Preparing for a Unit/Program Review in Finance and Operations
Document Location and Background
The purpose of a non academic unit or program review is to allow the University community to examine operations and programs and evaluate how well they function in relation to the University’s mission as well as University guidelines, policies and procedures.
A pdf file of the model below is available at: unit_review_diamond
Finance and Operations Unit Review Model
There are two options for completing a Unit Review.
They are described in detail below. A pdf file of the Unit Review Process document is available at: unit_review_process
A. Completion of a Lean Event.
B. Internal/External Review Process
F & O Unit Review Process - Revised 2008
I. Unit Self Assessment
The unit leader completes a Self Assessment template that is a thorough review of the unit. The assessment would gather comparative data required for all F & O unit reviews. If applicable, collect business specific data for benchmarking with similar units in the CIC and other academic institutions.
Basic information components outlined in the self assessment template would be:
- Organizational Environment
- Organizational Relationships
- Competitive Environment
- Strategic context
- Performance Improvement System
- Specific business operational data, if applicable
The unit leader would be asked to determine a list of the top five issues facing the unit. Word versions of the Self Study documents are located at: unit review self study and the unit review appendix.
II. Considerations to Determine Which Strategy to Employ for Improvement
Based on the information in the self-assessment, the unit leader, in concert with their Director, would then decide what evaluation track to take.
If the self-assessment indicates that a particular process is severely hampering a segment of their operation and needs a deep examination and overhaul, the unit leadership might decide to sponsor a Lean event. If the unit leadership is looking for a new perspective on all aspects of their operation, a more general intern/external review might be more value-added. This decision should take into consideration the cost/benefit of having a broad vs. narrow focus for improvement.
A brief statement will be required to explain the rationale for the decision.
III .A. Lean Event
A Lean event lasting up to 3 days would be organized to review the selected business process. The event would be conducted using the standard Lean methodology. View a pdf file leanevent for details about planning for, running lean events, and action items and follow-up. Additional information can be found at: lean_principles.
III. B. Internal/External Unit Review
This would be a more general review. It could be utilized to meet accreditation, regulatory, or certification requirements. It would be an on-site visit of a committee composed of both on-campus, but external to the unit and external members as applicable. The actual event will be ~ 3 days. The committee would review the self-assessment information and offer an independent assessment. It would then disclose the results in a separate report.
IV. A. Lean Event Report Out, Implementation, and Follow up by Unit Leader
The Lean event report would use the same format as all other Lean event reports.
For specific information about lean event planning, deployment, and reporting see: ------
IV. B. Internal/External Unit Review Report Out, Implementation, and Follow up by Unit Leader
The self-assessment information gathered in the template format will serve as the unit self report.
The independent review committee report should be in a format that includes these major components:
- Identity of the unit
- Strengths/Best Practices
- Opportunities for improvement
- Recommendations
- Comments and/or Observations
For specific information about internal/external, deployment, and reporting see: FO Unit review org profile template and Appendix for FO Unit Review Self Study
The review process provides an opportunity to recognize excellence as well as to suggest improvement. For more information on the Unit Review Process, view the document at http://www.uiowa.edu/~cqi/unit.html.
Responsibility and Accountability
The Director/Department Head is ultimately responsible for any programs or units falling under his/her authority. However, the Unit Leader will probably be more involved in the review process. It is important that these two plan together and then communicate throughout the entire process. While the review committee may ask the Unit Leader for information or access to people or documents, the Unit Leader will not automatically be asked to attend every meeting – nor will they actually serve on the committee. The Unit Leader‘s job is to serve as a resource for the committee.
Planning
The Department Head/Director and Unit Leader meet together to plan for a unit or program review. The first step for the unit being reviewed is to complete a self-study. Information about the elements of the self-study is located in the “Unit Review Process” document available at http://www.uiowa.edu/~cqi/unit.html
The purpose of the self-study is to provide information to the review committee about the unit and programs, its overall relationship to the University, and its role in relation to University goals and aspirations.For non-academic units, processes may be one way to review and measure a unit’s success. Directors and Unit Leaders need to be sure that their self-study provides the reviewers with information about how processes have been reviewed and improved over time. Information about successes should also be included.
The Department Head/Director and Unit leader also need to select a review committee that will reflect both their stakeholders and their customers. In most instances, these stakeholders and customers will be part of the University community. In those cases where these stakeholders or customers are not members of the University community, Unit Leaders and Department Heads or Directors should make arrangements to provide for their input into the process, perhaps via survey or other communication mechanism.
The Department Head/Director and the Unit Leader should both be familiar with the Self-Study before it is shared with the Review Committee.
Access to Information
The Unit Leader and Department Head/Director should consider in advance what documents might provide insight into the workings of the unit. Inclusion of this material in the self-study will assist the committee in doing its work.
Best Practices For Sharing Data Collected During An FO Unit Review
A program review committee may choose to assess the satisfaction of external or internal customers (or both) of the unit being reviewed. To accomplish these objectives, the committee may elect to collect relevant information via survey, interview, and/or focus group. If it is the intention of the review committee to reproduce the collected raw data in any way, it is critical that respondents are made aware of this in advance of their responding. In most cases “raw data” refers to any specific comments or numerical responses of small sample cells. The following guidelines should be followed in order to assure that appropriate confidentiality is maintained throughout the review process.
Data Distribution
Raw data from campus surveys, interviews, or focus groups
Raw data from unit employees, surveys, focus groups or interviews
Committee Chair
Yes
Yes
Committee Members
Yes
Maybe, dependent upon chair judgment
Unit Leader
Yes
No
Supervisor of Unit Leader
Yes
No
Written Report
No
No
For the written report:
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Group "like" comments into positive or negative themes.
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Determine the relevance and/or importance of comments received based on the number of people surveyed and the size of the population surveyed.
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Remember that comments of a personal nature from employees received via confidential survey, interview, or focus group only provide you with one side of the story. Consider how to include these thematic concerns in your report in a way in which the unit leadership can address them.
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Avoid creating a situation where retaliation or the fear of retaliation might become an issue. Weave what you hear into your narrative or recommendations rather than quote the comments directly. If you notice a pattern of behavior that needs to be addressed, please do so, but present your concern in such a way that the unit leadership can investigate using standard university policies and procedures.
The Final Committee Report
The Final Report is issued by the Committee. As a courtesy, the Unit Leader will be given the opportunity to review the report to correct factual errors. The Unit leader and the Department Head/Director will have an opportunity to accept or refute the report; they do not have the authority to change it.Once accepted, the Committee’s report then is presented to the Finance and Operations Leadership Group by the Department Head/Director and/or Unit Leader.