Notes from AQIP on

Category 8, Planning Continuous Improvement

AQIP has reviewed the Notes presented here to make sure they conform to AQIP and HLC policies, and to ensure they present sensible strategies and useful practices for Systems Portfolios. Every organization preparing a Systems Portfolio is not obligated to follow the advice presented here, but organizations can be confident that heeding this advice will not mislead them. Notes pages are locked, and only AQIP can change them.

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Category 8, Planning Continuous Improvement

Systems, Activities, and Processes it might include

Planning Continuous Improvement examines your institution's processes and systems related to:

• Creating and changing your Institutional vision of your future
• Planning to achieve your vision and goals
• Creating and choosing strategies
• Defining action plans that will implement your vision and goals
• Coordinating and aligning your strategies and action plans
• Projecting targets and measures of performance for your plans
• Calculating or estimating the resource needs of your plans
• Determining the faculty, staff, and administrator capabilities that your plans will require
• Analyzing your performance projections against your results

Strategies should be interpreted broadly to reflect institutional nuances in language. Thus, strategies might refer to what you call initiatives, directions, objectives, etc.

Describe, as appropriate, planning steps, who is involved, timelines, factors that are addressed, and methods for addressing the future. Also, address, how modifications to your mission and vision are addressed.

Address, as appropriate, the key influences, challenges, and requirements that most affect    your strategy selection and how you address conflicting expectations of key stakeholder groups.

Address the plans you regularly produce, implement, and revise. Also, address how progress reports are regularly tracked as well as communicated to students, faculty, staff, administrators, and key stakeholders groups.

Levels might include, for example, colleges, departments, units, and satellite campuses.

Resource needs might include staff, financial, space, and equipment.

Results might include, for example, number of participants involved in the planning process and employee and stakeholder satisfaction with your institution’s planning process. Address historical trends and patterns, as appropriate.