Of Interest...
APQC Asks for Webcast Participation
The American Productivity and Quality Center (APQC) invites educators and their school districts to an upcoming webcast, “A Continuous Improvement Classroom,” hosted by ASQ and APQC from 1:30–2:30 p.m. (CST) Sept. 8.
Jay Marino, associate superintendent for accountability and organizational effectiveness at the Cedar Rapids Community School District in Iowa, will host an hour-long webcast on how aligning the district’s system supports a continuous improvement classroom. Using professional learning communities, educators can focus on what is important: student learning. Participants will learn how the Cedar Rapids district implements its long-range initiative to engage every student through empowerment, ownership and accountability by creating a student-centered environment. Registration is free and available to the first 250 people who register on APQC’s website.
Additionally, APQC is currently enrolling participants in the upcoming “Evaluating Professional Learning Community” benchmarking project. The project kicks off Sept. 24 and culminates in Houston Feb. 24–25. Participants are encouraged to learn and share their experiences through site visits, webcasts and APQC’s final networking event, the Knowledge Transfer Session. APQC will work with industry leaders, including Richard DuFour and Shirley Hord, to look at the design, implementation and maintenance of successful professional learning communities. For more information, visit AQPC’s website or contact Melanie Pavlik at (713) 685-4647 or mpavlik@apqc.org to guarantee enrollment in the project.
Higher Education and ASQ
ASQ offers numerous resources on higher education issues and topics, including books and training courses.
- The Quality in Higher Education Page gives more information on the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and provides links to additional resources.
- The members-only Higher Education Network offers networking opportunities, a discussion board, articles, case studies and more.
- The Baldrige Self-Assessment for Higher Education course will be held March 4-5 in Milwaukee. Course objectives include identifying the benefits of applying the Baldrige criteria and conducting a Baldrige-based self-assessment.
- ASQ’s book store currently offers two higher education-related books: Excellence in Higher Education Guide and Excellence in Higher Education Workbook.
ASQ Weekly Newsletter to Feature Monthly Contest
ASQ’s member newsletter, which is distributed each Wednesday, will begin featuring a new, monthly contest that will challenge readers on a variety of quality-related topics. Participants will have the opportunity to win one of several prizes, including Quality Press books and a subscription to ASQ’s Quality Management Journal. For more information, watch for each issue of ASQ Weekly or view the press release.
ASQ Unveils Knowledge Center
ASQ now offers an advanced online Knowledge Center to help web users find and access all things quality. The Knowledge Center provides a unique and user-friendly venue where web visitors can learn about quality, explore quality hot topics and easily navigate a vast array of quality tools and resources.
Key features of the Knowledge Center include:
- Knowledge Center Search—A powerful new search tool that allows web users to search ASQ’s archives, which include tens of thousands of journal articles, books, standards and e-learning opportunities. The tool lets users “slice and dice” their results to quickly focus on specific content.
- Standards Central—A web destination for the latest news and how-to information on standards. Standards Central includes content meant for newcomers to the world of standards, including a “Standards 101” section, as well as tools and resources for the most sophisticated users and developers of standards.
- Submissions—A one-stop web page for anyone interested in writing for ASQ. It contains information on everything from submitting short journal and web articles to crafting book proposals and conference presentations.
The Knowledge Center is located at www.asq.org/knowledge-center.
Baldrige Regional Conferences
Two regional conferences on the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award are set for later this year. One is scheduled for Sept. 16 in Denver and the other for Oct. 3 in New Orleans.
The day-long conferences will include informational and networking sessions with the 2007 award recipients: PRO-TEC Coating Co.; Mercy Health System; Sharp HealthCare; City of Coral Springs, FL; and the U.S. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center. Former Baldrige recipients will also present at the conferences. Optional preconference workshops for Baldrige beginners are available the day before each regional conference.
For more information on the Baldrige Award, visit www.baldrige.nist.gov/.
Check out Bringing Business Ethics to Life: Achieving Corporate Social Responsibility at the ASQ Store.
Of Interest
APQC Asks for Webcast Participation
ASQ Weekly Newsletter to Feature Monthly Contest
Events
- National Quality in Education Conference
- November 16–18
- Baldrige Self-Assessment for Higher Education
- March 4–5, 2009
- World Conference on Quality and Improvement
- May 18–20, 2009
