH A SYSTEMS APPROACH TO CONTINUOUS QUALITY IMPROVEMENT Learning Processes • High Schools • Colleges • Community • Recruiters • Various Vendors • Taxpayers • MnSCU Board Chancellor • Legislature • Employers • Learners • Etc. • Learners • Employers • Community • Businesses • State • Other Employees • Other Colleges, schools • Funding agencies • Alumni • Etc. • Learners • Faculty and staff • Administration • Facilities • Supplies • Technology • Educational Materials • Equipment • Finances • Policies, Goals • Etc. • More knowledgeable learner • Curriculum—courses, programs • Learning activity • Evidence of learning • Grade/transcript • Degrees, diplomas • Contract • Policies, Goals • Etc. Student Support Processes HR Processes Admin. Process Union Processes Results

10. 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… We will strive to achieve excellence in all of these categories of our performance… WHAT we do and WHY we do it (context), HOW we do it (process), HOW WELL we do it (results) and then MAKING IMPROVEMENTS based on the results. EXCELLENCE …through purposeful attention to…

11. 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… …through the implementation of planned, deployed, and assessed… …we will take actions to accomplish these STRATEGIC PRIORITIES… Action Strategies, Process Improvements, and Performance Targets EXCELLENCE …by pursuing these STRATEGIC GOALS…

12. NTC’s Integrated Academic and Strategic Planning Process What is our purpose? Identify/Update Mission Who do we serve? Identify Constituents What do they need? Assess constituents’ needs What do we do to meet their needs? Identify Key Outcomes, Processes, Products, and Services We plan and implement Action Strategies by… How do we know how well we meet their needs? Identify Key Outcome Measures and Performance Indicators FEEDBACK LOOP Determine needs Conduct assessment/collect data Analyze data/assessment results Determine program impact Regularly review and update master plans How can we improve how well we meet their needs? Establish goals/objectives based on assessment results How will we achieve our goals/objectives? Plan action strategies Implement action strategies

13. 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

14. NORTHWEST TECHNICAL COLLEGE PLANNING STRUCTURE Provost Dean of Academic and Co-Curricular Affairs Counselor/Co-Curricular Services Coordinator Director of Institutional Effectiveness Business Manager Executive Team CHARGE: Strategic Planning Integrate college plans College policies College measures (scorecard) Budget and Resources planning Growth & Innovations External relations: advisory and legislative #5 LEADING & COMMUNICATING #9 BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS CHAMPIONS Academic Team CHARGE: Academic Planning Program Review process Planning for faculty development Assessment of learning Review Academic Program Improvement reports Issues related to instruction New program development Faculty relicensure Enrollment goals #1 HELPING STUDENTS LEARN #4 VALUING PEOPLE CHAMPIONS Recruitment and Retention Team CHARGE: Recruitment/Retention Planning Enroll. Manage proc Recruiting processes Retention processes College marketing ops Scholarship manage Alumni activities Learner appeals proc Placement processes #2 ACCOMP DISTINCTIVE OBJ. #3 UNDERSTANDING LEARNER/STAKEHLDNEEDS CHAMPIONS Continuous Improvement Team CHARGE: Continuous Improvement system AQIP Steering Institut. effectiveness Measures/ processes Surveys, etc. Project Action Teams Perkins plan Systems Portfolio #7 MEASURE EFFECTIVENESS #8 PLANNING CONTIN. IMPROVE- MENT CHAMPIONS Operational Team CHARGE: Operational planning Technology plan Facilities plan Health and safety #6 SUPPORTING INSTITUTIONAL OPERATIONS CHAMPIONS College Policy Managers Team CHARGE: Review and recommend policy to Provost Academic Affairs and Standards Council CHARGE: Give direction regarding curriculum matters: Course outlines, award requirements, academic standards, course/program components, course/program inventory, academic appeals process Shared Governance Council CHARGE: 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.

15. 0 7 1 Organize Team Develop Future Plans Define Problem 2 6 Assess Current Situation Standardize Improvements Analyze Causes 3 Study Results 5 Develop and Try Solutions 4 7 Step Improvement Method We make improvements by using… Act Plan Study Do

16. Improvement Projects for AQIP Completed • 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 Completed In Progress In Progress In Progress

17. 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

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

19. 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.

20. 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.

21. 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!