SPECIAL TO THE ADVOCATE

Lurleen B. Wallace Community College will be recognized in December as a Level One Alabama Quality Award winner in the education category.

Notification of the award followed application evaluations by members of a trained Board of Examiners and recognizes and honors organizations whose past or recent innovations in areas of production, service or management have resulted in increased productivity and quality.

“This recognition means a lot to LBWCC, as it results from a commitment the College made to pursue the path of Quality,” said LBWCC President Dr. Herb Riedel. “We are constantly looking for ways to implement continual improvement efforts in the classroom, student services, physical plant, and administrative operations.”

Through the Alabama Quality Award (AQA) process, applicants receive a feedback report detailing strengths and opportunities for improvement.

“We will benefit from the feedback report,” said Terry Zhu, LBWCC’s director of institutional research and quality. “It will help us see where we are in the process and steps we can take to improve.”

Level One, “Commitment to Excellence,” is the first of progressive steps toward the Alabama Excellence Award and recognizes LBWCC’s commitment to use and implement performance excellence concepts and principles.

The second level, “Progress Toward Excellence,” recognizes organizations that made progress in building sound and notable systematic processes, improving results in key portions of the organization. Level Three, “Alabama Excellence Award,” is the highest level of recognition and presented to organizations that demonstrate through their practices and achievements sustained performance excellence.

The AQA is modeled after the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and has been administered by the Alabama Productivity Center since 1986. Sectors include manufacturing, service, small business, education, health care and non-profit.

Requirements of the Education Criteria for Performance Excellence are embodied in the seven categories of leadership; strategic planning; customer focus; measurement, analysis, and knowledge management; workforce focus; operations focus and results.

LBWCC and other level award winners will be honored during the 2011 conference and ceremony in Tuscaloosa early next month.