Welcome to Metropolitan State University—“Where life and learning meet.”  The University is in its fourth decade of creating educational opportunity for working adults and other traditionally underserved populations and making a vital contribution to the educational, social, cultural, and economic vitality of the Twin Cities metropolitan region.

This site contains Metropolitan State University's Systems Portfolio. This electronic portfolio is a log of the University’s activities, organized by the nine key processes of the Academic Quality Improvement Program (AQIP) framework, which is an accreditation program of the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. The Systems Portfolio documents the context in which the University implements activities within each of the nine AQIP categories, the processes that the University employs, the results that are achieved by these efforts and the improvements that have been made and plan to make based on these results. Each section of the portfolio responds to the specific questions associated with each of the categories, which are shown in the right hand column of this page.

As you work through the portfolio, you will find many active links (underlined and highlighted in blue).  Clicking on these links will take you to the document cited.  Use the browser's “Back” arrow key to return to your previous page. There is also a reference list of abbreviations that frequently recur in the Portfolio. Visitors are invited to provide comments by clicking on the "Feedback" links.

The data reported in the first iteration of the Metropolitan State University Systems Portfolio reflect the discussions prompted by the influence of continuing change and engagement with the AQIP improvement framework.  The Systems Portfolio documents not only work still to be accomplished but also three years of progress and change that represent a renewed commitment to continuing improvement that is based on a more systematic approach to planning for improvement, data collection and analysis to support decisions.  The Systems Portfolio has also proved to be an effective format in which to demonstrate the University’s academic strengths. The first three years of AQIP participation has truly framed the University’s improvement agenda and, on the original schedule for the first submission of our Systems Portfolio (Spring 2007), there would be more specific progress on which to report. Learning how to operate in the improvement framework, for example, emphasized the need for a more robust and versatile University planning process, to which there is frequent reference in the Systems Portfolio.  The new planning process is being implemented during 2006-2007and the University stakes a great deal on its potential to serve as an integrated focus for mission-based, evidence-driven decisions that place Metropolitan State firmly in the continuing improvement path.

For more information about Metropolitan State University’s Systems Portfolio, please contact Barbara Keinath, Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies by email at barbara.keinath@metrostate.edu.  For more information on the Academic Quality Improvement Program, visit the Higher Learning Commission’s AQIP website.