AQIP Quality Categories

According to AQIP, the nine Quality Categories are essential components of every effective institution of higher education. The Quality Categories systematize, define, and evaluate most of the key systems and processes found in higher education institutions. Each of the nine Quality Categories demand specific indicators that measure the effectiveness of those systems and processes. These categories are:

1. Helping Students Learn
2. Accomplishing Other Distinctive Objectives
3. Understanding Students' and Other Stakeholders' Needs
4. Valuing People
5. Leading and Communicating
6. Supporting Institutional Operations
7. Measuring Effectiveness
8. Planning Continuous Improvement
9. Building Collaborative Relationships

Below you will find a brief overview of each of the nine categories. For more detailed information, visit the AQIP website.

1. While some higher education institutions may place emphasis on a few of the Quality Categories more than others, it is universally agreed that the first Quality Category is central to every college or university. Helping Students Learn identifies the shared purpose of all higher education organizations, and is accordingly the pivot of any institutional analysis. This Category focuses on the teaching-learning process within a formal instructional context, yet also addresses how your entire institution contributes to helping students learn and overall student development. It examines your institution's processes and systems related to:
   • Learning objectives
   • Mission-driven student learning and development
   • Intellectual climate
   • Academic programs and courses
   • Student preparation
   • Key issues such as technology and diversity
   • Program and course delivery
   • Faculty and staff roles
   • Teaching and learning effectiveness
   • Course sequencing and scheduling
   • Learning and co-curricular support
   • Student assessment
   • Measures
   • Analysis of results
   • Improvement efforts

2. Accomplishing Other Distinctive Objectives addresses the processes that contribute to the achievement of your institution’s major objectives that compliment student learning and fulfill other portions of your mission. Depending on your institution’s character, it examines your institution's processes and systems related to:
   • Identification of other distinctive objectives
   • Alignment of other distinctive objectives
   • Faculty and staff roles
   • Assessment and review of objectives
   • Measures
   • Analysis of results
   • Improvement efforts

3. Understanding Students’ and Other Stakeholders’ Needs examines how your institution works actively to understand student and other stakeholder needs. It examines your institution's processes and systems related to:
   • Student and stakeholder identification
   • Student and stakeholder requirements
   • Analysis of student and stakeholder needs
   • Relationship building with students and stakeholders
   • Complaint collection, analysis, and resolution
   • Determining satisfaction of students and stakeholders
   • Measures
   • Analysis of results
   • Improvement efforts

4. Valuing People explores your institution’s commitment to the development of your faculty, staff, and administrators since the efforts of all are required for institutional success. It examines your institution's processes and systems related to:
   • Work and job environment
   • Workforce needs
   • Training initiatives
   • Job competencies and characteristics
   • Recruitment, hiring, and retention practices
   • Work processes and activities
   • Training and development
   • Personnel evaluation
   • Recognition, reward, compensation, and benefits
   • Motivation factors
   • Satisfaction, health and safety, and well-being
   • Measures
   • Analysis of results
   • Improvement efforts

5. Leading and Communicating addresses how your institution’s leadership and communication structures, networks, and processes guide your institution in setting directions, making decisions, seeking future opportunities, and building and sustaining a learning environment. It examines your institution's processes and systems related to:
   • Leading activities
   • Communicating activities
   • Alignment of leadership system practices
   • Institutional values and expectations
   • Direction setting
   • Future opportunity seeking
   • Decision making
   • Use of data
   • Leadership development and sharing
   • Succession planning
   • Measures
   • Analysis of results
   • Improvement efforts

6. Supporting Institutional Operations addresses the variety of your institutional support processes that help to provide an environment in which learning can thrive. It examines your institution's processes and systems related to:
   • Student support
   • Administrative support
   • Identification of needs
   • Contribution to student learning and accomplishing other distinctive objectives
   • Day-to-day operations
   • Use of data
   • Measures
   • Analysis of results
   • Improvement efforts

7. Measuring Effectiveness examines how your institution collects, analyzes, and uses information to manage itself and to drive performance improvement. It examines your institution's processes and systems related to:
   • Collection, storage, management, and use of information and data – at the institutional and departmental/unit levels
   • Institutional measures of effectiveness
   • Information and data alignment with institutional needs and directions
   • Comparative information and data
   • Analysis of information and data
   • Effectiveness of information system and processes
   • Measures
   • Analysis of results
   • Improvement efforts

8. Planning Continuous Improvement examines your institution’s planning processes and how your strategies and action plans are helping you achieve your mission and vision. It examines your institution's processes and systems related to:
   • Institutional vision
   • Planning
   • Strategies and action plans
   • Coordination and alignment of strategies and action plans
   • Measures and performance projections
   • Resource needs
   • Faculty, staff, and administrator capabilities
   • Measures
   • Analysis of performance projections and results
   • Improvement efforts

9. Building Collaborative Relationships examines your institution’s relationships – current and potential – to analyze how they contribute to the institution’s accomplishing its mission. It examines your institution's processes and systems related to:
   • Identification of key internal and external collaborative relationships
   • Alignment of key collaborative relationships
   • Relationship creation, prioritization, building
   • Needs identification
   • Internal relationships
   • Measures
   • Analysis of results
   • Improvement efforts
     

Copyright 2006 Academic Quality Improvement Project.