Planned project kickoff date: 09-01-2005
Target completion date: 09-30-2007
Actual completion date: --

Designing/Implementing Processes and Systems for Better Understanding Stakeholder Needs

We wish to design a system of processes that will allow us to better understand our student and stakeholder needs. Our questions include why do students select Edison as a college of choice, and why do students leave Edison before completing degrees and/or certificates. A secondary question is why do former students and community members elect to participate in organizational activities such as the Edison Alumni, our advisory committees, or to contribute financially. Answers to these questions and others yet to be defined will help us better comprehend student and stakeholder needs and requirements that will promote relationship building.

Primary Category: Understanding Students' and Other Stakeholders' Needs

The area of relationship building was selected by our faculty and staff as a growing concern in areas of program support, employment opportunity, and community awareness. Edison wants its brand, A personal experience, a rewarding education, to be known and understood throughout our service area. Our goal of providing continuing educational and cultural awareness opportunities to those we serve cannot be met without strong relationships at many levels.

Those areas to be represented in this project design and deployment will include, but not be limited to, the Edison Marketing Committee for marketing/recruiting efforts, the Edison Foundation for alumni, scholarships, and gift support, our Office of Institutional Research for survey development and data mining, our Student Development Offices for student support services including working with students with disabilities. Input will be sought throughout the college as deemed appropriate.

Professional Development--Learning more about those things important to our constituency. Student Support--Better understanding the financial and service support requirements of those considering attendance at Edison. Academic Departments--Learning of program areas where expansion, modification, or deletion of offerings should be considered. Data-informed decision-making for strategic planning.

We hope to design and deploy instruments for data collection by January, 2006. Segregating and analyzing data will be required before any new approaches to relationship building can be implemented. If implementation begins by late second semester or summer term, no results of effectiveness nor improvement initiatives could be implemented and results reviewed until into the 2006-2007 academic year. With a two-year time frame we can design, deploy, evaluate results, and deploy with modification any processes we consider worthy of the effort.

The six-member AQIP Action Project Team will monitor the design, deployment and results of relationship-building efforts. This monitoring would include rate of return of research documents and changes in feedback resulting from any process design.

Increased enrollment, increased retention, increased completion, increased giving, and increased participation in community-based activities would be representative of success.

The AQIP Action Project Team will champion the project but will be supported by those areas of college having vested interest, such as the Edison Marketing Committee, the Edison Foundation, etc.