APSU receives Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence award for best practice processes

Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University recently earned Level 1 honors in the annual Excellence in Tennessee recognition program administered by the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence (TNCPE).

TNCPE is the only statewide quality program and is patterned on the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program, the national standard for recognizing organizational excellence.

APSU’s Office of Finance and Administration accepted the award at the 20th Anniversary Excellence in Tennessee Awards Banquet held February 20th in Nashville, TN.

Through an annual evaluation and assessment process, TNCPE recognizes high-performance organizations that exhibit continuous improvement and best practice processes. This year, TNCPE named 44 organizations as 2012 award winners. They represent outstanding achievement in the following industry sectors: health care, manufacturing, service, education, government and nonprofit.

Organizations apply to the TNCPE program at one of four levels. As the levels increase, so does the depth and complexity of the application, which is based on the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence. Since the program was founded in 1993, only 22 organizations have attained the excellence designation.

APSU was among 11 organizations to receive Level 1 recognition.

“This program helps organizations look at the big picture. But it’s not easy. If it were, every organization in the state would be participating,” TNCPE President Katie Rawls said.

“Organizations like Austin Peay’s Office of Finance and Administration are truly passionate about performance excellence and have chosen TNCPE and the Baldrige framework to help them become the best-run organization they can be.”

A full list of winners can be found on the TNCPE website http://www.tncpe.org.