Paula Gill, Director of Student Financial Services at Belmont University, has been elected Chair of the Executive Council of the National Consortium for Continuous Improvement in Higher Education. NCCI’s mission is to advance academic and administrative excellence in higher education by identifying, promoting, supporting, and sharing effective organizational practices among member institutions. NCCI’s focus is on helping colleges and universities apply continuous-improvement principals to both the administrative and the academic side of higher education.

“Business has been using continuous-improvement principals for years,” says Gill, who was elected Chair at a meeting of NCCI’s Executive Council this week in Milwaukee. NCCI’s fifth annual national conference this week focused on “Improving Institutional Effectiveness During Times of Change.” Additional NCCI Executive Council officers include officials from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Baylor University, and the University of California-Berkeley. NCCI was founded in 1999 by leaders in universities and colleges whose work involves continuous improvement, organizational development, planning, quality, institutional effectiveness, and related areas. “I am honored by and excited about this opportunity to serve NCCI and its mission in this way,” she said. “NCCI is at an important point in its growth and the challenge of the year ahead is to accelerate our momentum in reaching the organization’s goals.” NCCI, originally a part of the National Association of College and University Business Officers, became an independent non-profit organization in June of this year. It counts more than five dozen member institutions, both public and private universities, including Arizona State University, Baylor University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Pepperdine University, Purdue University, Seton Hall University, Stanford University, the University of Alabama, the University of California System, the University of Miami, and Yale University. NCCI has established goals for membership growth, expanded programs, and extended outreach. Many of its programs involve interaction with other higher education associations.

“Collaboration through NCCI enables each of us to advance the effectiveness of our institutions,” Gill said. “collectively we have the capacity and desire to advance critical issues at a broader, national level through our specialized skills and experience.” Gill has worked at Belmont University since 1994 in development, financial aid and student financial services. She serves on the leadership team for enrollment management and oversees all cash management for student-generated revenue, receivables, and aid. One of the early adopters of continuous quality improvement at Belmont, Gill has championed quality teams, improvements initiatives, and student-focused alignment projects. For more information on NCCI, see its website at www.ncci-cu.org.