AQIP - Questions/Answers
What’s the relationship between the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA) and the Higher Learning Commission (HLC)?
NCA is one of six regional institutional accrediting associations in the United States. Through its Commissions it accredits, and thereby grants membership to educational institutions in the nineteen-state North Central region .The HLC, a commission of the NCA, accredits degree-granting colleges and universities. AQIP
Why are we switching from our current accreditation process to AQIP?
The HLC now has two methods of accreditation, PEAQ and AQIP. EMU was last accredited in 2000 using PEAQ and has decided to embrace AQIP for future re-accreditation because the AQIP philosophy is aligned with EMU’s desire to improve processes across campus focused toward future success.
The AQIP model supports continuous performance improvement and it allows EMU to demonstrate that we meet the HLC’s accreditation standards through challenging activities that naturally fit with our work to improve our key systems enabling higher performance. Through AQIP we are able to address two questions:
Are you doing the right things — the things that are most important in order to achieve your institution’s goals?
Are you doing things right — effectively, efficiently, in ways that truly satisfy the needs of those you serve?
What are the major unique features of the AQIP philosophy?
- Voluntary, alternative process
- Concentrates on the academic enterprise
- Involves more faculty more directly
- Provides concrete feedback to enable institutions to raise performance levels
- Reduces intrusiveness, cost, slow improvement cycles
- Replaces “one-size fits all” approach
- Supplies public with more understandable, useful information concerning the quality and value of accredited colleges and universities
- Recognizes and celebrates institutional distinctiveness and outstanding achievements
What’s the cost for this? What’s the budget?
We are currently developing a set budget for the AQIP accreditation process. We do know there is a cost of not doing this program. The traditional accreditation process looks at your past achievements and makes recommendations for improving. The continuous improvement process is a forward thinking process that is ongoing and data driven. Set fees related to AQIP involve:
Costs to estimate include:
NCA views the Academic Quality Improvement Program (AQIP) as a catalyst for educational reform at a critical time: when higher education’s organizational structures, educational delivery processes, and competitive climate (nationally and internationally) are rapidly changing.
Will this process require new staff positions to be created? New Administrative Professionals?
Currently this process is utilizing no new staff positions or new administrative positions. As the university determines the interplay between continuous improvement and other significant processes such as strategic planning, program review, accreditation and retention, it will need to establish the most appropriate organizational structure. It should be noted that the accreditation process utilized historically has had specific administrators and staff reassigned over a two year period prior to the NCA site visit in order to prepare for our NCA re-accreditation.
How do you explain the fact that most of the AQIP schools are community colleges or smaller four-year schools?
The Higher Learning Commission launched AQIP in 1999 with a grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts as a pilot program at a community college in Ohio. Based on the success of this innovative accreditation process at the community college level, a wave of 2-year institutions and several smaller 4-year institutions made a decision to utilize the AQIP process. In the early 2000s, some of the larger four year universities, such as Kent State, Ohio University, Northwood University, and University of Wisconsin-Stout, decided to move away from PEAQ and utilize this new model of continuous improvement. Since that time 4 year institutions in the SACS(southern region) and WASC(western region) have joined in abundance as well. As a major institution in the Midwest we view our participation in AQIP as an opportunity to be on the cutting edge of a forward thinking systems process and an effective way of doing business in higher education.
What’s the difference between AQIP and what we’ve been using?
PEAQ is a historical self-assessment model. Two years before the site visit for accreditation the University develops a report on what has occurred during the previous ten years. The institution does not take a purposeful cross-divisional look at process to improve but reports on what is. There is no external feedback until the report and site visit are completed at the end of the ten years.
With AQIP, the University conducts a self-assessment review and submits it to an external education group for feedback on possible processes that need to be changed. Action projects are developed to improve processes across campus focused towards future success.
Continuous Improvement/AQIP forces EMU to think about:
How strongly do you want change and improvement?
How clearly do you understand the key processes you use?
How honestly do you grasp your current performance?
How seriously do you reflect on acting on your values?
How well do you know your students and stakeholders?
As many other enterprises have discovered, the best assurance that an organization performs quality work comes from examining its processes, its efforts to improve them, and the actual performance results achieved by the processes that the institution has worked to improve.
Who are the evaluators? Who will be coming to conduct our site visit?
All evaluators have been selected by the HLC and have completed a formal training conducted by the HLC. The HLC makes every effort to assign evaluators that are most appropriate for that type of institution. EMU has an opportunity to provide input on the proposed evaluators. Evaluations/reviews involve:
An independent appraisal of our Systems Portfolio is conducted by a heterogeneous panel of trained and experienced reviewers knowledgeable about quality improvement (Conducted every 4 years) Separate independent and consensus review stages ensures feedback that represents the team’s shared views of institutional strengths and improvement opportunities. The appraisal panel will include representation from outside higher education, enhancing the panel’s credibility. This blind review process, focuses institutional attention on the feedback itself rather than on the individual members of the team providing it. Feedback is provided in both summary rubrics (for public information) and in confidential, detailed, actionable comments and explanations.
Contact Us :
Bruce Moses
Director for Continuous
Improvement and Planning
bruce.moses@emich.edu
344 McKenny Hall
Ypsilanti, MI 48197
Phone: 734.487.8288
FAX: 734.487.8290
Ann Rentfrow
Senior Secretary
ann.rentfrow@emich.edu
344 McKenny Hall
Phone: 734.487.8288
FAX: 734.487.8290
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