| AwardYear: 1995-1996 ChapterNumber: 10 ChapterTitle: Quality Assurance PageNumbers: 1-5 CHAPTER 10 - QUALITY ASSURANCE Essential Questions - What does quality assurance (QA) mean for my school? - If my school is already involved in QA, what changes are necessary for Direct Loans? - Is my school required to participate in QA? General Information Quality assurance is a proactive, rather than a reactive management style. Simply put, it provides an opportunity to anticipate and solve problems before they become major. Because the Direct Loan Program is new, it provides a rare opportunity to implement, through QA, the controls needed to build a management structure that will - enable schools to administer the program successfully - may result in less need for regulations Quality assurance is based on evaluation and improvement. - Schools use self-assessment instead of after-the-fact inspection to look at their procedures. - Schools can take action on an ongoing basis to strengthen areas of vulnerability. Schools can identify and correct problems before they are discovered as institutional liabilities in audits and program reviews. To accomplish this, schools use concepts of - strategic planning - employee involvement - structured problem solving - performance measures - corrective action You may know something about the current Institutional Quality Assurance Program (IQAP) and wonder how the Direct Loan Quality Assurance System fits in. You may also be confused about what is required under the Direct Loan QA System. - QA is a required component of the Direct Loan Program. Direct Loan schools are required to carry out only qualitative self-assessments during 1994-95 and 1995-96. - The qualitative self-assessment is a five-step process to evaluate a schools procedures. · Step One: Setting the Direction -- planning an overall strategy that will result in continuous school improvement; · Step Two: Involving Staff -- establishing the appropriate team to conduct the review; · Step Three: Assessing Operations -- beginning the problem-solving process; · Step Four: Taking Action -- addressing problem areas; and · Step Five: Reviewing Progress -- evaluating results of previous steps. - These steps are progressive and interrelated. Each focuses on assuring effective stewardship of the Direct Loan Program and on providing students with excellent service. - This approach is described in detail in the Departments The Direct Loan Quality Assurance Planning Guide: Phase 1 (QA Planning Guide). Management Worksheets. In addition to the QA Planning Guide, the Department has developed several worksheets to assist schools with the required evaluation. - The Management Assessment (MA) Worksheet assesses financial aid operations. It helps schools evaluate practices and procedures that will affect the Direct Loan Program so they can improve vulnerable areas. - The MA Worksheet uses a series of questions in five categories to address the administration of the Direct Loan Program. The five categories are · institutional participation · fiscal management · recipient eligibility · award calculation and disbursement · reporting and reconciliation - The Direct Loan MA Worksheet is available in paper form and on diskette. - The completed MA Worksheet is not required to be submitted to the Department. - Schools may use an expanded version of the MA Worksheet to perform full-scale self-assessments of the Title IV programs. - Schools may use the Management Action Plan Worksheet to address the areas needing improvement. Schools will identify · actions to be taken · resources and personnel needed · time frame to implement changes - The Management Action Plan Worksheet is also available in paper form and on diskette. - This completed Worksheet is not required to be submitted to the Department. PROGRESS REPORT. Schools must report to the Department about their progress in developing a Direct Loan QA System. - A brief status report, called the Quality Assurance Mid-Year Progress Report, must be completed and submitted by January 15, 1996 to the Regional Account Management Staff in the region that services your school. - The Quality Assurance Certification confirms to the Department that the school has completed its management assessment and is putting appropriate procedures in place. It must be completed and submitted by July 15, 1996 to the Regional Account Management Staff in the region that services your school. IMPLENTATION ISSUES AND MANAGEMENT TIPS TIP - Schools dont have to address all administrative areas included in the MA Worksheet; they can focus on the area that is most problematic. TIP - You are not required to use the Management Action PlanWorksheet; you may develop your own tools to take action on problem areas. Consider discussing your approach with other Direct Loan schools or with IQAP schools to obtain additional perspectives on how to proceed. |