DETC—2014 H.5. –Institutional Improvement Plan

5. Institutional Improvement Plan

Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council, 1601 18th Street, NW, Suite 2, Washington, DC 20009

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DETC—2014 H.5. –Institutional Improvement Plan

As part of the review process for initial or reaccreditation, institutions are required to have a written plan for improvement. Standard XII. A. Planning and Evaluation states: An accredited institution has a written plan that is designed to identify internal and external trends and patterns, optimize opportunities, address challenges, reflect on achievements and maintain quality. The planning enables the institution to improve services to students, ensure the professional growth of its instructors/ faculty and staff, and provide for the long-term quality and growth of the institution.The institution collects and analyzes data on a systematic, consistent basis to monitor the status and effectiveness of the plan and evaluates its full range of services.

A strategic-type plan covering no more than 3 years is preferred over a long-range plan, because a long-range plan usually does not take into account the changing external environment. Therefore, strategic planning aims to exploit the new and different opportunities of tomorrow, in contrast to long-range planning, which tries to optimize for tomorrow the trends of today.

In addition to the elements found in a Strategic Plan, the Commission also wants to know how your institution is developing, improving, or expanding its curriculum and services for its students, and how are you are ensuring professional growth of your instructors/faculty and staff. The Commission wants reassurance that your institution can guarantee long-term quality education and services for your students. Therefore, we refer to it as an “Institutional Improvement Plan.”

Steps of the Planning Process for Strategic Plan

The basic strategic planning process includes:

  1. Clarification of Objectives: identification of critical issues facing your institution
  2. Information gathering and analysis: includes internal and external assessment by analyzing SWOTs (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats)
  3. Evaluation of the feasibility of the objective in view of the SWOTs
  4. Develop a strategy (how can we use our strengths, stop the weaknesses, use the opportunities, and defend against the threats in pursuit of the selected objective?)
  5. Develop an Action Plan (Name the strategy, benefits expected. Actions: What will be done, how, by whom, when (start and complete). Resources: What will be needed, people, money, information, technology, etc.; How will progress be measured and reported? Rewards for performance, if any; contingency plan: What will be done if results fall short?
  6. Monitor and update: Planners regularly reflect on the extent to which the goals are being met and whether action plans are being implemented.

Effective Planning Process

Inputs:Accreditation Review and ReportsExit Interview

Historical ExperienceFaculty Surveys

Institutional ResearchNational Testing

ObservationEmployer Surveys

Advisory BoardMission Statement Review Survey

Student Evaluations

Here is an overview of an Institutional Improvement Plan:

Your Plan / Elements
Executive Summary
Mission Statement / Who you are and what you do
Vision / Where do you want to be in 3-5 years?
Goals / What does your institution hope to achieve in the next 3-5 years. Goals focus on outcomes or results and are qualitative in nature.
Strategies / Statements of major approach or method (the means) for attaining broad goals and resolving specific issues.
Objectives / Specific, concrete, measurable statements of what will be done to achieve each goal generally within a one-year time frame.
Formulating Strategies
SWOT / External/internal assessment to identify SWOT (Strengths and Weaknesses and Opportunities and Threats)
Identify key internal strengths and weaknesses through an internal audit
Identify key external opportunities and threats through an external audit
Strategic analysis / Identify and prioritize major issues/goals
Strategic programs / Design major programs to address issues/goals (generate and evaluate alternative objectives and strategies)
Review and/or Revise Mission Statement / Review and revise to bring in alignment with vision statement
Action Plans / Objectives, resource needs, roles, and responsibilities for implementation (select and prioritize strategies)
Operating Plan / Develop the yearly operating plan document (establish clear objectives)
Budget / Develop and authorize budget for year one (allocation of funds needed to fund year one).
Monitor / Monitor/review/evaluate/update Institutional Improvement Plan Document (CEO should see status at least once a month)
Are goals and objectives being achieved? / If not, consider the following:
Will the goals be achieved according to the timelines specified?
Should the deadlines be changed?
Do personnel have adequate resources (money, equipment, facilities, and training) to achieve the goals?
Are the goals and objectives still realistic?
Should priorities be changed to put more focus on achieving the goals?
Should the goals be changed?
What can be learned from monitoring and evaluation in order to improve future planning activities and monitoring evaluation efforts?
Future Plans / Plans for expansion and improvement of curriculum, services, faculty, staff, etc.
Plans for professional growth of instructors/faculty, administrators
Brief description of your succession plan
Budgeting and financial resources need to implement plans
Reporting Results / Report plans for changes to curriculum, services, faculty, etc. to the appropriate agencies (DETC)
Addenda / Flow Charts, etc.

The following are the questions that the on-site evaluator will be asking when reviewing Standard XII. A. Planning and Evaluation:

  1. Describe how the institution has a written plan that is designed to identify internal and external trends and patterns, optimize opportunities, address challenges, reflect on achievements, and maintain quality. Provide a copy of the institution’s written plan.
  1. Explain how the planning enables the institution to improve services to students, ensure the professional growth of its instructors/faculty and staff, and provide for the long-term quality and growth of the institution.
  1. Describe how the institution collects and analyzes data on a systematic, consistent basis to monitor the status and effectiveness of the plan and evaluates its full range of services. In particularly discuss how results of the institution’s outcomes assessments have been incorporated into the plans for self-improvement.
  1. Explain how the institutional improvement plans the institution has or will undertake for its long-term development, improvement, or expansion of its curriculum and services for its students, instructors/faculty, and staff.
  1. Explain how the plan contributes to improving institutional quality and provides adequate and realistic growth of the institution and the personnel needed to support the growth, as well as the finances needed.
  1. Identify and briefly describe the major strengths and weaknesses of the institution.
  1. As candidly as possible, describe the significant challenges currently facing the institution. State how the process of DETC self-evaluation has helped to clarify/identify these challenges as well as other major issues or problems. Describe what plans have been developed to meet these challenges and solve these problems and the process(es) for implementing solutions.
  1. List, in order of importance, those activities or innovations undertaken in the past five years/most recent strategic planning cycle considered particularly worthy of notice by the Examining Committee.
  1. State what institutional problems, actions, or policies should be emphasized to the Examining Committee as examples of significant institutional achievements in quality distance study.
  1. Discuss the ways in which the institution has contributed to the overall advancement and enhancement of the field of distance study in the past five years.

Revised December 2011

Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council, 1601 18th Street, NW, Suite 2, Washington, DC 20009

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