In January of 2009, JCCC established the Quality Systems Council. Recently, the college has also revamped its Strategic Planning Council. A charter with bylaws for each council has been crafted. We ask that you find time to review these charters and to read through the FAQs that follow in order to understand more thoroughly how our new strategic goals and initiatives will become an essential component of our day-to-day operations and how we will improve institutional processes to best achieve those goals. Please feel free to contact us at any time with your questions and insights. Your assistance is necessary so that together we can maintain the mission, adhere to the values, and progress toward the vision we have designed for ourselves.

Q. OK, so what exactly is this new Quality Systems Council anyway?

A. Overall, the Quality Systems Council (QSC for short) monitors the systems and processes in which we at the college engage in order to accomplish our daily tasks and do our jobs. These processes can be as specific as the process we use for filing a Request for Absence form or as broad as the institution’s process for hiring new employees. In reality, each of us are involved in scores of processes in our jobs; we can’t help but be. Processes and systems define how we do things.

Q. What do you mean by “systems” and “processes”?

A. Let’s use the terms interchangeably to mean “a series of actions or operations that lead to a desired result.” The QSC reviews systems in place that may require modifications. The QSC may also suggest that processes be created or, perhaps, be eliminated if necessary. Whatever it elects to recommend, the QSC practices continuous quality improvement.

Q. What is Continuous Quality Improvement?

A. Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI for short) is an institutional operational practice which maintains that even though the college is good and even though it does some things very well, it can always−ALWAYS−get better. CQI utilizes data and evidence to benchmark our current level of attainment in our various operations and programs, and then we determine what the next level is and how we get to it. After a predetermined period of time, we again benchmark our progress and implement plans for improvement. As you can tell, an institution dedicated to CQI never sits on its laurels and past successes. It is always moving forward.

Q. How does all of this fit in with accreditation?

A. You have probably heard that JCCC is an AQIP school. AQIP is an acronym for Academic Quality Improvement Program. It is an alternative form of institutional accreditation that is offered by The Higher Learning Commission, which is the accrediting body for our area of the country. In order to qualify for AQIP, a college must demonstrate that it is dedicated to CQI. JCCC gained entry into AQIP in 2004 on the basis of being the recipient of the Kansas Award for Excellence. For more about AQIP, go to www.aqip.org

Q. So it sounds as though the Quality Systems Council can suggest ways for making processes that we have at JCCC better than they are. Is this the case?

A. You bet! That is one of the primary functions of the QSC. The QSC is divided into nine teams that investigate processes that have been brought to their attention to determine if those processes can be made better, resulting in higher levels of efficiency and effectiveness. Team recommendations for improving processes are voted on by the QSC and, if passed, are forwarded to President Calaway’s Executive Council for action. As an institution that practices Continuous Quality Improvement, JCCC does not wish for processes to be “owned” by any particular department or division. Everyone across campus should be allowed to question and scrutinize processes wherever they are practiced and be allowed to suggest improvements as well.

Q. Well, I’m all for changing some of the school’s processes. Can I be a part of the Quality Systems Council?

A. We appreciate your willingness to help out! The QSC has 72 members (nine teams with eight people per team) that are appointed by the president. It is key to make these teams as cross-functional as possible with wide representation from many areas of the campus. The Quality Systems Council and its team meetings are open for anyone to attend, and frequently teams will invite individuals closely involved with certain processes to meetings to discuss their involvement with those processes. In essence, if you want to be involved with process improvement, just let us know, and we will get you involved. Contact Dana Grove at extension 3196 or at dgrove@jccc.edu for more information.

Q. How does this council fit in with our new Strategic Plan?

A. Yes, indeed, we do have a new (and improved!) strategic plan. Goal #4 in the plan specifically addresses instilling at JCCC “a culture of continuous quality improvement,” and you can see that one of the initiatives under this goal is to “develop and improve processes that support institutional accountability.” We are bringing together a new Strategic Planning Council (SPC) that will be charged with identifying initiatives around campus that will be essential in helping us reach the targets we set for our goals.

Q. I thought we already had a Strategic Planning Council.

A. Yes, we have operated for the last two years with a SPC that worked with the previous Strategic Plan. Since we have been developing a new plan, the SPC has been suspended. Now that we have that new plan, we are ready to reconstitute the SPC around a new set of by-laws. Generally speaking, the SPC will establish targets for the goals and initiatives in the plan and will recommend to the President’s Executive Council specific innovations that will help the college attain its goals. The SPC will also make budgetary recommendations that support the Strategic Plan.

Q. What do you mean by goals, initiatives, and innovations?

A. The differences among the three are simply a matter of scope. The Goals are the broad, institutional outcomes that we have determined are of critical importance to the college and its community. Initiatives are various ways that the Goals can be achieved. Innovations are the specific projects that the divisions and departments will engage in to attain the Initiatives and Goals. At every level, the SPC will identify targets that will determine our measures of success as we move forward with the Strategic Plan, and we will utilize data and evidence to benchmark our progress.

Q. Is the membership in the SPC already determined? What if I am interested in joining?

A. The SPC has a membership of 32 (four goal teams with eight members per team). If you are interested in becoming a member, contact Dana Grove at extension 3196 or at dgrove@jccc.edu. As it is with the Quality Systems Council, even if you do not become an SPC member, all meetings are open, and we welcome your attendance and input.

Q. OK. I’m starting to get a clearer understanding of both the QSC and SPC, but I still am not sure how they are related or even if they are related. Are they?

A. Excellent question. It is one that has been asked by many people. Let me use a metaphor to try to characterize this important relationship. Imagine two gears in a machine that are interlocked by their sprockets. As they move, each gear turns the other, and the machine is able to function effectively because this dynamic is achieved. One gear is the SPC, and one is the QSC. The gear that is the SPC establishes the outcomes; it identifies the results that are spelled out in our Strategic Plan. The gear that is the Quality Systems Council represents processes; it represents how we are going to attain the goals of the Strategic Plan. In this sense, not only do the two work well together, but they also both must exist together in order for JCCC to move ahead and make progress. Without the relationship between these two functions, the college would risk conforming to the status quo and ultimately becoming stagnate.

Q. So, I guess there really is a unifying idea behind the two councils, right?

A. Thanks for setting me up so nicely with a response! Not only does the word “idea” denote a thought, a notion, an insight that leads to the development of the SPC and QSC, but it also is an acronym that provides the foundation for both: I stands for Inclusivity; we need to be inclusive and involve as many people as possible in our planning and systems efforts. DE stands for the Data and Evidence that we always must utilize in order to benchmark our progress and make informed decisions on how we can improve. A represents Accountability; the college is accountable to its community for continually making progress on moving toward its stated goals. To ensure that JCCC is accountable in these matters, a Chief Operating Officer (COO) has been designated and assigned these tasks. Yes, indeed, there is an IDEA behind what we have designed here, and we invite you to share in it!