Vital Focus

The Vital Focus is a self-assessment process to help an institution discover whether to participate in the Academic Quality Improvement Program, and to prepare for its first Strategy Forum.

Phase 1 – Your Perceptions

All faculty and staff will be invited to complete the Constellation Survey. This online survey will be available for three weeks. The survey presents a series of statements for which faculty and staff will rate the level of importance to NMC and how well NMC is doing.

Constellation Survey Results

• Constellation Results for Discussion
• Appendix A: AQIP Categories and High-Performance Principles
• Appendix B: Supplementary Tables
• Appendix C: Complete Constellation Results
• Constellation Comments: linked to the Action Project Provocative Propositions
• Constellation Open Question Responses
  

Phase 2 – Conversation Day

Save the Date. On Tuesday, October 18th, 2005, all NMC faculty and staff will participate in Conversation Day. The day is comprised of three College-wide discussions that build on the results from the Constellation Survey. The conversations center on identifying what faculty and staff think matter most, on what you perceive are the institution’s strengths and successes, and on identifying specific ideas for improving those systems and processes you have identified as most important.

• Conversation Day Handbook
• Conversation Day Summary Report
• Action Project Provocative Propositions
  

Phase 3 – Strategy for Action

Following Conversation Day, the College will conduct a series of directed discussions that will integrate existing institutional data, plans, and priorities with the insights gained from the conversations. The second set of deliberations will culminate in us deciding what work matters most for us to accomplish right now to make a significant difference, pinpointing our greatest opportunities for improvement or innovation. The outcome of this phase will be the Strategy for Action, a definition of and commitment to the things we intend to accomplish right now. Steps to accomplish in Phase 3:

1. Presentation to Cabinet+ and the Board on using the Constellation and other data in prioritizing the aciton project candidates (Powerpoint application; view with the Notes)
2. Small Group Meetings
1. Prioritization Process
2. Analysis Matrix
3. Prioritization Report Form
4. Small Group Prioritization Results
3. Cabinet review - January 20, 2006: Top Seven Action Project Candidates
4. Board review
5. Identification of Top 3 Final Action Projects
6. Prepare Strategy for Action Workbook
7. Strategy Forum (completed March 2006)