Academic Quality Improvement Program at IVCCD

Iowa Valley Community College District (which operates Ellsworth Community College, Marshalltown Community College, Iowa Valley Continuing Education, and Iowa Valley Grinnell) is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.  IVCCD is a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, and is approved by the Iowa Department of Education. IVCCD and its colleges have articulation agreements with Iowa’s Regent universities.

Beginning in 2001, IVCCD chose to pursue it's Higher Learning Commission re-accreditation through the AQIP process. AQIP infuses the principles and benefits of continuous improvement into the culture of colleges and universities by providing an alternative process through which an already-accredited institution can maintain its accreditation from HLC. With AQIP, an institution demonstrates it meets accreditation standards and expectations through sequences of events that align with ongoing activities that characterize organizations striving to improve their performance.

 IVCCD's AQIP Systems Portfolio

AQIP calls upon institutions to maintain a Systems Portfolio. Reviewed and updated annually, the portfolio is an opportunity for an institution to document their own particular institutional context for developing processes, results, and areas for improvement for the entire institution.  AQIP institutions focus improvement efforts on nine categories related to student learning.  The IVCCD response to these categories can be obtained through the links on the left and are as follows:

• Category 1 - Helping Students Learn
• Category 2 - Accomplishing Other Distinctive Objectives
• Category 3 - Understanding Students' and Other Stakeholders' Needs
• Category 4 - Valuing People
• Category 5 - Leading and Communicating
• Category 6 - Supporting Institutional Operations
• Category 7 - Measuring Effectiveness
• Category 8 - Planning Continuous Improvement
• Category 9 - Building Collaborative Relationships

IVCCD's Current Status as an AQIP Institution

IVCCD has completed a full cycle within the AQIP process and received it's reaffirmation of accreditation in January 2008.  In addition to annual updates to the IVCCD Systems Portfolio due each November, District administrators will attend an AQIP Strategy Forum in fall 2009 to determine areas of focus for the future.

More information about IVCCD's participation in AQIP can be obtained by emailing IVCCD AQIP Liaison Lisa Breja at Lisa.Breja@iavalley.edu.