Action Project

This AQIP Action Project team of six, representing faculty, classified staff, administrative/technical staff, and administration developed an Edison Communication Repository to promote communication throughout the college community and to support a better understanding of Edison’s alignment of vision, mission, and values. The theme of the repository was “On-the-Bus” and featured five different buses. Bus One, “Who’s Driving the Bus?”, linked to our college-wide strategy map of initiatives for the year. As Kaplan and Norton designed the strategy map concept, this allowed a visual image of how various initiatives impact each other and where an individual’s activities fit into meeting Edison’s mission and vision Each initiative impacted the global college and indicated timelines and the person ultimately accountable for monitoring the project. A revised strategy map was posted monthly indicated by a change in color of those initiatives completed. Bus Two, “Traffic Jam on the Bus,” housed all our surveys including 360 evaluations of administrators, a Valuing People survey, and a CQIN survey. All surveys were anonymous and some (360) allowed only certain people to input remarks. Surveys were monitored according to prescribed timetables and data collected was analyzed and reported appropriately. Bus Three, “Chat with the Bus Driver,” listed the elected representatives from the various employee constituencies who served on the President’s Cabinet and therefore had the president’s ear. Employees were encouraged to contact their specific representatives to take forward issues unresolved through traditional channels. Bus Four, “Sharing on the Bus,” supported work-group specific communication through Blackboard links to discussion sites. Twelve separate sites were created and line administrators were asked to communicate with their supervisees meeting information, i.e. President’s Cabinet and Dean’s Council, pertinent to that group. Also, dialogue on topics of importance to the specific group could be shared through this venue. Bus Five was called “Riding on My Bus” and had the forms necessary for job shadowing. As Edison has grown and specific jobs have been expanded or otherwise changed, some individuals have indicated an interest in shadowing another employee. During the 2005-2006 academic year, there were 1639 hits to the Edison Communication Repository. The team met monthly to review that information that was public; 360-survey information remained confidential. An email summary of surveys was shared with the college through the Daily Update along with actions taken.

The Edison Communication Repository has worked successfully to the extent that it has received 1,639 hits during the 2005-2006 academic year. The concept of the five buses for the repository provides a useful way for employees to connect some planning processes, surveys, working groups, and Blackboard. Providing the number of hits makes little sense without an explanation of the number of employees or an indication of the number of multiple hits. Providing base data indicating the use of each bus for disseminating information would also be very helpful. The 6-team Project team is small relative to the charge to promote communication throughout the college community and to support an understanding of Edison's alignment of vision, mission, and values. It would help if Edison explained how many people were involved with various initiatives to provide a sense of the participatory nature of the Project. The "Chat with the Bus Drive" conveys a top-down decision-making mechanism, especially revealed in "had the president's ear." Exactly how useful the "summary" of surveys shared with the college relative to data needed by the college to work with initiatives remains unclear. Overall, the 6-member team demonstrated imagination in structuring the Edison Communication Repository, and from at least their point of view, the Repository was successful as a communication mechanism.

The Repository concept was presented to the college community through the President’s Fall Address, a topic-specific Informational Lunch, and a lengthy email describing the use and intent of each bus. The college’s Daily Update highlighted initiatives resulting from the suggestion surveys and monthly email updates were sent to all employees, including adjunct faculty. Meeting minutes were posted to both the Daily Update and the CQI Website.

Edison used the President's Fall Address, an Informational Lunch, email, and its Daily Update to highlight initiatives resulting from the suggestion surveys. The process seems to have moved from a top-down, formal communication of the Repository concept to a more informal daily communication to employees. More information is needed to determine the extent to which all employees became involved in the processes or were satisfied with the Repository concept and with the information distributed.

The team driving this project will continue to monitor the Repository. The 2006-2007 strategy map has been posted and will be updated each month prior to the Board of Trustees’ meeting. All surveys have been purged and re-set. They will be accessible as needed, i.e. 360” for mid-management in October. The Academic Senate and Edison Education Association elected their representatives to the President’s Cabinet in May, and the classified and administrative/technical staff will participate in an election in late September. Discussion groups have been re-defined because of academic reorganization and work-group sites are currently available for posting. The Repository seems to have enhanced our workplace environment as measured through the Baldrige-based survey, “Are We Making Progress.” Our overall rating for 2004-05 was .53 while in 2005-06 we improved to .91. The target is 1, “we agree.” The project will be maintained but the Action Project will be retired in November and replaced with another project yet to be determined.

Edison indicates that the same 6-team task force will continue to monitor the Repository. The involvement of other people would create a relaxation of top-down control and encourage a more open and participatory involvement. That work group sites have been formed suggests more participation than the description of the processes themselves. Again, having numbers or relevant data related to the overall satisfaction rating would make a stronger case for the success of this Project. As Edison retires the Communication Repository and replaces it with another Action Project, it would be helpful to explain more fully how the present Project successfully led to alignment to the institution's mission, vision, and values. More explanation of strategic initiatives would also help to speak to the success of the current Project.

This project has been very positive for Edison Community College and may be viewed at this link: www.edisonohio.edu/repository

The Repository has an ambitious set of goals and objectives, and assigns responsibilities and target dates, but the Annual Update provides no indication of completion of targeted activities or what successful completion means. Without evidence for successful completion of these goals, the bus concept provides little more than a link for electronic discussion, surveys, and job shadowing. The "Chat with Bus Driver" reinforces a top-down managment style.

By and large this project has been well received and overall positive. There are some individuals that want to use surveys(Bus Two) as a complaint venue rather than an opportunity to offer constructive input, but we are monitoring that carefully.

The Bus has brought together a clearly identified web spot for employees to complete desired surveys, indicate interest in job shadowing, to chat with upper leadership, and to access data through Blackboard. That some want to use Bus Two for complaints may suggest some dissatisfaction with this Project. Constructing the bus web page and the supporting programming for electronic surveys fit the nature of an AQIP Action Project designed for a short time. More challenging will be the needed follow-up to use the collected information to provide evidence that Edison is successfully reaching its goals and objectives.

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