Quality Initiative
The Open Pathway requires an institution to designate as its Quality Initiative one
major improvement effort it has undertaken during its 10-year accreditation cycle.
The Quality Initiative takes place between years 5 and 9 of the 10-year Open Pathway
Cycle. A QI project may be designed to begin and be completed during this time, or
an institution may continue a project that is already in progress or achieve a key
milestone in the work of a longer initiative. The Quality Initiative is intended to
allow institutions to take risks, aim high, and learn from only partial success or
even failure.
UAFS's Quality Initiative seeks to improve student success and achieve greater persistence
and retention of student from three identified groups. The initiative is aligned with
the UAFS mission to prepare students "to succeed in an ever-changing global world."
The initiative is also aligned with two of the institution's strategic plans that
include deploying resources to increase enrollment, retention, and graduation rates
and using resources to achieve institutional objectives. While the provided information
does not speak directly to the initiative's connection to the planning process, the
initiative is clearly aligned with the institution's mission and strategic plan. The
initiative addresses areas of concern identified by Academic Affairs, Student Affairs,
Faculty Senate, and Financial Affairs and to the State of Ï㽶ÊÓƵAPP at large.