Using the AQIP Categories

The nine AQIP Categories provide a framework that colleges and universities can use to examine their key processes to make sure they are investing energy and resources in ways that will help achieve their goals.

Each AQIP Category deals with a related group of key processes and allows an institution to analyze, understand, and explore opportunities for improving these processes and the interrelationships among them. Through the analysis of processes, the Categories promote critical reflection that allow colleges and universities to share and learn from other institutions’ experience and insight.

AQIP expects each institution to use the Categories to structure its Systems Portfolio, a resource that describes key institutional systems and their performance results. A repository for information that is shared throughout an institution, the Systems Portfolio becomes a key management and communication tool for continuous improvement.

Review the comprehensive Principles and Categories for AQIP.

Each Category includes Context, Process, Results, and Improvement items, which pose the following questions:

What are the goals for student learning and shaping an academic climate? What are the key credit and noncredit instructional programs, and educational systems, services, and technologies that directly support them?
What key institutional services, other than instructional programs, does the institution provide for students and other external stakeholders? What programs does the institution operate to achieve them?
What are the short- and long-term requirements and expectations of the current student and other key stakeholder groups that are served? Who are the primary competitors in serving these groups?
What are the administrative, faculty, and staff human resources? What key factors determine how they are organized and used?
What strategies align the leadership, decision-making, and communication processes with the mission and values, the policies and requirements of the oversight entities, and the legal, ethical, and social responsibilities?
What strategies align the key administrative support goals with the mission and values? What services, facilities, and equipment are provided to achieve them?
What determines the data and information collected and distributed? What information resources and technologies govern how the institution manages and uses data?
What are the key commitments, constraints, challenges, and opportunities with which the institution must align the short- and long-term plans and strategies?
What key partnerships and collaborations, external and internal, contribute to the institution’s effectiveness?

AQIP Category One: Helping Students Learn

HELPING STUDENTS LEARN focuses on the design, deployment, and effectiveness of teaching-learning processes that underlie your organization’s credit and non-credit programs and courses, and on the processes required to support them.

AQIP Category Two: Accomplishing Other Distinctive Objectives

ACCOMPLISHING OTHER DISTINCTIVE OBJECTIVES addresses the key processes (separate from your instructional programs and internal support services) through which you serve your external stakeholders — the processes that contribute to achieving your major objectives, fulfilling your mission, and distinguishing yours from other educational organizations.

AQIP Category Three: Understanding Students’ and Other Stakeholders’ Needs

UNDERSTANDING STUDENTS’ AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS’ NEEDS examines how your organization works actively to understand student and other stakeholder needs.

AQIP Category Four: Valuing People

VALUING PEOPLE explores your organization’s commitment to the development of your faculty, staff, and administrators.

AQIP Category Five: Leading and Communicating

LEADING AND COMMUNICATING addresses how your leadership and communication processes, structures, and networks guide your organization in setting directions, making decisions, seeking future opportunities, and communicating decisions and actions to your internal and external stakeholders.

AQIP Category Six: Supporting Institutional Operations

SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONAL OPERATIONS addresses the organizational support processes that help to provide an environment in which learning can thrive.

AQIP Category Seven: Measuring Effectiveness

MEASURING EFFECTIVENESS examines how your organization collects, analyzes, distributes, and uses data, information, and knowledge to manage itself and to drive performance improvement.

AQIP Category Eight: Planning Continuous Improvement

PLANNING CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT examines your organization’s planning processes and how your strategies and action plans help you achieve your mission and vision.

AQIP Category Nine: Building Collaborative Relationships

BUILDING COLLABORATIVE RELATIONSHIPS examines your organization’s relationships – current and potential – to analyze how they contribute to the organization’s accomplishing its mission.