Standard_9

T   In the previous sections, the College examined its work at an operational level. Standard Nine requires that we take a broader look at the institution. //Previous introduction deleted. More to be written in this section. //    The College strives to maintain high ethical standards. Since the 2000 accreditation report was written, there has been an increase in the amount of communication between senior leaders and employees of the College. As discussed in Standard Six: Governance, an increasing number of constituents are being involved in discussions of critical College issues and decision-making at the college has become more transparent. A result of these efforts may be seen in the April 2009 all-campus survey. Three of the questions posed in the April survey were taken from an April 2008 Baldridge survey. Those questions show a positive improvement in constituent’s beliefs about standards and values. The fourth question is specific to the Institutional Integrity Standard and it, too, shows that there is strong belief in the Institution’s ethical standards. The scale used was 1 – 5 (Highest).     In theory, “Policy” is set only by the governing board of the institution. As such, departments should not have “policies,” they should document processes or best practices. However, the two words are used interchangeably which has led to confusion.  The college has five main policy documents: The College Handbook, The Board of Trustees Handbook, the Faculty and Classified Staff union contracts, and the Student Code of Rights and Responsibilities. The College Handbook is the only document that is updated annually.  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> || __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Review cycle __ || __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">"Processor" __ || __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Last update __ || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">College handbook || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Annual || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">President's office || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">2008 || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Code of student rights and responsibilities || //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Is there one? // || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">VP Student Services || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">2000 || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Faculty contract || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Per agreement || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">HR/Union || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">2008 || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Staff contract || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Per agreement || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">State negotiation || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">2007 || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Board of Trustees Policy Manual || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Board of Trustees || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">In revision: 2008 - 2009 || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The College Handbook contains six sections: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The chapter titles clearly demonstrate one of the weaknesses of this document: it contains a mix of laws, policies, procedures and programs. Although the intent was to create a single policy document, the Handbook is both too comprehensive and not specific enough. Policy should be set at the highest level of the organization, reviewed periodically, and changed only when circumstances dictate. Procedures, processes and best practices are, by their nature, more fluid and should be separated from the overarching policy statements. A set of best practices manuals, accessed through the campus website, would provide more support and clarity to staff members. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities is less available to students than to staff members. The document can be found on the College intranet under the Student Services heading. Although the Student Handbook is linked to the College’s internet page, the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities is not listed under the Student Services links or on the site map. A title specific search would locate the document through the Student Senate’s webpage, on whose server it has been placed. Interestingly, instructors quote the Code in their syllabi which are posted to the Library’s webpage; however, the Code itself also does not appear on that site. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The faculty and classified union contracts are updated upon completion of negotiations and are posted to the College’s intranet page. A survey conducted by the College’s Office of Institutional research indicated that a significant number of covered employees knew what was in their contract and how to access it. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Scale is 1 – 5 (5 is highest) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">As the highest level policy statement, The Board of Trustees Policy Manual should set forth the College’s principles in order to guide the development of specific College practices. During the 2008 – 2009 academic year, subcommittees of the Board have been reviewing the Handbook and making changes. The intent is to assure that the Policy Manual remains at the highest decision-making level rather than slipping into procedural areas. //Note: we were supposed to have a Board member as part of our group. I would think that this task should be analyzed at the beginning of 2009 – 2010 so that we can report if appropriate progress is being made.// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">There is not always a clear path between Board Policy Manual, College Handbook, and actionable steps. For example, the Board Manual states (page 3-18): <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> VII. Shared Leave The college recognizes that state employees historically have joined together to help fellow employees who suffer from, or have relatives or household members suffering from an extraordinary or severe illness, injury, impairment or physical or mental condition which prevents the employee from working and causes great economic and emotional distress to his/her family and that these circumstances may be exacerbated because the affected employees use all accrued sick leave and annual leave and are forced to take leave without pay or terminate employment. Therefore, the Board of Trustees has authorized the college to participate in the Washington State leave-sharing program and directed the president to establish procedures in accordance with Chapter 41.04 RCW to implement such a program. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The same issue is addressed on page 31 of the College Handbook: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> 
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt;">Institutional Integrity **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Introduction **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">9.A Institutional Integrity **
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Analysis and Appraisal __**
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">9.A.1: Subscribes to high ethical standards __**
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">9.A.2: Review of Policies __**
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">The Official "Policy" documents __** ||
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">The Official "Policy" documents __** ||
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">History, Mission, and Organization;
 * 2) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Human Resources Policies and Procedures;
 * 3) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Administrative Services Policies and Procedures;
 * 4) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Instructional Organization and Procedures;
 * 5) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Student Information and Classroom Procedures for Faculty;
 * 6) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Safety-Accident Prevention Program

The college participates in the Washington State Shared Leave Program. Under certain conditions, this program allows employees, including full time faculty, to receive donated leave hours from another college employee. The employee must be suffering from, or have a relative or household member suffering from, an extraordinary or severe illness, injury, impairment or physical or mental condition, or has been called to service in the uniformed services which must have caused or is likely to cause the employee to take leave without pay or terminate his/her employment. Key elements of the program, procedures describing eligibility for donating or receiving shared leave can be obtained from the human resources office. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The Board’s policy statement is clear, the College Handbook describes the existence of the program but does not refer to the specific method for requesting leave nor does it specify the limits of how much can be donated. However, when a request is made to the college community, there is a specific format: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Eras Medium ITC','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Eras Medium ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">XXXX is need of some leave to cover him/her now and in the future. S/he is requesting shared leave to get him/her through this period until s/he can return to work at his/her full capacity. <span style="font-family: 'Eras Medium ITC','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Eras Medium ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> <span style="font-family: 'Eras Medium ITC','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Eras Medium ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Administrators, exempt and classified employees can transfer annual leave, sick leave and/or personal holiday leave. Classified employees may donate their personal holiday either partially or in full. This group may transfer a specified amount of sick leave to an employee only when the donating employee retains a minimum of 176 hours (22 days) of sick leave after the transfer. Annual leave may be donated if the donation does not cause his/her annual leave to fall below 80 hours. Administrators, exempt and classified employees must donate a minimum of 8 hours. <span style="font-family: 'Eras Medium ITC','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Eras Medium ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> <span style="font-family: 'Eras Medium ITC','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Eras Medium ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Faculty may donate sick leave at a minimum of 7 hours and must retain a balance of 154 hours (22 days). <span style="font-family: 'Eras Medium ITC','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Eras Medium ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> <span style="font-family: 'Eras Medium ITC','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Eras Medium ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Staff whose salaries are paid from external funds (contracted dollars, purchased services) are excluded from participating in shared leave. Administrators, exempt and classified staff cannot donate excess annual leave hours that otherwise would have been lost due to an approaching anniversary date. <span style="font-family: 'Eras Medium ITC','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Eras Medium ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> <span style="font-family: 'Eras Medium ITC','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Eras Medium ITC'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">If you would like to assist XXX, please stop by the Human Resources Office to complete a donation slip or you can find the form on the intranet, under Forms/HR. The amount of leave you have available will be on your most recent pay stub or on the Web Earnings Screens. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at xxxx. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The preceding example demonstrates that, while there are specific practices complete with rules (such as how many hours can be donated), often it is not until the process is invoked that it becomes transparent. This gap exists throughout the organization, not just in the Human Resources area. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Note: The committee has identified a significant number of policies that are misplaced, seem to be missing entirely, are inconsistent with other documents, or simply out of date. How many examples do we need to provide? // <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">At the operational level, members of the College community are actively trying to solve recurring problems by creating policies or processes. A recent study asked whether stakeholders believe that they have input on the formulation of policies that they then follow. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The rating scale used the following language: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 8pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Model of Excellence. We have an effective system and consistent success || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">5 || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 8pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Solid Success. We perform well in some areas, but not consistently overall; efforts may not be integrated. || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">4  || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 8pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Good Progress. We have some success, but lack systems to ensure success across the board. || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">3  || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 8pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Beginning. This is an area where we have considerable room for improvement. || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">2  || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 8pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">No Progress. We have not begun focusing on this area. || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">1  || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The data indicate that work needs to continue in this area. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Some recent improvements have been made. As a result of concerns about the hiring process, a task force was convened in //xxxx//. Membership was comprised of //fill in the blank. //In //xxxx//, the task force presented their recommendations to the President. All but one of the recommendations was accepted and the revised Hiring Process is posted on the President’s intranet page. //Note: why isn’t it on the HR page, too? // <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">(//Note: This is another example of a document that has no date or provenance attached to it on the intranet. Historically, there would be no way to trace the evolution of the changes. In addition, there is no historical record that I can find that attaches the name/title of the committee members to the recommendation sheet. This would be good information to keep when/if we needed to review the process in the future. It would provide a sense of the constituents who were involved which makes the process more transparent. I know there were many groups represented on the task force but that’s because I have a memory of it. Do we write this level of detail here or only in the recommendations?// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">In September 2008, a task force issued a report that examined the existing work flow within the purchasing department and made recommendations for improvement. As a result, the Purchasing Manager is updating and rewriting the Purchasing Manual. The draft will be reviewed and evaluated by members of the campus community before it is finalized. This is an example of positive changes within the organization. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Box goes here to discuss DSS policies and lack of consistency. This has some particular legal implications which is why I think it might need to be called out separately. Another option would be to put it in the section with ethics as a form of fair treatment. //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Both internal and external audiences rely on an organization’s webpage to obtain timely, accurate and complete information. The College currently has five web-based information sites, each administered by a separate group. As a result, information is often inconsistent and contradictory. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> || __<span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> [|www.spscc.ctc.edu] __ || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">College Relations || __<span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> [|http://inside.spscc.ctc.edu] __ || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">IT Services || __<span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> [|www.hawksprairie.org] __ || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Hawks Prairie || __<span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> [|www.library.spscc.ctc.edu] __ || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Library staff || __<span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> [|http://saw.spscc.ctc.edu] __ || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Student Life || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The College’s Intranet page is administered by IT Services. The intranet is not accessible from off campus nor is it completely accessible to College employees who work at sites other than Hawks Prairie or the Mottman campus. Within the structure of the intranet, there are department pages for each major work unit: the President’s Office, Human Resources, Student Services, Administrative Services, Instruction, College Foundation, and College Relations. In addition to these department pages, documents can be found on the links page of the intranet. The Links page includes a mixture of reports, forms, handbooks, and lists. This is also the home for minutes of Faculty Senate meetings. Material gets posted to the intranet with the permission of IT services. Each department or organization can name a designated person to post documents for each section of the site. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Because there is no central repository for College documents, it is possible to find multiple versions of a policy in separate places on the Intranet. In fact, there are two copies of the College’s Nondiscrimination Policy: one is found on the Human Resource Intranet page; one is on the College Relations page. Interestingly, the two documents differ. The HR document indicates that it was revised 10/2008. The College Relations document appears to be an earlier version although it is not dated. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">This illustrates a consistent weakness of the organization: There is no standard template for creating or revising documents. There is no central style sheet or convention that dictates how original and revised policies should be designated. Not only does the College have multiple copies of the same document, it is not clear which electronic version is current. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The same inconsistency occurs in instructional documents. During the 2008 – 2009 academic year, the Instructional Office and Instructional Council have begun to compare the language found in program planning guides and the College catalog. In many cases, there are differences between the two. During Spring 2009, a new template was developed to serve as a single source document for each instructional program at the College. Data is being collected from the multiple sources now in existence in order to insure that the College is consistent in communicating the requirements for its various academic programs. Although the task is not complete, good effort has gone into this task. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Once the revisions are complete, they will have to be posted to the College’s internet. At the present time, that process is cumbersome. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The main college webpage is administered by College Relations and contains basic information about the College, designed for the outside user. It would be appropriate for all of the main College information to be funneled through the main college website. However, the existence of the separate webpages points to a serious communication problem within the College. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Administrators of the Student Life, Library, and Hawks Prairie pages have specifically chosen to purchase their own servers and create their own content, circumventing the Office of College Relations. In the case of Hawks Prairie, where contract training dominates the offerings, CCL had received a large training grant and needed to speak to an audience with a different focus than the traditional student. In order to meet the “just-in-time” nature of their operations, CCL chose to use grant funding to set up an independent website. Although the initial need has passed, the unit continues to maintain a separate presence, albeit with a link to the main page. The issues that need to be reconciled before the two web pages are combined include: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The library established its own webpage approximately 1999 and has a separate server. Content on the page is controlled by library staff. The appearance of the page was updated in Spring 2009 to better reflect the look of the main College webpage. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The web address for the Student Programs page was set by the College’s IT department. However, the Dean of Student Life is the designated Administrator for the site. A student coordinator creates content which the Dean approves and uploads. Athletic updates are the responsibility of the College’s Athletic Director. The content and management of the page are entirely separate from College Relations. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The existence of multiple external pages, managed by multiple work units, and not coordinated by a central source points up several underlying issues: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">In November 2007, the Dean of Information Technology provided a synopsis of the work of the IT Strategic Planning Committee: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> 1.  Renovation of the college website; 2.  Improvement of desktop support; 3.  Implementation of better or more tools for student-teacher communication; and 4.  Expansion of wireless internet access on campus. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Source: [] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">To date, the main college website has not been renovated although a separate Web Stakeholders Group was formed and continues to meets regularly. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">There is increasing frustration on the part of faculty members who would like to create individual faculty web pages and are prohibited by the control exercised by College Relations. However, a bottom-up solution has been created. IT Services will create a link for faculty members who request a course-specific Angel page. Because it is not a “faculty webpage”, the course content page does not fall under the jurisdiction of College Relations. An Associate Faculty member has created a “course page” that more closely resembles a “faculty webpage.” In style, the page was designed to mimic the main campus webpage, complete with a stock photograph of the campus. The Associate Faculty member has offered use of the template to any faculty member who wishes to use it. If one were to request space for a course page, one could use the template to create a quasi-faculty page. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Source: [] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The College has lost control of the consistency of its communication process. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Note: I //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">cannot find a specific “conflict of interest” statement in the Board of Trustees Handbook. //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The College Handbook contains a Conflict of Interest statement. In addition to the formal policies, the College’s Values, posted on the Internet page, state the College’s commitment to responsibility and wise stewardship of its resources. <span style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: windowtext 1pt solid; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"> //<span style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: windowtext 1pt solid; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;">Note: This section needs more work and I suspect we need more clarity as an institution. //<span style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: windowtext 1pt solid; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">In a survey conducted in April 2009, campus constituents were asked about academic freedom and the free pursuit of knowledge. The survey was constructed with the exact language found in Standard Nine. The survey had a total response rate of 182. //Note: Jesse Abbott would like to know if we can determine how many surveys were sent out and include that in this statement?// Between 141 and 143 of the respondents answered the questions about academic freedom. The results, based on a five point scale are reproduced below: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Based on the results of the survey data, College constituents seem comfortable that the College protects the free pursuit of learning and teaching. It is not the purview of this Standard to assess student engagement but it is interesting to note that the lowest score on the survey, while still high, is the campus employees’ perception of the students’ willingness to fulfill their obligations. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Darby: I wonder if we should get a separate aggregate of the faculty ratings. That would give enable us to state that “faculty feel comfortable.” This data might hide that everyone but faculty think things are great. I wouldn’t expect the data to be significantly different but a purer sample would be more defensible. // <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">There is a problem solving mentality at the College. We see a situation and pitch in to fix it. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">There is a growing awareness of the problem with incomplete, inconsistent policies. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Instruction has begun the process of correcting differences between program planning guides, the catalog content and material that is posted to the web. A new PPG template has been created that will serve as the single document from which state board information, student information handouts, and marketing materials can be accessed. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">9.A.3: Consistent Representation __**
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Site __** ||
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Administrator __** ||
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Administrator __** ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Language to match a different audience;
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Flexibility in updating dynamic content;
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Access to technical support; and
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Controlling the image of the business unit.
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">There is a perceived lack of responsiveness on the part of the official College web administrator.
 * 2) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">With sufficient funding, departmental units can circumvent the central information distribution system.
 * 3) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Because the College is simultaneously publishing information that originates from several sources, there is a serious risk to data integrity. The College could be held liable for information on its sites that is contradictory.
 * The committee’s recommendations for addressing the critical information technology needs of the college are as follows:
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Conflict of interest __**
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Free pursuit of knowledge __**
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Strengths __**
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Challenges __**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Confusion between Policy, “policies”, procedures, and best practices.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Data integrity is compromised by the number of conflicting documents that exist and are made public.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The lack of currency of information, both internal and external
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Unclear origin and history of official documents
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Lack of time to keep materials up-to-date
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Future Direction/Recommendations __**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Single source document depository for all policies, procedures, published material.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Date range, revision number included on all source documents (created, reviewed, revised)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Create a //(or follow the existing)// review/revision timeline for every Policy, procedure, process, etc. Each department/division would create an appropriate timeline but no less than one review/5 years. Review does not mean revise. Revise as necessary.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Establish a method for assuring that Web content is accurate and timely.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Create a searchable intranet that is user-friendly – not everything has to be posted from here but we should include links to the main campus web pages as well as off-site sources such as the state ethics code(s) and other documents that might protect as well as inform us. We sort of have this but it is creaky. For example, the search conflict of interest showed up in minutes from a Faculty Senate meeting (which is fine but not a link to policy). The quality of the searchable intranet is only as good as the currency of the documents that are posted to it.