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Eliminating errors: How The Ohio State University is striving for processing perfection with a quality control programme
Journal of Education Advancement & Marketing,
5
(3),
229-242
(2020)
Abstract
Donor and alumni data drives much of the fundraising world. How does a large-scale university nonprofit ensure that the data for alumni, donor and friend records is correct? This paper discusses how, over the course of five years, the department of Advancement Records at The Ohio State University Foundation set out to uncover the best ways to monitor and track this data and provide an accuracy rate (AR) for the information entered into the database. After determining best practices for processing and figuring out how to review gifts for accuracy, the members of the quality control team worked with Tracy Owens, an American Society for Quality (ASQ) Certified Quality Engineer, to implement a new statistically validated method to determine the accuracy of their gift processing. This method, called CASI, significantly reduced the number of gifts reviewed each year while still maintaining the same AR. The quality control team also works to continuously improve this process and prioritise other tasks in the department to review for quality including receipts, student work, biographic update requests and more.
Keywords: quality control; CASI; gift processing; fundraising; data
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
Kristen Regan is a Business Analyst at The Ohio State University Foundation. She received her BA in Psychology and Sociology with a minor in Business from Ohio University in 2012. While in school, she began working as a Student Caller and Hiring Manager for Ohio University, developing a passion for fundraising. Kristen’s previous roles began in 2012, in Advancement Records, including Gift and Biographic Records Processor, Quality Control Processor and Quality Control Supervisor, leading the Quality Control effort for the department. Kristen also received a Certificate in Public and Nonprofit Leadership in 2019.
Tracy Owens is a business transformation leader who has driven his employers and client organisations to achieve near-term objectives and better long-term results through innovation and quality management. As an American Society for Quality (ASQ) Certified Quality Engineer and Certified Manager of Quality, he has strengthened the operational capabilities and process improvement expertise for all the teams he has supported since 1998. His first book, Six Sigma Green Belt, Round 2, was published by Quality Press in 2011 and serves as a guide for successful improvement project execution.
