Quality Improvement Plans(QIP)
Quality Improvement Plans
A Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) is a plan developed by the Dean, Head of Department, Director or Manager specifying activities, designated responsibilities and timeframes in order to address the requirements and recommendations of the programme accreditation and non-academic audit reports for the purpose of follow-up, validation and close-out of the findings by the Quality Department. Developmental issues should be identified by the department itself.
The department should submit the quality improvement plan to the Quality Management Directorate within a reasonable period of time after the audit report has been completed. The department may be asked to forward a progress report on the implementation of the improvement plan.
Timeframe
The relevant information is added on to the report structure after the completion of each programme accreditation or non-academic audit. The status and required actions of the QIP document is discussed regularly at senior management committee meetings.
Resourcing
The Quality Management Directorate is responsible for obtaining information from the report from the relevant stakeholders and validating the closing out of findings.
Format
The improvement plan should include:
- a short executive summary, which deals with the findings of the audit report, how the department plans to deal with the recommendations, how and why priorities are established, where the overall responsibility of the improvement plan lies, who approves the plan, how progress will be monitored and evaluated.
- the current status of expected close out should be addressed
- who will serve as the contact person for the follow up of the process
- an action plan in tabular format
- the Quality Management Directorate should indicate the close-out status of each of the findings, from discussion with responsible persons, interviews with stakeholders, management and client opinion for academic programmes and non-academic units. A summary of the total number of findings reported and the number validated as closed out is very useful to show continuous improvement trends.
Example of the Quality Improvement Action Plan
| Recommendations |
Priority and justification |
Resources needed (human and financial) | Action | By when | By Whom | Structure/person to monitor or sign off |
Monitoring activities
The Quality Management Directorate was established to achieve a high level of quality at our teaching and learning institution and to guarantee the quality of services and products on the basis of scientific and professional criteria in academic and administrative departments. It contributes to the promotion of a quality assurance culture among the academic departments on all campuses of the University.
The Quality Management Directorate aims to define the criteria, and methodology for self-assessment and external evaluation, in an attempt to reach suitable and common criteria as well as exchange experience among other universities. It also aims to spread awareness regarding the concepts, definitions, and terminology related to evaluation and accreditation.
The work of the Quality Management Directorate reflects on the state of quality assurance activities in all the CPUT sites, hospitals and campuses. It also reflects on developments and practices of the institutional systems that are made from national quality assurance practices. It also highlights the role that the official body for quality assurance in South African Higher Education plays in the enhancement of quality.
Goals
The following goals were set in order to achieve the mission of the Quality Management Directorate:
- Establishing professional criteria for quality control at the University
- Monitoring, improving and developing the academic and administrative performance
- Establishing a comprehensive self-evaluation system in the field of quality control in the University.
Tasks
The Department adopted several tasks to achieve the desired goals in a practical way:
- Identifying the necessary techniques
- Contributing towards the establishment of a quality control literature amongst the University’s academic departments
- Evaluating the services and products which the University offers through the criteria set by the quality control committee
- Presenting feedback about the results of implementing, monitoring the procedures, policies and regulations and instructions according to the University’s criteria.
