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Systems
Portfolio — Introduction
The Systems Portfolio is a comprehensive
snapshot of how effective Moraine Valley is in helping students succeed.
The premise of the project is to examine processes in nine categories to
determine if they produce results for student success and whether the
college uses the results to make improvements. The Systems Portfolio is
one piece of Moraine Valley’s reaccreditation through the Academic
Quality Improvement Program (AQIP).
Completing the Systems Portfolio required 47 appointed faculty and staff
from all areas of the college to collaborate on teams that examined each
of the nine categories: Helping Students Learn, Accomplishing Other
Distinctive Objectives, Understanding Students’ and Other Stakeholders’
Needs, Valuing People, Leading and Communicating, Supporting
Institutional Operations, Measuring Effectiveness, Planning Continuous
Improvement, and Building Collaborative Relationships.
“Assembling well-balanced teams was the key to successfully completing
the Systems Portfolio,” said Dr. Vernon O. Crawley, college president.
“We wanted broad representation across the college, and I think we
achieved that. These faculty and staff members worked hard to make
Moraine Valley a better place for our students, and they are to be
commended for that.”
Dr. Sylvia Jenkins, dean of Academic Development and Learning Resources,
and Dr. Tom Dow, assistant professor of Communications/ English and
department chair of Communications/Literature/Languages, co-chaired the
Systems Portfolio project. They oversaw the nine teams that completed
the research and led a smaller team that edited the document. That team
also included John Sullivan, retired department chair of
Communications/Literature/Languages, who helped ensure the document was
written with a unified voice, Dr. Margaret Lehner, vice president
for Institutional Advancement and executive assistant to the president,
and Dr. Sharon Katterman, director of Resource Development and
Institutional Effectiveness and the AQIP liaison, who read the final
draft for accuracy.
Moraine Valley began working on the Systems Portfolio in fall 2006. As
this was the college’s first time completing such a document, Dr.
Jenkins and Dr. Dow needed training on the breadth of what would go into
it. They, in turn, trained the co-chairs of each category, who then met
with their teams to begin extensive campus research on their topics.
Each team submitted a report to Dr. Jenkins and Dr. Dow, who compiled
them into one document. The Systems Portfolio was completed in March
2008.
“The Systems Portfolio was not designed to be a marketing document or to
put our best foot forward,” said Dr. Jenkins. “The purpose was to see
our strengths and areas where we have opportunities to improve. We have
to be self-reflective on how successful we are in helping students
learn.”
Included in the Systems Portfolio is an index that references the
location of evidence proving that Moraine Valley meets the criteria for
reaccreditation and a self-evaluation of strengths and weaknesses. The
nine teams were asked to review their section to determine if they felt
their process was a strength or an opportunity for improvement.
“Our overall experience has been positive, and we’re proud of what we
have learned about ourselves,” said Dr. Dow. “The self-evaluation gave
us a better picture of where we need to focus, and the whole document
will help us prioritize.”
In May 2008, the Systems Portfolio was submitted to the Higher Learning
Commission who assigned outside readers to review the document and send
a feedback report to the college.
The Systems Appraisal Feedback Report, received in
October 2008, identified strengths and opportunities for improvement.
This feedback has been used to:
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support the college’s new Continuous
Improvement Objective/Results process initiated in spring 2009, and
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identify the college’s second round of
Action Projects to be pursued in 2009-2013.
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Systems Portfolio
Entire Document
Table of Contents
Organizational Overview
Category 1
Helping Students Learn
Category 2
Accomplishing Other Distinctive Objectives
Category 3
Understanding Students' and Other Stakeholders' Needs
Category 4
Valuing People
Category 5
Leading and Communicating
Category 6
Supporting Institutional Operations
Category 7
Measuring Effectiveness
Category 8
Planning Continuous Improvement
Category 9
Building Collaborative Relationships
AQIP Systems Portfolio Categories and Questions
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