Opportunity for Improvement Surveys (OFIS)
How do we improve?
Houston Community College has developed an Institutional Effectiveness (IE) Model that responds directly to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) core requirement of institutional effectiveness—“The institution engages in ongoing, integrated, and institution-wide research-based planning and evaluation processes that (1) incorporate a systematic review of institutional mission, goals, and outcomes; (2) results in continuing improvement in institutional quality; and (3) demonstrate the institution is effectively accomplishing its mission.”
The IE Model is based upon two organizing principles: (1) a reinforcing systems loop that shows how all key functions interact and (2) a Plan-Do-Assess-Decide (PDAD) cycle that enumerates a series of steps to drive continuous improvement.
What do we assess?
In the “Assess” stage of our PDAD Cycle we look at three areas: (1) Accountability, (2) Responsibility and (3) Operational. The two accountability assessments—which reflect feedback to our stakeholders—are an Annual Report and our Academic Dashboard of ten key performance indicators. The two responsibility assessments involve feedback to individual employees—Student Evaluation of Instruction (SEOI) for faculty members and Performance Excellence Program (PEP) for staff members. Finally, we assess program effectiveness through a program review process, student engagement through the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) and employee satisfaction through our Opportunities for Improvement surveys.
How do we generate employee feedback?
Every spring, HCC distributes an on-line survey to its employees. In one year the survey focuses of district-wide services and climate. All college employees are encouraged to respond and the resulting data are used to drive continuous improvement. Indeed, the survey results include a post-survey action plan that describes what we have decided to do next (PDAD). In the following year a different survey is directed to each of the six colleges with college-specific questions. Again, the administration at each college works with a team to develop a post-survey action plan. The two “Opportunities for Improvement” surveys occur every other year with specific attention being paid to collecting and analyzing longitudinal data to improve performance.
