It was a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award first: an institution of higher education receiving the honor. In the third year that institutions in both K-12 and higher ed became eligible to apply for the award, the University of Wisconsin-Stout was named a recipient. And in the five years since, the institution has continued to grow.
UW-Stout is one of 13 universities in the University of Wisconsin System. With 8,000 students and 1,200 faculty and staff members, UW-Stout focuses on providing career-oriented undergraduate and graduate programs in areas such as business, construction, engineering, hotel and restaurant management, art and design, and teacher education.
Goal setting is now based more on comparisons to best academic
institutions rather than just on striving for incremental improvement.
When UW-Stout was recognized for the award, the examiners noted several key strengths or outstanding practices, including:
a focused mission and related educational offerings
an inclusive leadership system
a comprehensive strategic planning process
a range of listening methods, relationship building processes
efficient resource management
effective information management, technology management
Five years later, many of these strengths are still evident; however, there have been notable changes and challenges in several areas.
An Educational Leader: Then
UW-Stout, founded in 1891, has remained focused on its unique mission within the University of Wisconsin System to provide applied educational offerings leading to careers that address the needs of employers and society. All key processes-including strategic planning, program development, and teaching and learning-continue to be guided by this special mission.
For example, UW-Stout is a leader in applied learning as evidenced by its laboratory-intensive curriculum, digital learning environment, and experiential learning programs. The institution has led its University of Wisconsin peers in lab instruction for juniors and seniors for the past five years and nearly all students graduate with related work experience. Graduate job placement has been above 95 percent for more than a decade and employer satisfaction with graduates is consistently close to 100 percent.
UW-Stout began rebuilding its leadership systems approximately a decade ago in response to a campuswide "no-confidence vote" against the chancellor. Following this crisis, there was a need to significantly change the campus leadership structure to address concerns regarding communication, trust, and decision-making. By 2001, this change was complete and leadership was described as a key strength in the Baldrige feedback report.
Adoption of the Baldrige model does not make a university
impervious to changing environments.
The Chancellor's Advisory Council was established as the primary leadership group for the campus. The council includes senior administrators as well as faculty, staff, and student governance leaders. This group meets biweekly to discuss campus issues and makes recommendations to the chancellor on major decisions and resource allocations.
The council is complemented by an extensive series of senates, committees, taskforces, and other cross-functional teams that promote cooperation and communication at all levels. This approach to leadership has served UW-Stout well, as senior administrators and governance groups work together to guide and govern the campus.
Major changes in the leadership system were accompanied by a complete transformation in the strategic planning system. During the time of the no-confidence vote, planning was done by several unrelated groups on campus. There was little input from internal or external stakeholders, limited communication between groups, and no alignment between the disparate planning activities and the campus budget process.
By 2001, UW-Stout had created a comprehensive, collaborative, and iterative strategic planning process for developing and implementing long-term goals, short-term objectives, and action plans. The process is highly participative and is driven by fact-based information on student and stakeholder requirements. The process is linked to the resource allocation process, ensuring that funding is available to accomplish action plans.
Continuous Progress
Since 2001, UW-Stout has expanded the focus on applied learning through the implementation of a student laptop program, the addition of courses and degree programs in high demand areas (such as special education and nanotechnology), and the expansion of degree-completion programs for working adults.
