A critical part of the Academic Quality Improvement Program was creating a “Systems Portfolio” that gave a comprehensive picture of the university by answering a series of questions from AQIP. According to Higher Learning Commission (HLC), "the Systems Portfolio cover[ed] the six AQIP categories, describing context, processes, results and improvements in each system." Our last comprehensive review under AQIP in 2016 provided the HLC with information demonstrating that NMU continuously met the HLC standards for university-wide accreditation. The Portfolio was a "living document," which through the time NMU was and AQIP university was continually updated to show improvements in our internal systems and processes.
Systems Portfolio
The Systems Portfolio was a comprehensive document presenting an overview of the institution and answering explicitly all of the questions under each of the six AQIP categories.
HLC asked all AQIP-participating institutions to provide a System Portfolio Index, identifying sections of the Portfolio that showed evidence that the HLC's Five Criteria for Accreditation were met.
Systems Appraisal
HLC used teams of experienced reviewers to assess the university’s Systems Portfolio every four years. This third-party feedback identified strengths and opportunities for improvement, as determined by the review team. The Systems Appraisal had two parts: an Executive Summary and a scored section for each question in each category.
Comprehensive Quality Review
NMU hosted five trained and experienced reviewers from the Higher Learning Commission on March 20-22, 2017. These visits were conducted to determine “whether participating institutions continue to meet the HLC's Criteria for Accreditation, and whether those institutions are using quality management principles and building a culture of continuous improvement as participation in the Academic Quality Improvement Program requires." The following document is the final report from this visit.