Iowa Recognition for Performance Excellence Feedback Report Year 2007 Tier 3 Leadership Kirkwood Community College Continuing Education & Training Services Cedar Rapids, Iowa
December 20, 2007 Dee Baird Vice President Continuing Education and Training Services Kirkwood Community College 6301 Kirkwood Boulevard SW Cedar Rapids, IA 52406 Dear Dee: On behalf of the IRPE Executive Council and the Iowa Quality Center I would like to thank you for your participation in the 2007 IRPE process. We commend you for your commitment to performance excellence. This feedback report was prepared for your organization by members of the Board of Examiners in response to your application to the 2007 Iowa Recognition for Performance Excellence process. It presents an outline of the scoring for your organization and describes areas identified as strengths and opportunities for possible improvement. The report contains the Examiners observations about your organization, although it is not intended to prescribe a specific course of action. Please refer to Preparing to Read Your Feedback Report for further details about how to use the information contained in your feedback report. We are eager to ensure that the comments in the report are clear to you so that you can incorporate the feedback into your planning process to continue to improve your organization. Please contact me at (319) 398-7103 if you wish to clarify the meaning of any comment in your report. We will contact the Examiners for clarification and convey their intentions to you. As always, we are interested in improving the IRPE process to be more responsive to your needs and to bring you more value. To that end, we appreciate any feedback on the usefulness of the report and how we can improve. You may provide this feedback at any time; however our Judges use a survey to monitor the IRPE process and we will be sending you this survey on behalf of our Judges asking you for a formal evaluation of the process and the feedback report. We also invite you to participate in our annual Improvement Day, February 21 at the Hy-Vee Conference Center in West Des Moines where applicants and our board of examiners will identify areas for improving the IRPE process. We value your input and your continued participation. Please call on the Iowa Quality Center staff if you have questions or comments. I will contact you later to discuss details of Kirkwood s participation on February 21, 2008 at the annual Governor s Recognition of Performance Excellence Celebration at the Hy-Vee Conference Center in West Des Moines. Sincerely, Mike Langridge Program Director
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Preparing to read your feedback report... Your feedback report contains IRPE Examiners observations that are based on their understanding of your organization. The Examiner Team has provided comments on your organization s strengths and opportunities for improvement relative to the Baldrige Criteria. The feedback is not intended to be comprehensive or prescriptive. It will tell you where Examiners think you have important strengths to celebrate and where they think key improvement opportunities exist. The feedback will not necessarily cover every requirement of the Criteria, nor will it say specifically how you should address these opportunities. You will decide what is most important to your organization and the best way to address the opportunities. Applicant organizations read and use feedback comments in different ways. We ve gathered some tips and practices from prior applicants for you to consider: Take a deep breath and approach your IRPE feedback with an open mind. You applied to get the feedback. Read it, take time to digest it, and read it again. You know your organization better than the Examiners know it. There might be relevant information that was not communicated to them or that they did not fully understand. Therefore, not all of their comments may be equally accurate. Although we strive for perfection, we do not achieve it in every comment. If Examiners have misread your application or misunderstood your organization on a particular point, don t discount the whole feedback report. Consider the other comments and focus on the most important ones. Celebrate your strengths and build on them to achieve world-class performance and a competitive advantage. You ve worked hard and should congratulate yourselves. Use your strength comments to understand what the Examiners observed you do well and build upon them. Continue to evaluate and improve the things you do well. Sharing those things you do well with the rest of your organization can speed organizational learning. Prioritize your opportunities for improvement. You can t do everything at once. Think about what s most important for your organization at this time and decide which things to work on first. Use the feedback as input to your strategic planning process. Focus on the strengths and opportunities for improvement that have an impact on your strategic goals and objectives. Although the feedback report is built around the Baldrige framework for performance excellence process and results categories, we encourage you to strive to understand the relationships among these categories. The Key Themes are meant to give you an idea of the top level strengths and opportunities for improvement through the eyes of your examiner team. Iowa Recognition for Performance Excellence 3
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Key Themes Kirkwood Community College, Continuing Education and Training Services Division (Kirkwood CE & T) scored in band 1 in the consensus review of written applications for the Leadership Tier (Tier 3) of the Iowa Recognition for Performance Excellence process. For an explanation of the scoring bands please refer to Figure 6, Scoring Band Descriptors. An organization in band 1 typically demonstrates the early stages of developing and implementing approaches to Category requirements, with deployment lagging and inhibiting progress. Improvement efforts focus on problem solving. A few important results are reported, but they generally lack trend and comparative data. a. The most important strengths or outstanding practices (of potential value to other organizations) are as follows: Kirkwood CE & T demonstrates the ability to remain student and stakeholder focused in an ever changing competitive market by providing customized opportunities for key stakeholders. Regular interaction with community employers, business groups, student and learner facilitator groups allows Kirkwood CE & T to receive feedback which is used to shape educational offerings. From the information, the organization develops programs to drive employment opportunities and meet community needs. For example, the development of the call center training used voice of the customer to aid in course development and support services, such as grant funding for tuition assistance, hire guarantees and assistance for student daycare. Kirkwood CE & T has also provided different instructional delivery formats such as face-toface classroom, home study, web based instruction, self study as well as other non-traditional learning methods. Kirkwood CE & T possesses a strong focus on communication with students and community employers, which is accomplished by a variety of approaches. Specific to students, course evaluations are utilized mid- and end-of-term so concerns may be promptly addressed. Each program manager (PM) and program developer (PD) has a direct phone number, which students and stakeholders can call. Non-traditional listening methods are utilized for segments such as Generation X learners and women s groups. Kirkwood CE & T provides multiple access points for students including on-line catalogs and registration system, direct phone numbers and e-mail addresses, paper catalogs, and face-to-face contact through learning facilitators. Specific to community employers, Kirkwood CE & T interacts regularly with community employers and business groups through face-to-face meetings and conducts regular focus groups to obtain feedback in shaping educational offerings. Kirkwood CE & T is committed to the belief that open and efficient communication among employees assists them to achieve their mission". Within the organization, the applicant fosters a culture conducive to effective information flow and two-way communication. This is accomplished through regular communication between PM s, PD s, and directors. Additionally, its entire staff meets every other month. Senior leaders use multiple processes to communicate with the workforce that includes focus groups, forums, communication plan and calendar, e-mail, and newsletters. b. The most significant opportunities, concerns, or vulnerabilities are as follows: While Kirkwood CE & T is reliant on its workforce for organizational success in providing quality educational programs to their community, a systematic approach is not evident for workforce learning and development, including leadership development. Examples of current support provided to the workforce include: participation in educational offerings, faculty participation at annual national conferences, tuition assistance for baccalaureate and advanced degrees, and episodic leadership learning opportunities. A systematic approach to organizational learning may assist the organization in creating repeatable processes, thereby enhancing value to students through new and improved programs and reducing variability. Iowa Recognition for Performance Excellence 5
This may be particularly important to the organization as they are reliant on the workforce for organizational sustainability and future growth. There are a number of activities occurring for which there do not appear to be processes defined. Kirkwood CE & T has developed processes for some of its key operational areas, but it is not clear how it is managing those processes systematically. Where the processes do exist, there does not appear to be consistent identification of process requirements. Without identification of process requirements, Kirkwood CE & T may find it difficult to develop appropriate process performance measures. In the areas where Kirkwood CE & T has identified process measures, it is not clear that the processes are regularly monitored using those measures to ensure requirements are met and to prevent process variability. It is unclear what analysis Kirkwood CE & T performs to ensure that conclusions are valid and how it uses data to improve key processes. Evaluation of processes to ensure they are kept current is not consistently performed. This may result in Kirkwood CE & T having difficulties responding to changes in the environment such as changing learner demographics, competition, educational delivery methods and enrollments. c. Considering Kirkwood CE & T s key organizational factors, the most significant strengths, opportunities, vulnerabilities, and/or gaps (related to data, comparisons, linkages) found in its response to Results Items are as follows: Kirkwood CE & T provides comparative data in the form of pricing data for competitors in its aquatics, CPR and arts and crafts programs. However, for the great majority of Results items, no comparative data is evident. It appears that benchmarking data may be available through its association with LERN, but this was not consistently demonstrated in the application. Kirkwood CE & T indicates that competition is increasing in its region and learners have more choices than ever. It has identified five primary competitors and states that research has been conducted to determine training gaps, product overlap, market share and program mix. However, these same measures are not evident in the Results items provided. While Kirkwood CE & T has provided some segmented data with respect to financial results, e.g., income by program area, results in several key performance areas are not segmented or have limited segmentation. For example, Figure 7.3a (1)-3 demonstrates total enrollment by fiscal year and is not segmented by program area, student group, demographics, or otherwise. Without more comprehensive segmentation, it may be difficult for Kirkwood CE & T to evaluate its relative performance in each segment, to accurately gauge the effectiveness of its planning, or to effectively identify improvement approaches for its key program and student segments. Throughout the application there are multiple references to obtaining data important to the organization. However, the data are not provided in the Results section. For example, the application refers to the Institutional Research office providing data to support decision making processes, including benchmarking or comparative analysis and data related to learning outcomes (page 18). Additionally, Kirkwood CE & T identifies its dashboard indicator scorecard (Figure 1.1a-2) as reflective of a number of mission critical focus areas. Data for some of these same areas are missing in the Results section, e.g. segmented data on Cancellation Rates. Iowa Recognition for Performance Excellence 6
DETAILS OF STRENGTHS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT Category 1 Leadership 1.1 Senior Leadership Your score for this Criteria Item is in the 30-45% range (Please refer to Figure 5, Scoring Guidelines and the SCORING section in the Appendix.) STRENGTHS Kirkwood CE & T s deployment of its vision includes: establishing division goals, setting actionable plans, assigning teams with timelines, posting the vision of the college's website and tracking performance on dashboards. Kirkwood CE & T encourages employee learning by providing tuition reimbursement, attendance at national and regional seminars and attainment of bachelors, masters or doctoral degrees. Senior leaders use multiple processes to communicate with the workforce including focus groups, employee & student forums, communication plan and calendar, email and newsletters. Kirkwood CE & T's scorecard is reviewed monthly, with senior leaders being directly accountable for at least one action plan. Additionally, scorecard results are communicated to all employees. This demonstrates a systematic approach to review, act upon, and update the organization's objectives in order to appreciate its current position and future potential. OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT (OFI) Although Kirkwood CE & T refers to a five-year vision process that is executed every year, it is not clear if the organization has a systematic process for setting the vision and values. Without a systematic approach, opportunity for learning and improvement may be missed. This may create barriers to achieving the organization's mission of meeting community needs for the 21st century. Although Kirkwood CE & T conducted ethical meetings in the past and supports transparency of information, it is unclear whether ethical training is ongoing for existing employees or whether Kirkwood CE & T is taking advantage of the Department of Education as a resource. Without a systematic approach to promoting legal and ethical behavior, Kirkwood CE & T may put itself at risk. Existing staff may not be orientated to changes in regulatory or reporting requirements; changes in conduct code may not be communicated to all staff. It is not clear that Kirkwood CE & T's senior leaders utilize a systematic process to prepare successfully for its future organizational and market environment, including an apparent lack of senior leader involvement in succession planning. This may create challenges to the organization in maintaining its competitive advantage. It is not clear what role the senior leaders take in actively rewarding and recognizing key stakeholders (staff, students). Without active involvement by the senior leaders, Kirkwood CE & T may be challenged to retain qualified staff and recruit and retain students. It is not clear how senior leaders create and balance value for all stakeholders (i.e. learning facilitators). This may result in difficulty in the delivery of high quality and up-to-date educational offerings. Kirkwood CE & T may not be able to compete for funding, which could potentially impact sustainability. Iowa Recognition for Performance Excellence 7
1.2 Governance and Social Responsibility Your score for this Criteria Item is in the 30-45% range (Please refer to Figure 5, Scoring Guidelines and the SCORING section in the Appendix.) STRENGTHS Kirkwood CE & T reviews and achieves key aspects of its governance system including the Board of Trustees operating in open meetings, minutes being published and readily available on the website, meetings being advertised and financial dealings being subject to independent external audits by the Iowa State Auditor Offices. Kirkwood CE & T's senior leaders are annually evaluated and every other year undergo a 360 degree performance evaluation. Kirkwood CE & T interacts regularly with community employers and business groups through face to face meetings and conducts regular focus groups, using the feedback in shaping educational offerings. Kirkwood CE & T is actively involved in and supports the community, through activities such as internal United way Campaign, Ecology Club, summer camp program, donation to third world countries and programs to support human service organizations. OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT (OFI) It is not evident that Kirkwood CE & T has a systematic internal audit system. This may create barriers to its stated goal of achieving the highest ethical and legal compliance. It is not apparent how senior leaders use annual and bi-annual performance evaluation information to improve their personal leadership effectiveness. This may create barriers to Kirkwood CE & T's stated success factor of achieving professional growth. Although Kirkwood CE & T has maintained accreditation, it is not clear that it has identified key compliance processes, measures and goals for addressing risks associated with programs, offerings, services and operations. This may result in the organization being unaware of whether it is meeting all health and safety regulations. It is unclear if Kirkwood CE & T has a systematic approach for deploying legal and ethical standards. Without a repeatable process that fosters legal and ethical behavior, Kirkwood CE & T may be put at risk to acquire future funding and state grants. Although Kirkwood CE & T has a defined service region, the process for identifying its key communities is unclear. This may result in difficulty in meeting their mission of identifying community needs. Iowa Recognition for Performance Excellence 8
Category 2 Strategic Planning 2.1 Strategy Development Your score for this Criteria Item is in the 50-65% range (Please refer to Figure 5, Scoring Guidelines and the SCORING section in the Appendix.) STRENGTHS Kirkwood CE & T has a process for conducting its strategic planning, which includes a five year vision from which they develop strategic goals and action plans, a dashboard indicator scorecard, goal teams and individual performance expectations. Kirkwood CE & T uses a combination of the marketing plan, strategic goal action plans, dashboard indicator scorecard, and employee performance expectations to promote alignment. Use of scorecards and other tools on monthly basis allows the organization to effectively meet its challenges. Kirkwood CE & T has provided key strategic objectives and a time table for accomplishments. OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT (OFI) It is not clear that Kirkwood CE & T has a process for determining its strategic challenges and advantages. This may hinder its ability to position programs and products for increased market share and deliver learning solutions for the 21st century. It is unclear whether the strategic plan contains strategies for capitalizing on organizational strengths and how new threats or changes in the applicant's environment are identified. It is not apparent whether organizational challenges identified by Kirkwood CE & T are data informed. This may result in a lack of responsiveness to changing community needs. Strategic challenges and advantages are not comprehensively addressed including learner satisfaction, increased competition, innovation or administrative costs. As such, strategic objectives may not be aligned with opportunities to achieve the mission and vision which could inhibit Kirkwood CE & T s success in a competitive environment. Iowa Recognition for Performance Excellence 9
2.2 Strategy Deployment Your score for this Criteria Item is in the 50-65% range (Please refer to Figure 5, Scoring Guidelines and the SCORING section in the Appendix.) STRENGTHS Kirkwood CE & T aligns its plans with the parent organization. Its administrative team owns the action plans and performance measures for their areas. Meetings are held where individual goals are assigned to goal teams. Goal term progress is monitored at regular intervals. Individual employee performance expectations are aligned with the action plans. Once this is done, a training and development plan is established and deployed. Scorecard indicators demonstrate performance in relationship to goals. Kirkwood CE & T's administrative team sets budgets and budget allocations and evaluates monthly financial performance against budget. Kirkwood CE & T has demonstrated the ability to establish and deploy modified action plans based on changing community needs. The organization is able to develop new programs to meet community demand with a very short turn around time. Kirkwood CE & T has provided senior leaders with a dashboard indicator scorecard, which demonstrates key performance measures for fiscal year 2007 (Figure 1.1a-2). OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT (OFI) It is not clear how action plans are deployed to contract learning facilitators and other business partners. This may hinder Kirkwood CE & T's ability to accomplish organizational goals of learner satisfaction, program quality and changing educational delivery methods. Although Kirkwood CE & T describes a five year vision, only annual action planning is evidenced. It is unclear how the long term vision of Kirkwood CE & T has driven the identification and development of key long term action plans (greater than one year). Without a long term action plan aligned with the strategic plan, the organization may place sustainability at risk. It is not evident that staffing plans and cross training are tied to strategic objectives and action plans. Without a Human Resource plan that is responsive to strategic action plans, resources may not be allocated appropriately. It is unclear how Kirkwood CE & T ensures measurement of key deployment areas, student segments and other stakeholders. Lack of appropriate segmentation of measurement may not provide Kirkwood CE & T with meaningful information in order to impact future programs and growth. While the dashboard indicator scorecard provides current key performance measures, there are no long term projections or comparative data included. Without benchmarking and subsequent realignment of targets, long term competitive advantage and potential growth could be negatively impacted. Iowa Recognition for Performance Excellence 10
Category 3 Student, Stakeholder, and Market Focus 3.1 Student, Stakeholder, and Market Knowledge Your score for this Criteria Item is in the 50-65% range (Please refer to Figure 5, Scoring Guidelines and the SCORING section in the Appendix.) STRENGTHS Kirkwood CE & T maintains a marketing database and collects data on key registration and demographic variables. The data is fed into a web based software program that segments its primary student groups. Kirkwood CE & T secures voice of the customer information from its key stakeholders including students who drop courses. Student evaluations are utilized mid-term so concerns may be addressed instantaneously. Non-traditional listening methods are utilized for segments such as generation X learners and women's groups. Industry stakeholders meet quarterly and programs are developed to drive employment opportunities and meet community needs. Kirkwood CE & T uses the voice of the customer to develop training to meet its best customers' needs. The call center example discussed in 3.1a(2) exemplifies use of VOC resulting in an innovative solution for course development and support services including funding, hire guarantees, grant funding for student daycare and travel expenses. OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT (OFI) It is not clear that Kirkwood CE & T has a method of determining and reaching students who are receiving educational services from other providers for the purpose of determining student groups or market segments to pursue. This may create barriers to achieving its stated goal of increasing market share and growth. Although Kirkwood CE & T reviews and updates course evaluation forms for applicability and ease of use, it is not clear how it keeps its market listening and learning methods current for other stakeholders. Kirkwood CE & T may be missing opportunities to improve its educational service and direction. Iowa Recognition for Performance Excellence 11
3.2 Student and Stakeholder Relationships and Satisfaction Your score for this Criteria Item is in the 30-45% range (Please refer to Figure 5, Scoring Guidelines and the SCORING section in the Appendix.) STRENGTHS Kirkwood CE & T works closely with business partners and area economic development groups to build relationships to attract and retain business and industry stakeholders. Training Services and program directors build relationships with learning facilitators and customer groups. Partnerships are formed to meet community needs (e.g. Regional Center for EMS Education). Kirkwood CE & T uses data informed and market segmentation philosophy to develop relationships with and retain top customer groups (students). It identifies classes taken most frequently by top student groups and promotes directly to this group via targeted marketing methods including certificate programs and special promotions. Kirkwood CE & T provides multiple access points for students and stakeholders including online catalog and registration system, direct phone numbers and e-mail addresses, paper catalog and face-to-face contact through learning facilitators. Kirkwood CE & T has a process for managing student and stakeholder complaints that includes an escalation process and flexibility to offer incentives in an attempt to minimize stakeholder dissatisfaction. The administration reviews complaints on an aggregate basis as part of the continuing improvement process. Kirkwood CE & T uses multiple methods to determine student and stakeholder satisfaction, dissatisfaction and loyalty including surveys, direct interaction, focus groups and gathered data on course enrollment. OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT (OFI) It is not evident how Kirkwood CE & T cultivates and/or maintains relationships with learning facilitators who it has identified as key stakeholders. Without continuity of facilitators, principle success factors of expertise, product mix and product availability may be placed at risk. Evidence of a process for keeping relationship building approaches current is not readily apparent. Continued reliance on established relationship building methods may result in missed opportunities to create relationships with new or underserved groups of students and stakeholders. While Kirkwood CE & T has a process in place to follow-up promptly on the quality of programs, offerings and services for students and learning facilitators, it is not clear whether similar processes exist for other stakeholders (business partners, etc). Without a systematic process in place, Kirkwood CE & T may risk losing repeat business with industry business partners, limiting its ability to become financially self-sustaining. It is not evident that Kirkwood CE & T has a process to obtain and use information regarding student and stakeholder satisfaction with competitors identified in P2a(1). This may result in increasing challenges in addressing competition in order to maintain enrollment numbers and attract new students. While LERN provides benchmarks on levels of satisfaction, it is not clear if there is a process in place to continually evaluate and improve Kirkwood CE & T s process for determining student and stakeholder satisfaction. Without an evaluation and improvement process in place, it will be difficult for the organization to meet the changing educational service needs and directions for both students and stakeholders. Iowa Recognition for Performance Excellence 12
Category 4 Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management 4.1 Measurement, Analysis, and Improvement of Organizational Performance Your score for this Criteria Item is in the 10-25% range (Please refer to Figure 5, Scoring Guidelines and the SCORING section in the Appendix.) STRENGTHS Kirkwood CE & T utilizes various methods of collecting and integrating data for tracking daily operations and overall organizational performance including use of the Dashboard indicators, LERN and course evaluations by learners and learning facilitators. The data are used in tracking key focus areas and preparing target goals for those areas. Kirkwood CE & T uses a computer system (Colleague) to collect performance measures. The data is uploaded into tools such as the LERN Program Planner and reports are generated. Leadership meets monthly to review the organizational performance related to progress. Kirkwood CE & T reviews performance at least annually and uses this information to identify strengths and weaknesses. This information is then used to set goals for the new fiscal year. OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT (OFI) Kirkwood CE & T has partnered with LERN which provides external comparative data and benchmarks from within the academic community. It is not clear how Kirkwood CE & T acquires or uses comparative data from outside the academic community to support operational decision-making. This may present barriers to achieving financial self-sufficiency, operational effectiveness and efficiency and staying competitive in a changing marketplace It is not clear that Kirkwood CE & T reviews its performance measurement system to determine if the measures being tracked are relevant or if other measures may be needed. This may result in Kirkwood CE & T having difficulties responding to changes in the environment such as changing learner demographics, changing competition, changing educational delivery methods and uncertain enrollment. It is unclear what analysis Kirkwood CE & T performs to ensure conclusions are valid,( e.g. cause-effect relationships and correlations). Without a systematic approach to validate conclusions, Kirkwood CE & T may not be able to ensure analysis is relevant to its decision making or that decisions are based on relevant data and information. It is unclear how Kirkwood CE & T uses the results from its organizational performance review to evaluate and improve the key processes. Lack of alignment between use of data for improvement and work process may hinder its ability to deliver value added processes to student and stakeholder groups. Iowa Recognition for Performance Excellence 13
4.2 Management of Information, Information Technology, and Knowledge Your score for this Criteria Item is in the 30-45% range (Please refer to Figure 5, Scoring Guidelines and the SCORING section in the Appendix.) STRENGTHS Kirkwood CE & T makes needed data and information available internally through Colleague, an operations management software package, individual department reports and via the internet. It also regularly publishes a course offerings catalog. Kirkwood CE & T has a process in place for routine testing, maintenance and data back-up to ensure hardware and software are reliable and secure. Kirkwood CE & T has a 24 hour help desk available to users. Kirkwood CE & T has processes in place to ensure the continued availability of hardware and software systems and continued availability of data and information. All documents are scanned to a CD which are backed up and stored in fire secure vault off campus. In case of power failure, there is a down time paper process. Kirkwood CE & T has designed alternative centers as stand alone facilities where operations can easily be relocated. Kirkwood CE & T ensures security and confidentiality of data, information and knowledge, by use of firewalls, unique user identification numbers, passwords, restricted access, assignment of data ownership, adherence to Government Accounting Standards Board and Financial Accounting Standards Board requirements. Timeliness is ensured by weekly and monthly report generation and analysis. OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT (OFI) It is not clear that Kirkwood CE & T utilizes a systematic process for evaluating and addressing technological changes in the operating environment. As a result, upgrades of IT infrastructure may not be tied to educational needs and/or technological changes. It is not apparent that Kirkwood CE & T regularly monitors data for accuracy, integrity or reliability. This may hinder the organization in its goal to make appropriate data-informed decisions. It is not evident how Kirkwood CE & T collects and transfers workforce knowledge or how best practices are rapidly identified, shared and implemented either within the division or across divisions. As a result, Kirkwood CE & T may be missing opportunities to share best practices or transfer knowledge. Iowa Recognition for Performance Excellence 14
Category 5 Workforce Focus 5.1 Workforce Engagement Your score for this Criteria Item is in the 10-25% range (Please refer to Figure 5, Scoring Guidelines and the SCORING section in the Appendix.) STRENGTHS Kirkwood CE & T fosters an organizational culture conducive to effective information flow and 2-way communication. It promotes regular communication amongst program managers, program developers and directors as well as individual goal setting and learning plans. The entire staff meets every other month. Kirkwood CE & T utilizes annual performance appraisals during which organizational and personal goals are reviewed and new goals are set. Employee recognition and reward programs document high performance work. Kirkwood CE & T provides for workforce development and learning through tuition assistance and professional development money, conference and seminar attendance, and state and local leadership training programs. OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT (OFI) It is not evident that Kirkwood CE & T has a process to select key factors that affect workforce engagement. Without a process to determine engagement factors for different employee groups, Kirkwood CE & T may be challenged to sustain its workforce s commitment to accomplishing its mission/vision and demonstrating its values of timely achievement of outcomes, shared decision making, collaboration, cooperation, risk-taking, utilization of diverse and individual talents, having fun and camaraderie. It is not evident that the Performance Management system and compensation practices support and reward high performers and/or highly engaged employees. This may jeopardize the ability to achieve professional growth of staff and retain quality employees. Although Kirkwood CE & T utilizes an annual training needs survey which encourages all employees to provide ideas for training and education, it is not clear who actually participates in the survey, how supervisors or administrators are involved or how the information obtained from the survey is used to identify training to be provided. Without input from the workforce, supervisors and administrators Kirkwood CE & T may be challenged to align training with its strategic goals and associated action plans. It is unclear how the workforce reinforces new knowledge and job skills, and transfers knowledge from departing or retiring faculty. Without an approach to reinforce knowledge or transfer knowledge Kirkwood CE & T may lose valuable assets, risking its ability to provide and deliver learning solutions for the 21st century. Although leadership development programs are offered, it is not evident that there is a systematic learning system to develop personal leadership attributes, ethical practices or develop organizational knowledge. Without a leadership development program Kirkwood CE & T hinders its competitive advantage and the sustainability of the workforce. Although Kirkwood CE & T uses biennial 360 degree staff surveys to evaluate supervisors and managers, it is not evident that there is a process in place to evaluate the effectiveness of the leadership development and learning systems. This may result in the organization encountering difficulty in determining whether the programs offered are resulting in staff professional growth, which is critical to the organization's success. Iowa Recognition for Performance Excellence 15
Although salaried personnel and administrators have annual discussions with direct reports regarding succession planning, it is not clear that these discussions actually result in an effective succession plan being formulated or carried out when leadership positions are vacated. Without a systematic approach to succession planning, the ability to plan for open key positions and have candidates prepared to lead the organization effectively may be impacted. It is not clear that Kirkwood CE & T has a process for assessing workforce engagement. This may result in Kirkwood CE & T being uninformed whether its employees are committed to achieving the mission/vision/values of the organization. It is not evident that workforce engagement is assessed and related to organizational performance. Lack of understanding of what motivates and engages the workforce, may negatively impact Kirkwood CE & T s ability to have a high performing work environment in order to provide high quality education and retain a competent staff. Iowa Recognition for Performance Excellence 16
5.2 Workforce Environment Your score for this Criteria Item is in the 30-45% range (Please refer to Figure 5, Scoring Guidelines and the SCORING section in the Appendix.) STRENGTHS Kirkwood CE & T has a process in place to recruit, hire, and retain new employees including newspaper advertisements, interview committees with employee participation and assignment of a mentor to new employees. Kirkwood CE & T reorganized processes and workflow in 2005 by assessing the environment and adding a Programming Team to focus on creating new programming, a competency that has been identified as providing a competitive advantage. The reorganization addressed strategic needs including enrollment trends and redundancy and duplication within program directors and office associate roles. Kirkwood CE & T ensures and improves workplace health, safety and security in many ways, including emergency procedures and disaster plans, first responder program, drills, security force and AEDs. Kirkwood CE & T supports its workforce by pay raises, choice of insurance plans with ability to receive equivalent money instead of premium payment, tuition reimbursement and modified schedules. OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT (OFI) While Kirkwood CE & T makes data-informed decisions that take into account added costs and projected increases in revenue to adjust staffing to program offerings and community needs, it is not clear that there is a process to assess capacity, workforce skills or competencies. This may make it more difficult for the organization to achieve the ability to adapt to changing education and training needs. While Kirkwood CE & T has demonstrated the ability to add staff for new programs, it is not clear that it has a systematic process for preparing the workforce for changing capabilities and capacity needs. Evidence is not apparent to demonstrate that Kirkwood CE & T is managing its workforce to ensure continuity, prevent reductions and/or minimize impact of necessary reductions. This may negatively impact the ability to proactively plan for trends and changes, avoid reductions in workforce, and meet learner needs. It is unclear what performance measures are in place and what improvement goals have been developed for workplace health, safety and security such as "first responder" and disaster simulation processes. Without performance measures and improvement goals, Kirkwood CE & T may not achieve the goals of mutual respect and support and dedication to the people served. Although Kirkwood CE & T has salary and benefit packages for full time employees, it is unclear how these are tailored to part time learning facilitators. This may result in the organization having difficulty recruiting and retaining a competent staff. Iowa Recognition for Performance Excellence 17
Category 6 Process Management 6.1 Work System Design Your score for this Criteria Item is in the 10-25% range (Please refer to Figure 5, Scoring Guidelines and the SCORING section in the Appendix.) STRENGTHS Kirkwood CE & T identifies several key work processes: continuing education course development, course/event setup, course marketing, learner advising, learner registration, course delivery, course evaluation and enhancements, that relate to core competencies. The organization uses multiple methods of determining key work process requirements including surveys, input from business and industry stakeholders, internal and external data and focus groups. Kirkwood CE & T designs work processes by utilizing staff closest to the process to test the processes and suggest improvements and restructure them. Process maps are reviewed on a quarterly basis and updated. New technology is incorporated into processes, including EagleNet, Online Safari, Operation team database, Instant Enrollment and simulation equipment. OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT (OFI) It was not evident that Kirkwood CE & T uses a systematic process to determine its core competencies. This may hinder the organization in meeting the challenge of increasing competition in its seven county regions. It is not evident that Kirkwood CE & T uses a systematic process to design and innovate their overall work systems. This may impact Kirkwood CE & T s ability to effectively deliver quality programming. It is unclear what the requirements are for the key processes of: continuing education course development, course/event setup, course marketing, learner advising, learner registration, course delivery, course evaluation and enhancements. Without identifying requirements for each key process, the processes may not deliver value to students and stakeholders and hinder Kirkwood CE & T's ability to achieve its goals of providing quality education and training and increasing market share. It is not evident Kirkwood CE & T incorporates the need for agility into its process design. It is not clear how Kirkwood CE & T addresses sequencing and linkages among educational programs or how productivity and cost control factors are incorporated into the design. This may jeopardize Kirkwood CE & T s ability to react quickly to changes in stakeholder demands and its financial sustainability. It is not clear that Kirkwood CE & T has a systematic process that addresses how the workforce, key suppliers and business partners will be prepared for disasters and emergencies. This may result in Kirkwood CE & T being hindered in its efforts to perform key processes and continue to deliver value to students and key stakeholder groups. Iowa Recognition for Performance Excellence 18
6.2 Work Process Management and Improvement Your score for this Criteria Item is in the 10-25% range (Please refer to Figure 5, Scoring Guidelines and the SCORING section in the Appendix.) STRENGTHS Kirkwood CE & T provides orientation and other resources to the learning facilitators in order to decrease variability in delivery of programs as well as encourage uniform use of processes to support the programs. Kirkwood CE & T uses frequent and timely feedback from stakeholders to improve its educational programs. In addition, Kirkwood CE & T uses Lean tools to eliminate redundant steps from its work processes. OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT (OFI) While courses are monitored for learner and learning facilitator satisfaction, it is not clear that other work processes (continuing education course development, course/event setup, course marketing, etc.) are regularly monitored to ensure they meet design requirements. This may result in Kirkwood CE & T having difficulty meeting its goal of providing high quality continuing education programs and growth in light of increasing competition. While Kirkwood CE & T has taken measures to reduce variability in course delivery with learning facilitators, it is not clear that it has a process to prevent variability in other work processes, e.g. course development, course/event setup, course marketing, etc. This may result in the organization having difficulty meeting its goal of providing high quality education programs. It is not evident that Kirkwood CE & T s improvement processes include strategies to focus directly on student success factors such as dual credit, student progression and transfer agreements. This may impact its ability to attract and retain students and may hamper future growth opportunities Iowa Recognition for Performance Excellence 19
Category 7 Results 7.1 Student Learning Outcomes Your score for this Criteria Item is in the 0-5% range (Please refer to Figure 5, Scoring Guidelines and the SCORING section in the Appendix.) STRENGTHS Kirkwood CE & T shows an improving trend of student completion in EMT-P program for years 2004-2006. OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT (OFI) Kirkwood CE & T shows decreasing trend in completion in EMT-I program and flat to decreasing trend in EMT-B program. Kirkwood CE & T provides no comparative data such that the success of its EMT programs can be measured against those of its competitors. Kirkwood CE & T sites successful licensure and/or certification as a measure of student and learner success in its professional and technical training programs. Kirkwood CE & T identifies eight such programs in Figure 3.1a(2)-2. However, data is only provided for EMT programs. Iowa Recognition for Performance Excellence 20
7.2 Student- and Stakeholder-Focused Outcomes Your score for this Criteria Item is in the 10-25% range (Please refer to Figure 5, Scoring Guidelines and the SCORING section in the Appendix.) STRENGTHS Kirkwood CE & T has consistently achieved a rating goal of 4.3 or higher for the past three years and is above target for fiscal year 2007 for Learner Satisfaction Rating (Figure 7.2b-1). Kirkwood CE & T exceeded Learning Facilitator Satisfaction rating goal for both fiscal year 2004 and 2005. OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT (OFI) Results for Number of Escalated Complaints shows an improvement in the number of complaints from fiscal year 2004 and met the stated goal of 4 or less for fiscal year 2005 and 2006. However, there is no information on total number of complaints in order to determine whether improvement actually occurred. (e.g. Did Kirkwood CE & T escalate 4 out of 5 complaints versus 4 out of 100?) Average number of participants is below stated goal of 9 with a flat trend over 4 years and no segmentation by learner or program. Training Services Client Repeat Rate does not have a clearly stated goal and although there is an improving trend for the past 3 reported fiscal years, the results remain below results from FY02-FY04. There are no measures of positive referral and other aspects of building relationships with students or stakeholders. Iowa Recognition for Performance Excellence 21
7.3 Budgetary, Financial, and Market Outcomes Your score for this Criteria Item is in the 10-25% range (Please refer to Figure 5, Scoring Guidelines and the SCORING section in the Appendix.) STRENGTHS No strengths noted. OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT (OFI) Kirkwood CE & T has established a FY2008 goal at 40% operating margin in open enrollment and 60% operating margin in contracted training. Upon evaluation of figure 7.3a(1)-2, it is difficult to access the operating margin for open enrollment programs. However, the 2006 contract training margin is at 45% and is favorable based on the FY2008 goal. Figure 7.6a(3)-2 shows a negative trend of increasing expense to income for the past 3 years, no defined target goal was established. Figure 1.1a(2) defines the target goal for operating margin to be 10%, performance is at 2% and has a flat trend. Discrepancies in data and targets exist in these figures relating to financial performance. Kirkwood CE & T establishes a target goal of 37% administrative costs (Figure 1.1a-2). Performance is trended at 37% which is at goal and a flat trend. Figure 7.6a(3)-3 cites administrative costs as a percentage of income with varied performance from 2003 to 2007 with current performance at 37%, with a target goal for Kirkwood CE & T at 35%. There are conflicting data and goals related to operating income. Kirkwood CE & T provides income by program in Figure 7.3.a(1)-1. It is segmented by either program area or geographic area with four years trending. Favorable results exist in the driving, health and industrial tech programs, while business remains flat and there is a negative trend in computer training. The geographic segmentation for general interest programs is flat in Cedar Rapids, missing 2006 data for Marion and a decline in Iowa City. Kirkwood CE & T provides results for certified nursing assistant course offering enrollment compared to other area community colleges. Its performance is below the enrollment of five other organizations in a comparison group of thirteen. It is unclear what the target performance is for this course. Figures 7.3a(2)1-7.3a(2)-3 provide price comparison for three different course offerings, Kirkwood CE & T is favorable to the comparison group in aquatics, midlevel pricing for arts and crafts and CPR. It is unclear the desired level of performance Kirkwood CE & T wants to achieve with a goal of being competitive for price. Kirkwood CE & T describes the use of key competitive and comparative data, however multiple key measures mentioned in the application are missing: market trends, shifts and key customer demographic data, key registration data, demographic variables for identifying top customer groups, and learner repeat rates. Iowa Recognition for Performance Excellence 22