Academic Quality Improvement Project

A Fresh Approach to Accreditation

The Academic Quality Improvement Project (AQIP) provides an alternative model of accreditation for the North Central Association's Commission on Institutions of Higher Education.  AQIP was established in 1999 with grant support from the pew Charitable Trusts.

Accreditation has always sought to provide reliable quality assurance -- traditionally by checking an institution's compliance with minimum standards.  AQIP takes the process of appraising academic value to a new level, demanding an institution adhere to a regimen of continuous improvement, enabling it to remain fit by anticipating potential problems, strengthening successful practices, and discovering more efficient ways to serve its stakeholders.

To assist institutions in meeting the challenges of a quickly-changing higher education environment, AQIP draws from the experience of successful high-performance organizations everywhere and is grounded on the same principles and thinking that underlie many quality improvement programs, including the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and various state programs.  

Since 1947 Taylor University has been accredited by the North Central Association and the board of trustees has affirmed that the institution upholds the highest academic program standards.  The goals and criteria of the AQIP program are aligned with the principles of the university's re-engineered planning process and current program of systematic quality improvement; therefore, the university has applied for and been approved by NCA to participate in the Academic Quality Improvement Project.

The AQIP Quality Criteria

  1. Understanding students' and other stakeholders' needs
  2. Leading and communicating
  3. Planning continuous improvement
  4. Measuring effectiveness
  5. Helping students learn
  6. Accomplishing other distinctive objectives
  7. Valuing people
  8. Building collaborative relationships
  9. Supporting institutional operations

1  Academic Quality Improvement Project, Commission on Institutions of Higher Education, North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, 2002.

Taylor University AQIP Systems Portfolio

Read the Taylor University Report Card Description - September 2007. (pdf 11 kb)
Read the Taylor University Report Card Summary - October 2007. (pdf 132 kb)

Read the AQIP Systems Portfolio - June 2007. (.pdf, 1.6 MB)