Action Project

Institution: Moraine Valley Community College
Submitted: April 29, 2005
Timeline:
Planned project kickoff date:
Target completion date:
Actual completion date:
A. Give this Action Project a short title in 10 words or fewer:

Implementing a Comprehensive college wide Institutional Effectiveness Process

 
B. Describe this Action Project's goal in 100 words or fewer:

Moraine Valley has identified a need to improve our institutional effectiveness initiative.  The college would like this Project to result in a comprehensive, objective, fully-integrated, intentional institutional effectiveness process that 1) is coordinated with annual and strategic planning, budgeting and performance evaluation, 2) allows for measuring effectiveness of college wide initiatives, and 3) provides measurement results that are used for decision-making.

C. Identify the single AQIP Category which the Action Project will most affect or impact:

Primary Category: Planning Continuous Improvement

D. Describe briefly your institution's reasons for taking on this Action Project now -- why the project and its goals are high among your current priorities:

Institutional effectiveness (including assessment of student academic achievement), is currently conducted primarily at the departmental level. We now want to clearly connect all IE/ASAA activities to annual and strategic planning, budgeting and each individual’s professional performance goals.  In addition, institutional effectiveness measurement needs to be conducted for college wide initiatives that involve multiple departments.

E. List the organizational areas — institutional departments, programs, divisions, or units — most affected by or involved in this Action Project:

Institutional Planning and Research, Resource Development and Institutional Effectiveness, Academic Assessment, Finance

F. Name and describe briefly the key organizational process(es) that you expect this Action Project to change or improve:

Strategic planning, annual planning, institutional effectiveness/assessment of student academic achievement, budgeting, performance evaluation.

G. Explain the rationale for the length of time planned for this Action Project (from kickoff to target completion):

Reports on action team progress will be provided at least once each semester to the following campus groups:  Executive Leadership Team (president, vice presidents and CFO), Administrative Council, President’s Advisory Council.  In addition, college wide updates will be disseminated via Valley View staff newsletter and MV enews electronic newsletter.

H. Describe how you plan to monitor how successfully your efforts on this Action Project are progressing:

•  Report on analysis of current processes and research of successful approaches
•  Recommend improvements to current processes, with corresponding measurable goals to determine when improvements are accomplished
•  Develop, pilot, and evaluate training program – with departments and with a college wide process
•  Pilot and evaluate the improvements to current processes and analyze results
•  Plan for full college wide training and implementation – including timelines, short- and long-term outcomes, and budget implications.

I. Describe the overall outcome measures or indicators that will tell you whether this Action Project has been a success or failure in achieving its goals:

Outcome 1 – Improvements to current processes are identified and corresponding training program is developed. Outcome 2 – Training is provided for a pilot group of departments and for one college wide initiative. Outcome 3 – Improved processes, including staff training, are initiated on a college wide basis.

J. Other information (e.g., publicity, sponsor or champion, etc.):

As of September 2006, improvements to current processes will be incorporated into a staff training program – which is piloted with at least three departments and one college wide process group. As of December 2006, a plan that identifies timelines, interim milestones (short-term), outcomes (long-term), and budgetary implications for college wide implementation, including staff training, will be finalized.

Last Action Project Update: April 9, 2006
A. Describe the past year's accomplishments and the current status of this Action Project.
An Action Project Team, including representatives from across the college, was charged with the responsibility of integrating the following major college processes: planning, budgeting, institutional effectiveness, assessment of student academic achievement and performance evaluation.  After several team meetings, it was apparent that that combining all of these major college processes would be more complicated and take longer than originally anticipated.  Therefore, one of the first steps was to revise the team charge for clarification and to extend the timelines.  This team spent this past year focusing on data collection to help the committee understand the elements of the college processes that both facilitate and serve as barriers to effective planning, budgeting, student assessment, institutional effectiveness, and linking goals to performance appraisals.  

Team members were assigned to sub-groups that investigated one of five processes as follows: 1) conduct an in-depth analysis of the current college process, with a focus on institutional barriers, 2) identify internal and external benchmarks of best practices for each of the processes, 3) develop a plan to incorporate best practices into the college culture, and 4) implement a continuous process to measure the impact of linking processes together and to use results to make modifications as needed
B. Describe how the institution involved people in the work on this Action Project.
The team collected internal data by conducting cross-divisional interviews of key personnel that are directly responsible for planning, budgeting, student assessment, institutional effectiveness and performance evaluations.  These interviews were focused on identifying how the current processes work and where gaps exist that might keep us from linking these processes together.  In addition, team members will be conducting focus group interviews and internal surveys to gauge how others (those who use and/or are impacted by these processes) view the linkages among these processes.
C. Describe your planned next steps for this Action Project.
The team realizes that annual planning occurs at many levels of the institution and that departments across the college gather data and report progress/results to various external and internal reporting requirements.  A system is needed to integrate the planning, budgeting, student assessment, institutional effectiveness, and performance appraisal into one institutional management system that is designed to (a) assist the college in achieving strategic and institutional effectiveness goals, (b) determine the degree to which the college’s programs and services are successful, (c) improve the college’s programs and services, and (d) achieve the college's mission.  

The team will continue to collect and analyze internal and external data on how to connect these major college processes. Based on the analysis, the team will develop an integrated institutional management system that: a) is coherent and understandable, b) is oriented toward long-term outcomes, c) Is intentional, systematic and analytical in responding to data-driven recommendations, d) contains master planning components of an institutional effectiveness model, e) effectively integrates budgeting and planning processes driven by analysis of measurement data, f) uses results to identify improvements and facilitate continuous progress, g) provides feedback to guide resource allocation, and h) engages the campus community in college continuous improvement efforts.
D. Describe any effective practice(s) that resulted from your work on this Action Project.
The college has not yet moved far enough through this action project to have identified any effective practices.
E. What challenges, if any, are you still facing in regards to this Action Project?
This is a significant undertaking with impact across the college. We are challenged to define an integrated institutional management system that will be workable for all of the college’s departments/divisions. We are further challenged by our need to be able to address how well the college is achieving its purpose and mission, how well students are learning, and how effectively our services meet stakeholders’ needs. The team recognizes that with any type of change, we must design processes that foster internal and external collaboration and encourage people to take responsibility for their role in the process.
F. If you would like to discuss the possibility of AQIP providing you help to stimulate progress on this action project, explain your need(s) here and tell us who to contact and when?