| What Is Continuous Quality Improvement? |
| |
CQI is an approach to quality management that
builds upon traditional quality assurance methods. It focuses
on "process" rather than the individual, recognizes
both internal and external "clients" and promotes
the need for objective data to analyze and improve processes.
CQI is a philosophy which contends that most things can
be improved. This philosophy does not subscribe to the theory
that "if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it."
At the core of CQI is serial experimentation (the scientific
method) applied to everyday work to meet the needs of those
we serve and improve the services we offer. |
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| What Is MSU Billings’ Vision for
CQI? |
| |
MSU-B is committed to continuous quality improvement.
The university is striving to create an environment where everyone
takes ownership of the improved educational enterprise and where
high value is placed on teamwork, collaboration, and communication. |
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| What Principles Will Achieve Our Vision? |
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To achieve this vision, we will strive to build
CQI on the following four principles:
- Strong leadership at all levels to articulate a vision
and inspire a lasting commitment.
- Three areas of focus: "clients" (students,
faculty, staff, employers, and others), the study of work
processes, and information-based decision making.
- Teamwork and team decision making leading to quality
improvements; teams operating from a common understanding
of systems and processes.
- Conceptual links to university strategic initiatives
and goals and assessment goals for improving the teaching-learning
process.
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| What Is the Role of Students in Continuous
Quality Improvement? |
| |
Students are the largest constituency served by the faculty
and staff. As such, they can provide information about their
educational experiences and can be participants in and beneficiaries
of CQI. Students can give input regarding what improvements
are needed in the services they receive and in determining how
successful the interventions have been. When appropriate, students
are invited to serve on teams. |
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| What Is the Role of Faculty in Continuous
Quality Improvement? |
| |
Faculty play an important role in CQI. Some serve on the CQI
Steering Committee and are delegated the responsibility of heading
one of the nine NW accreditation standards for preparing the
institutional self-study document. Other faculty will work on
subcommittees for each of those standards and will be instrumental
in guiding the data collection and other processes that lead
to the self-study. Other faculty have interactions with the
University's administrative and business processes, and CQI
will therefore have relevance to them. Faculty may want to look
at ways to integrate CQI with the teaching/learning process.
Deans and department heads can play an active role in providing
leadership for continuous quality improvement. |
| |
|
| What Is the Role of Staff in Continuous
Quality Improvement? |
| |
Quality is not limited to students, faculty and administration.
CQI is a systematic approach that provides methods and tools
to enhance the practice of quality and maintain excellence at
all levels. This means focusing on quality throughout the University
that will improve work processes and services to all the constituents
the university serves. |
| |
|
| How Committed Is Administration To Following
CQI? |
| |
The administration is committed to the campus-wide initiative/concept
of CQI and expects all current and future employees to share
that commitment. The Provost has appointed a steering committee
to oversee the CQI activities on campus. This committee will
oversee the upcoming (fall 2008) Northwest Accreditation visit
and cyclic program reviews mandated by the Board of Regents,
and integrate the university strategic initiatives/goals into
the institutional self-study and the program reviews. |
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| Isn't CQI a Way of Saying that we do not
have the Quality? |
| |
No. Quality is a relative concept, not an absolute. MSU-B
has long been recognized nationally and internationally for
the high quality of its students, faculty, and programs. CQI
is a systematic approach that provides methods and tools to
enhance the practice of quality and maintain excellence at all
levels. |
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| Is CQI Just Another Means of Budget-Cutting? |
| |
No. CQI is not a means for budget-cutting. It is a means for
focusing on quality throughout the University that will improve
work processes, increase productivity and, in some cases, lower
costs. The work of some CQI teams may result in the allocation
of additional resources. In some instances, increased costs
in the short-term will result in cost savings over the long
run. |
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| Is CQI a one time event and are we going
to be done with it after NW accreditation visit? |
| |
CQI is not a one time event. Program reviews, and accreditation
visits are periodic end points of mandated events but CQI should
be an ongoing effort that continues beyond those mandates. CQI
at MSUB will position the university in meeting those major
mandates in the coming years such as the NWCCU commission visit
in fall 2008, NCATE in spring 2009, AACSB and other program
accreditation visits. In addition, it will help the university
to meet the Board of Regents cyclic program review mandate.
Most of all, this approach will allow us to integrate the university
strategic initiatives and goals into the self-study process
that will be conducted using the processes outlined by the Northwest
Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). |
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| Is CQI another buzz word for Outcomes
Assessment? |
| |
CQI and outcomes assessment are two interrelated concepts.
The products of outcomes assessment form the basis for CQI.
Once you have assessed the outcomes of a program or a professional
practice, you then strive to continuously improve the quality
of those outcomes to better serve the clientele. |
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| What should I be doing to share the university’s
commitment to CQI? |
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First and foremost you should believe that CQI is an operational
philosophy worth adopting and gear all professional activities
toward that philosophy. This means showing interest, learning
about it, practicing it and volunteering to help. You are probably
already following the principles of CQI as part of your efforts
to constantly improve your performance.
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