Benchmark Service Area Review GUIDELINES

Transcription

1 Benchmark Service Area Review GUIDELINES FY Arizona Comparison Schools: Arizona Central Community College Arizona Western Community College Cochise Community College Mohave Community College Yavapai Community College

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE I. Overview 1 A. Responsibility 1 B. Timeline for Phases and Steps 3 C. Support Data 4 II. Evidence Collection / Report Format 4 A. Introduction 4 B. Mission Statement 5 C. Service Area Personnel 5 D. Service Area Outcomes and benchmarking 5 E. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) 5 F. Budget and Staffing 6 G. Benchmarks 6 H. Recommendations 6 I. Action Plan 6 J. Appendix 7 III. Performance Objective Action Plan Follow-up 7 A. Objective 7 B. Activities Completed 7 C. Resources Expended 7 D. Assessment 7 E. Future Plans 7 IV. Appendix 8 V. Benchmark Data Tables 9-11 Budget Staffing Benchmark Survey i

3 Yavapai College Service Area Review Guidelines The service area review process examines selected service levels of a service area s mission and establishes measures to quantify success. The review notes selected service area s benchmarked service strengths and offer recommendations for improvement or identifies successes. Follow-up reports on proposed initiatives are made each year, with supporting follow-up benchmark data. Service area review is central to the college s overall strategic planning and assessment process. This report has been modified to make it possible to complete over a shorter period of time (twelve weeks) than previous reviews. The target length for the Service Area Review is 10 to 20 pages (excludes appendix). I. OVERVIEW The overview lists responsibility of parties involved and details the timeline for phases and basic steps. A. Responsibility The service area manager has primary responsibility for conducting the review. Other sectors of the college may have input into the process. Service Area Review Manager (responsible for service area) Develops list of appropriate benchmarks to be used in the review. Charges the appropriate staff with responsibility for conducting the review or sections of the review. Compiles review evidence and writes report. Monitors review work to ensure timely completion. Forwards review report to appropriate supervisors and the Director of Institutional Research (IR). Makes revisions to report based on input from IR, HR, Business Office, and supervisors. Submits action plans (with report) based on recommendations to supervisors. Provides final report of findings to their unit area and Presidential Leadership Team (PLT) member responsible for the service area. Reviews follow-up reports and incorporates recommendations, where appropriate, into annual planning and budgeting process. 1

4 Reports on progress of actions taken to address recommendations the years following until all recommendations are acted upon. Assists in the process of making periodic revisions to the service area review model, if needed. Administrative Services - Business Office Serves on the Service Area Review Committee. Participates in the orientation meeting. Prepares financial data as applicable to each review. Helps determine which service area elements/benchmarks are appropriate for inclusion in the review. Participates in final review meeting. Institutional Research Serves on the Service Area Review Committee. Makes revisions to the review process model, as needed. Provides orientation for service area review manager. Helps determine which service area elements/benchmarks are appropriate for inclusion in the review. Forwards data from institutional assessment, if applicable, to review committee. Assists in the collection of additional data, if needed. Reviews service area reports for data integrity. Keeps institutional copy of all reviews. Participates in final review meeting. Human Resources Project Management Serves on the Service Area Review Committee. Schedules and participates in the orientation meeting. Helps determine which service area elements/benchmarks are appropriate for inclusion in the review. Monitors review progress to ensure deadline compliance. Writes report summarizing all service area reports for a given year. Requests reports on progress of individual review initiatives and writes summary report of all initiatives. Prepares staffing analysis as applicable to each review. Participates in final review meeting. President s Leadership Team (PLT) Participates in final review process Offers feedback to the report May solicit questions to service area manager (i.e., data anomalies) May offer input into the next steps of the review process 2

5 B. Timeline This timeline allows a twelve week timeframe for completion of the review. Action Preparation Phase Service area notified Meeting with Administrative Services, Human Resources and Institutional Research #1 #2-5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10 #12 Evidence Compilation Phase Budget and financial data provided Staffing analysis data provided Benchmarking indicators established Benchmarking surveys distributed Benchmark surveys returned Institutional data provided Special request data available SWOT analysis Report/Recommendation Phase Report written Report forwarded to supervisor, IR, HR, Admin. Serv. Revisions made Final report forwarded to supervisor, IR, HR, Admin. Serv. and PLT This timeline was revised for FY05-06 due to timing issues in securing benchmark data from participating community colleges. 3

6 C. Support Data Institutional Research, Human Resources and the Business Office will provide data for the service area review. Included are the following elements: Financial data provided by Business Office. Institutional data (enrollment, satisfaction, etc) provided by Institutional Research, as available. Ad hoc data and survey research, as available. Benchmarking data provided by Business Office and Human Resources as appropriate. Institutional Research will assist in the development of benchmark surveys. Benchmark data as provided by benchmarked institutions. II. EVIDENCE COLLECTION / REPORT FORMAT The evidence collected provides the information needed to write the service area review report. The evidence should be organized so it can be easily retrieved and include a district-wide perspective of the service area. A compilation into a publication is not required (the body of evidence does not need to be included into the report or appendices). The evidence collected during the process should be compiled and organized by the parts of the review. For example, these might include copies of job descriptions, SWOT analyses, and detailed records of productivity. Have this available, if needed, during the review and revision process, but do not include or attach them with your report. Information should be briefly summarized in the report. This report must be written in third person. Use Arial 12 font. Recommendations must be linked to the collected evidence. Evidence can include a consensus of professional judgment. Materials do not have to be formally prepared (binders, etc, are not required). The target length for the Service Area Review is 10 to 20 pages (excludes appendix). The following is meant as a guide for the report. Reviews may require somewhat different approaches depending on the service area. Cover Page Include the name of the service area, the name and title of the service review manager, and the date. The table of contents should follow the outline of the report. A. Introduction Provide a brief summary to introduce the service area and the process used. Background information should be included in part B under the historical sketch. 4

7 B. Mission Mission Statement Write a brief mission statement. The mission statement should include a description of the major functions of the area and a listing of the area s principle customers. For student service areas, this statement could be based on the catalogue description (limit to one paragraph). Historical Sketch Write a brief historical sketch of the department, noting significant milestone events (limit to one paragraph). C. Service Area Personnel Description List the individuals by title in your department (or for larger service areas, list by position classification (example: Custodial, Assistant I, II, III, IV, etc.), noting the typical competencies required for each position or classification. Include a brief (two or three sentences each) job descriptions for each position (or classification of positions). It is suggested that the brief description from the JAQ titled Basic Job Summary and Briefly Describe the Basic Purpose of Your Job be used for this purpose. D. Service Area Outcomes Products and Services Describe the major products and services provided by the service area and indicate the quantity provided. Identify appropriate service benchmarks for comparison purposes to other similar rural community colleges in Arizona as predetermined by the PLT. Benchmarks are to include major core indicators which serve as the most appropriate comparison for your level of service (example: total square footage maintained, number of interactive classrooms, students served, etc.). These products and services should link to the major functions listed in the service area mission. For example, a major function of Institutional Research is responding to ad hoc requests for information. In this case, a table displaying the number of ad hoc requests completed would be appropriate. Additional information such as the type of request, the requesting office, or time spent on a task could also be included. E. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) Analysis Provide SWOT analysis findings. Briefly summarize the SWOT analysis in the report, but do not include or attach them with your report. SWOT analysis is an effective way to see what your area does well and what your area could do better. A SWOT analysis helps to focus your activities into areas where you are strongest and where the greatest opportunities for your area reside. Summarize how your strengths and weaknesses can be measured by correlating them to your benchmarks, how they connect to the college s mission and how they contribute to the college s strategic initiatives. Objective of Service Area How does your department contribute to a quality education for our students and consumers? 5

8 Strengths What as departments do we do well? How do you know what you do well? How do you document your strengths? Weaknesses What as a department could you do better? What measures would document that improvement efforts were successful? Opportunities What and where are the good opportunities facing your area? What trends are you aware of in your area? Threats What obstacles does your area face? Is changing technology threatening your area? F. Budget and Staffing Provide analysis of budget and staffing data as provided in the selected Arizona Community College Benchmark Survey report. G. Benchmarks Please prepare an analysis as to the benchmarks established within the service review and address any variations as appropriate. Note and explain any anomalies in metrics for your area versus the benchmark. This may include variance in level of services offered at YC that are not included at the benchmark institutions. Do not include benchmark data tables in the body of the report; but include a summary of your analysis of the data in the report. Benchmark data tables should be included in the appendix and referenced in the report. H. Recommendations Provide a list of recommendations for service area improvements. Recommendations may cut across several major content areas. Provide brief justification for each recommendation from the findings of the review. Do not include recommendations that are not supported by findings. Indicate which benchmarks will be used to measure success if the recommendations are implemented. I. Action Plan 1. Objective 2. Activities List the desired outcomes of the plan. Provide a brief rationale/background of the plan. List the major activities of the plan. 3. Responsibility List responsibility for conducting the plan. 6

9 4. Timeline Give beginning and ending times. 5. Resource Allocation Provide budget details if the action plan requires expenditures beyond the normal operation. 6. Assessment Describe the procedure for measuring how effectively the project reached its objective. J. Appendix Include benchmark data and other supporting data not included in text portion of report. III. PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVE ACTION PLAN FOLLOW-UP (To be completed one year after review and until next review is begun) A. Objective List the desired outcomes of the plan. B. Activities Completed List activities completed, noting any significant difference from the original plan. C. Resources Expended List resources expended, noting any significant difference from original plan. D. Assessment Describe how effectively the project objective was reached. E. Future Plans Describe future objectives leading from action plan results if appropriate. 7

10 IV. Appendix 8

11 VI. Benchmark Data Table Service Area FY Budget Function YC Budget Average Budget w/o Yavapai Difference % Difference Salaries Part-time Salaries Benefits Other Expenses Totals Staffing Yavapai Average w/o Yavapai Full-time Headcount This survey was compiled relative to Yavapai College's organizational structure. It may not compare directly to your college. Included in the above headcount are the following positions or departments: Name/Department Survey completed by (print name) Yavapai # of Colleges that Responded Average w/o Yavapai Phone number of individual completing survey Instructions - Please respond as indicated. Use "" to indicate work performed. Use n/a if the function is not applicable. Use n/d if the function is performed, but no data is available. Use "O" if the function is outsourced (outside vendor). Is any portion of your Business Services outsourced? If yes, please list areas Service Area Name - Please provide data for FY : Area: 9