TSU’s Student Affairs Division Receives Performance Award for Excellence

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Tennessee State University, Division of Student Affairs has earned the Commitment Award in the annual Excellence in Tennessee recognition program administered by the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence (TNCPE). TNCPE is the only statewide quality program and is patterned on the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program, the national standard for recognizing organizational excellence.

“A concerted effort has been undertaken over the last two years to streamline our processes and improve customer service,” said Dr. A. Dexter Samuels, associate vice president of Student Affairs. “This award affirms what I already know that the staff in the division of student affairs is committed to excellence and to making a positive difference in the lives of our students.”

Dr. A. Dexter Samuels

The Tennessee State University Division of Student Affairs exists to serve the co-curricular needs and facilitate the total development of students.

Through an annual evaluation and assessment process, TNCPE recognizes high-performance organizations that exhibit continuous improvement and best practice processes. This year, TNCPE has named 26 organizations as 2013 Award winners. They represent outstanding achievement in health care, manufacturing, service, education, government and nonprofit.

“Groups trying to improve understand that being successful takes effort from each employee, and a shared commitment to quality and achievement,” said Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam. “Organizations like the Division of Student Affairs at Tennessee State University, play a critical role in making Tennessee a better place to live, work and raise a family.”

Organizations such as Tennessee State University apply to the TNCPE program at one of four levels. As the levels increase, so does the depth and complexity of the application, which is based on the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence. Since the program was founded in 1993, only 22 organizations have attained the Excellence designation. Mountain States Health Alliance will receive the Excellence Award this year, while six organizations will be honored with the Achievement Award. Eighteen organizations, including Tennessee State University, will receive a Commitment Award; and one will receive the Interest Recognition.

Commitment Awards are presented to organizations that are beginning to demonstrate commitment to, and implementation of, performance improvement principles. They have demonstrated progress by identifying and putting in place a measurement system to capture data and analyze results, and some key process improvements, which are directly attributable to a fact-based improvement process.

“This program helps organizations look at the big picture. But it’s not easy–if it were, every organization in the state would be participating,” said TNCPE President Katie Rawls. “Organizations like Tennessee State University are truly passionate about performance excellence and have chosen TNCPE and the Baldrige framework to help them become the best-run organization they can be.”

Tennessee State University, Division of Student Affairs will accept the award at the 21st annual Excellence in Tennessee Awards Banquet on Feb. 19, 2014.

A full list of winners can be found on the TNCPE website www.tncpe.org

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