Institutional Effectiveness Data

Process improvement is a systematic approach used to make incremental and breakthrough improvements in processes.

Process improvement can result in a faster, better, more efficient and/or cost-effective way to deliver products, services, and support to customers.

By examining a process with the objective of creating efficiencies that optimize the customer's value and experience, the college will gain speed of delivery and reduce risks to quality, thereby improving customer satisfaction.

As Kirkwood Community College continues to grow and change, our values of respect, diversity, excellence, and responsibility remain constant. To maintain that value of excellence we need to continually be identifying opportunities to examine and improve processes that contribute to such achievement and adapt to the ever changing educational landscape.

In doing so, it is important to simultaneously maintain flexibility to ensure new approaches can be incorporated as conditions change and to be user friendly to those who have to work within the system.

Institutional Effectiveness recognizes process improvement is a priority with the goal to make processes efficient – minimizing the resources used; to make processes effective – producing the desired results; and to facilitate successful implementation of process improvements.

• Identifying and eliminating activities that add cost without adding value
• Improving the flow of work processes
• Improving the final product or service
• Improving decision making based on sound data and reasoning
• Aligning improvements with the college's mission, vision, and values
• Creating a culture of continuous improvement

• Introduction of new systems, tools, regulations, etc. that impact work
• Customer expectations are not being met
• Changes in staff or absorption of additional work requiring more time
• Employees do not understand the value of tasks being performed
• Employees are chasing information
• Work is getting lost or duplicated between department silos

Fulfilling our mission and meeting expectations require the engagement and active participation from all members of the Kirkwood community. You are vital to our success in helping the college fulfill its vision.

If you wish to gain additional knowledge about our process or want to discuss possibilities for improvement, please contact Megan Thole at megan.thole@kirkwood.edu.

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As part of our goal to minimize the risk of financial loss to the college, Risk Management works with departments on business continuity planning. Business continuity planning is a proactive strategic approach that anticipates a variety of threats and risks facing an institution. Developing prior arrangements and procedures enables Kirkwood and individual departments to respond to a disaster or major disruption in such a manner that essential business functions can continue within planned levels of disruption. The end result of this planning is an effective Business Continuity Plan (BCP). The BCP is a written document that provides guidance and steps for recovery in a specified period of time for a specified function or process. Kirkwood has developed a standard template for departments to formally document resources, actions, procedures, and information that is held in readiness for use in the event of a major disruption of operations. For more information about Kirkwood’s business continuity planning process or help completing the BCP template, please contact Institutional Planning.