yes, I agree. Staying on top of all departments each quarter avoids any problems.
Aaron - I know this is a delayed response but, you have a great point and, I am a big believer that those management "self audits" keep employees on track. It's the show concept of employees performing to what managers INspect vs EXpect.
One thing to take into consideration is that there is nothing stopping us from having our managers conduct self audits of their respective departments. As a Campus Director, I do this and then I go back in and conduct a quick audit on each department after they have finished their internals. It takes up a bit of time but you know what is (and isn't) getting done.
Robin - very true...communication is often the key to smooth, compliant processes across the campus/college.
This is a function of management; internal audits, weekly or at least routine, reporting of weekly status to a director. The director must take responsibility to ensure that instructors, deans, and administrative arears a communicating. Communication being the operative word.
Victor - I just replied to another post using your exact words about being in sync...it really makes a difference when all areas are operating in a collaborative manner.
Giovanni - Your words totally align with my thinking! I truly believe that education benefits all parties when it is done "right". A complete review ensures that all departments are operating "in synch" and helps identify the "root cause" of problems. For example, although the finance area is held liable for late refunds, I have often seen that the delay in processing drops may have occurred on the registrar/academic side of the house and that the notification of withdrawal to finance occurred too late to make a timely refund. The review of all departments should help identify the compounding or domino effect of such items.
I believe that it is best to conduct an internal audit of all departments at quarterly intervals to ensure that all are in compliance and to address and rectify any issues in preparation for external audit/visit. It also helps to know that all departments are in sync.
I agree with you Tracy, I also believe that each and all the departments are responsible for the the overall performance and success of the institution and its students. That being the case, auditing all departments would enable to better identify existing or future problems.
I feel it is better to audit all departments at the same time so that all departments are maitaining compliance each and every day. If a certian department knows they may not be audited for a few months, they may not do everything by the book, as they would if they were being audited the following week.
I think regional auditing of each department quarterly allows for a more structured monitoring process but internal departmental audits to assess areas of difficiency should be done monthly.
Great point, Faith! Preparation should include consideration of the type and scope of audit or regulatory visit.
I think it depends on if it is a normal process to audit departments on a rotation or if the institution is preparing for a visit. The preparation needs to be organized and prioritized based on need, prior findings, and areas of concern. I agree with the other person that responded that departments do not operate in isolation so I think in general it is better to perform audits similar to what outside agencies will do when they visit. However, this approach isn't always feasible.
I do random audits based on programmatic or institutional accreditation. For example, I might focus on AAMA for Medical Assisting, then move to Dental, then the State Board of Nursing guidelines based on any issues I have identified or have been reported or visit cycle.
Good question, Carol. As with many items, my initial answer is "it depends" as, this is driven by many factors. Size of the institution and the audit team primarily impact how you handle audit scope and timing. My preference is to look at all departments within a campus rather than one at a time. My reasoning for this is that departments do not operate (or should not operate) as silos. One impacts another, particularly in the area of compliance. A classic example of this is if a school has experienced problems with late refunds for Title IV aid. Sometimes, the "delay" is caused not by financial aid or student accounts but, rather, by the timing of the processing of a withdrawal by the academic department. Looking cross department would bettern enable the campus to find the "root cause" of any findings.
