State Efficiencies: Busting the Licensure Backlog & Program Approval NASDTEC Annual Conference June 9, 2015 Brian Devine

State Efficiencies: Busting the Licensure Backlog & Program Approval

NASDTEC Annual ConferenceJune 9, 2015Brian Devine

Spring 2013: Our challenge 9,500 individuals waiting to hear from ESE & 10,000+ applications awaiting review.

We responded: We dug in

1. Convened an “backlog busting” internal working group

2. Analyzed data3. Proposed solutions4. Brought in INSPIRE, an external

consulting group ($200/month for 4 months)

5. Reviewed INSPIRE’s ideas (they confirmed our recommendations)

6. Implemented ideasMassachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

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Formula for improvement

1. Increase number of applications we evaluate per month.

2. Decrease number of applications. 3. Increase the rate that an

application is licensed upon review.

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

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Increase number of applications we evaluate Solutions: Redeploy staff

Solution: Work toward clear targets (what would it take to bust the backlog by a certain date?)

Solution: Very limited overtime


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Monthly targets: 6,384 evals


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Monthly targets since busting the backlog

November December January February March April May0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000

Evaluations

Evaluations

Decrease applications & Increase Licensure rate Increase the percentage of licenses

issued (right now, average is less than 30%, so about 70% of applications reviewed do not get licensed).

Solutions: Alter the way some of the applications are

triggered for a review Adjust some policies and procedures


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Time Taken to Issue Licenses


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Other Licensure work in 2014 Renewed over 52,000 licenses for over

34,000 educators. Issued over 13,000 SEI Endorsements Answered over 29,000 calls to the

Licensure Call Center (received over 38,000)

Entered over 74,000 documents into ELAR: 8,262 were uploaded.


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Data as of May, 2015 Backlog: What backlog! Application

turnaround had generally been less than two weeks since 10/31/14;

199,225 applications reviewed in Since 6/1/13 & a new record of over 101,000 in 2014.

Issued a record 26,507 in 2014 and over 8,000 thus far in 2015.


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Where did we go from busting the backlog? Maintain a rapid turnaround time - <2

weeks during none peak periods. Expanded Call Center hours Redesigned Website Reformatting documents for consistent

look & feel Redesigning & restructuring evaluation

letters An overall focus on quality & consistency


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Prep Backlog: In April 2013… Accountability & Approval (Reviews):

5 reviews from 2009 and 2011 without finalized reports

Numerous new programs put forth awaiting review

31 Leadership Programs pending approval, set to expire in August – reviews had not begun

Assistances & Support: Technical questions answered infrequently

and inconsistently – sometimes with a turnaround rate of more than a month (or sometimes not at all)

Field has very low/limited confidence in ESE Specialists feeling overburdened, unfocused

and totally reactive “can’t get ahead” issue for long-term retention

Root Cause Analysis: Reviews Identified several aspects of the existing

process that were a drag on time: Finding qualified reviewers on an as needed

basis Providing constructive feedback on various

iterations of submissions Retaining reviewers & training them to

effectively wade through 1000+ page submissions

Editing and revising the quality of written reports – ensuring that they accurately reflect the standards and evidence collected

New reviews could come in at any time – hard to plan for

Root Cause Analysis: Assistance Identified several factors that were

preventing timely, high-quality, consistent support: Regulatory language and guidance not

always easy to interpret Guidance documents were not easily

accessible – in content or format Inquiries come in unexpectedly and are hard

to plan for (some take 5 minutes, some can take 2 hours to resolve) – take other work way off track

Often need manager/director weigh in in order to move forward – created bottleneck, lead to further delays

Actions Taken: Reviews Created a window (Feb 1 – May 31) each year for

new program submissions. Accepting new submissions during a defined period of

time means we can control and anticipate the flow of reviews

Review programs ONLY if need is demonstrated Simple process - Needs Assessment (500 words or less)

Planned cycle of recruitment, selection and training for a cohort of reviewers

Structured, focused submission – specific prompts and word limits

No longer: Provide feedback on quality of submissions prior to review Use syllabi as the crux of the review process

Time consuming, no guarantee/assurance of results

Actions Taken: Assistance All inquiries come through single, central

repository ([email protected]) Weekly technical assistance meetings with the

entire team, including management Creates structure to guarantee responses are

turnaround in a week or less Ensures that responses are consistent and accurate

Created a preparation-specific licensure liaison to help expedite licensure inquiries and ensure consistency across the two departments

Published additional set of one-page/quick reference advisories for commonly asked questions

Conduct annual Field Feedback Survey to assess Ed Prep’s own efficacy

mailto:[email protected]

Results: Review & Assistance On the 2014 Field Feedback Survey:

83% of our field stated that information/answers provided by ESE are always or usually “timely” and “consistent throughout Ed Prep”

100% of review deadlines have been met Backlog of programs awaiting reviews or

reports no longer exists No longer review programs without

demonstrated need. In the 2014-15 cohort of review, 1/3 (n=158)

programs expired (all zero-completer/low-enrollment where need was not demonstrated)

MA Prep Resourceswww.doe.mass.edu/edprep

Needs Assessment Advisory Review Toolkit

Worksheets for structured submission Field Feedback Report & Response

Contact Information: Meagan Comb

[email protected]

Thanks for your time!Questions, Discussion, Conversation

Documents

State Efficiencies: Busting the Licensure Backlog & Program Approval NASDTEC Annual Conference June 9, 2015 Brian Devine