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Chapter 4 The Connected Organization

Chapter 4 - The Connected Organization

During a summer night, the sounds of the College’s Symphony Band performing by the St. Clair River resonate with visitors and residents. In the fall, students can drive to the College’s downtown Port Huron campus or one of its five satellite centers, or stay home and take an online class, or start school in October with late-start classes. In winter, free “Thursday at Noon” concerts feature talented performers sharing their musical gifts with students, staff and community. In early spring, patrons of the arts hear student writers as well as guest professional authors reading from their work, and they also view student visual arts at the College’s annual reception for Patterns, an arts publication entering its fiftieth year.

Throughout any academic year, St. Clair County Community College stays connected to its diverse constituencies in diverse ways. A patternof service, collaboration, and a commitment to internal and external communication highlights how the College stays connected to the many people who depend on the services it offers.

For the College, being connected means not only having a flow of information, much the same way one envisions the web, but it also means that the information exchanged – between the College and its constituents – changes what people think, what they do, and what they are capable of. To be connected is to participate in communication that results in action and change. This chapter of the self-study focuses on the ways the College is–and sometimes isn’t–responsive to its varied constituents in its service district, to the interests of all employees, and more importantly, to its students.

This chapter, which addresses the theme of The Connected Organization, begins with the way the College serves the common good through a discussion and evaluation of what should be the driving force of being connected: the College’s mission documents. Following this is a description and analysis regarding how the College attempts to serve its constituents by keeping faculty connected to their disciplines and their students, through everything from professional development to grant opportunities. Also in this section, the ways that effective learning environments are created for and communicated to students are evaluated, with a focus on the Student Success and Learning Resources Centers. Next, the ways the College creates a culture of service are examined. Here the focus is on the College’s organizational structures, general education competencies, and the credit and non-credit branches of the College. Additionally, this chapter describes and analyzes the College’s place in the Michigan Community College Virtual Learning Collaborative (MCCVLC), the way the College conducts and uses the Program Review of Occupational Education (PROE) to learn which occupational programs are most desirable in the community, and what changes ought to be made to programs, based on feedback from community advisory committees and students. Surveys are also discussed as one of the methods used in aligning high school and College curricula for student success at the post-secondary level. Finally, the ways the College collaborates and the internal communications of the College are described in terms of organizational structures and the strategic plan. This last portion of the chapter closes by analyzing the ways various groups on campus use communication vehicles.

This chapter provides a mix of both description and evaluation as to how the College is connected: what it does well, what the concerns and challenges are, and how the College might do better in terms of staying connected. The College’s self-study committee on the connected organization organized its task by focusing on the appropriate North Central criteria, used sub-committees to gather the appropriate data, discussed the data both in sub-committees and the committee at large, wrote description and analysis, strove to achieve committee consensus regarding the data and their significance to the College, and lastly, evaluated the College’s performance vis-a-vis the data and offered its conclusion of the College’s current position as a connected organization via a closing rubric.

Regarding communications, ten years ago Dr. Deborah Koeling, Dr. Robert Todd and Dr. John Cordova, the North Central evaluation team, noted that “Internal communications throughout St. Clair County Community College warrant continued attention and improvement. Not all employees, for example, understand the budgetary process.” This report describes the current status of internal communications and evaluates those communications as well.

The Connected Organization Serves the Common Good

The role of the College includes serving the needs of the broader society. As it strives to be a connected organization, the College understands the link that exists between success in this role and that of the greater community. Of particular importance, the College recognizes, values, and honors the diversity of its constituencies as it operates today and as it plans for the future.

Recognizes Diversity (1b)

The College’s mission documents since 1996 have continued to recognize the diversity of the population that relies on it for service. Previous mission statements also spoke to the need to “fulfill the diverse needs of our educational communities,” or to “address the diverse needs of the individuals and communities it serves.” The 2005/2006 Strategic Plan opens with a statement of the College’s mission. The revised mission statement is “It is the mission of St. Clair County Community College to provide quality learning opportunities.” That statement is buttressed by five sub-points indicating how the College plans to accomplish this mission. In addition, a one-sentence vision statement–“It is the vision of St. Clair County Community College to be the preferred choice for post-secondary education”–is included in the mission documents and supported by five sub-points. The new mission documents also include four core values for the College. To demonstrate, for example, that the College recognizes diversity of its learners, the College mission documents say it “believes in a respect for diversity,” and values a “focus…on meeting the needs of students, business, industry, and the community.” A noticeable shift toward diversity is seen in a more global and progressive perspective as evident in language such as “prepares students for the global economy” and “offers a comprehensive, future-focused curriculum.”

Past mission statements and documents dating to 1995 have been succinct, no more than a paragraph, mentioning that the College will provide a “broad range of educational, cultural and social opportunities” within its defined district. In addition, the College would be driven by the “diverse needs of the individuals and communities it serves, striving for excellence and programmatic leadership in career development, personal and professional development, business and industrial training and community enrichment.” Lastly, the College would underscore its commitment “with an unswerving allegiance to creativity, innovation and the highest standards of quality.” With but small changes, this text is the same up to January 2005.

The mission documents are the mission, vision and core values statements. These statements are included in the College’s strategic planning document. The formats of the mission documents and the strategic plan were selected for both an internal and external audience and written with that in mind. In sum, the evolution of the mission statement reflects a growing awareness of diversity, global influences and technologies.

The Connected Organization Serves Its Constituents

A greater understanding of the College’s effectiveness in serving the common good begins with consideration of its constituents. The support of effective teaching and learning environments requires communication that shares information, prompts needed changes, and responds to differences in opinion. Through this communication, the College can respond to the curricular needs of constituents and the greater society. The outcome is a measure of the value placed on the College by all whom it serves.

Effective Teaching is Supported (3b)

One of the ways in which the College demonstrates that it is a connected organization is by communicating how it values and supports effective teaching. Examples of communication include advertisement and assessment of professional development programs offered on campus, notifications of grant monies available for professional development conferences/programs at other venues, voting for and announcement of various faculty awards, and the feedback given as a result of the faculty evaluation process. In addition, alerting faculty and staff to the availability of free classes on the College campus and introducing faculty members to the public in a variety of College publications serve to show how the College communicates the value it places on effective teaching and the support it gives to instructors.

Specifically, until 2006-07, the College advertised its Faculty Professional Development series on campus in the following ways: a brochure created by the Professional Development Committee and distributed to all full-time and adjunct faculty at the beginning of the semester listed the upcoming sessions, dates, and times. As each session approached, an additional pamphlet was mailed with detailed information about the speakers and session topics, as well as the schedule and an RSVP form. The RSVP can be completed by either returning the paper copy, by phone, or by e-mail to the Professional Development Committee Chair. Finally, an email reminder is sent out a few days before the registration deadline. Beginning in 2006-07, all communications have been sent in electronic form. The College continues to improve its professional development offerings by tracking statistics from the series. After the series is complete, a report is compiled, listing how many people attended each workshop and how many attended multiple workshops. This information is shared with members of the Professional Development Committee and is used to determine which sessions went over well and what things should be changed. To illustrate, one year, the whole series was based on the theme of Global Awareness, and by the last two sessions, attendance had dropped; therefore, a decision was made for future events to offer more diverse sessions that did not focus on one particular topic. In addition, as a result of feedback from instructors, a new session was introduced at the in-service in January, 2006, entitled “What’s New in Your Area?” which allowed faculty members to share assignments, testing strategies, research, and new approaches with fellow instructors as well as how well these ideas worked in the classroom.

Another way in which the College seeks to support teaching is by making known to faculty opportunities for grant money available to support effective teaching. For example, the Dean of the Learning Resources Center sends emails to alert faculty and staff to various monies available, such as technology grants and grants for travel money. As a result, many faculty have taken advantage of Funding for Information Technology (FIT) or Technology Enhancement Funds (TEF) grants. For example, chemistry faculty members purchased white board technology and hand-held personal response systems and shared how to use this technology in professional development sessions in January and April 2006. Other faculty have used Perkins Fast Track Grants to attend conferences on subjects ranging from Auto CAD training to Circadian Biology. Twenty-six Perkins Grants were awarded to 13 different individuals between 1996 and 2005. The conferences or courses attended are reported to each department via an individual’s annual report, which is then compiled into a department’s annual report. Occasionally, money is also available for faculty to attend graduate programs at area Colleges or universities. The opportunity to take advantage of such opportunities is communicated via email to all faculty by the Dean of Instruction.

The College also communicates that it values effective teaching through recognition given to outstanding faculty members. Students and staff may nominate full-time and adjunct faculty for the Blessinger Award, which has been awarded yearly since 1990. This endowed award honors faculty for exemplary work with students who might be considered “late bloomers.” Blessinger Award winners are recognized in May at the College’s graduation ceremony. In addition, the Distinguished Faculty Award, honoring a full-time faculty member for outstanding service and teaching, is voted upon by faculty at the end of the winter semester. These distinctive awards are just one way that the College shows it values and emphasizes exemplary teaching as announcements, both internal and external (local paper), inform the community of this emphasis on superior teaching. Another aspect of the College’s efforts to recognize effective teaching began in 2004-2005, when the College once or twice a month used its regular weekly newspaper ad in the Times Herald to highlight a different faculty member. The ads gave a brief personal and professional biography and described some teaching methods employed to introduce faculty to the public and to communicate to the public how valuable the College finds its professors.

In fall 2000, the College began a mentoring program for new faculty members. The program pairs a veteran faculty member with a new hire with the main goals of socialization and professional development. The mentor can help the new faculty member develop or improve his/her professional skills, become assimilated into the teaching and learning culture of the College, and become comfortable here. This is done in a non-threatening environment in which the new instructor can receive constructive feedback on professional performance, establish a dialogue on educational issues, and learn about the College and its students. The pairs meet formally three times a semester, and informally as needed. Feedback from the program has been very positive, with participants agreeing that this was a great idea and a useful program through which they have gained much information about the College and its students, learned teaching tips, and become more connected to the College.

The faculty evaluation process itself is a way by which the College makes known how it values and supports effective teaching. After the class visitation, an evaluated probationary full-time or adjunct faculty member meets with the evaluation team to discuss strengths and weaknesses. Suggestions can be made for improvement, advice can be sought, and strategies can be shared face-to-face. Continuing status full-time faculty members’ performance is regularly evaluated and monitored per the contract by a team consisting of the Dean of Instruction, the Department Chair, and other full-time faculty members with continuing status in the same discipline. Syllabi, assignments, revisions of course materials, student and self perceptions, and professional development activities are all included in the evaluation process. Class visitations are also required of temporary, limited, and probationary faculty.

Adjunct faculty members are evaluated regularly per the contract by the discipline coordinator and/or department chair. These evaluations involve class visitations, review of instructional materials and student and self-perception forms, and are followed up by meetings to discuss performance and future objectives.

One area of concern to both faculty and administrators is the communication about the viability of programs and disciplines and who makes and communicates decisions about what “viable” means. To address this concern, the Instructional Support Committee (ISC) was formed in 2004, with the charge of helping increase enrollment and aid growth in specific programs and disciplines referred to them. The need for assistance is communicated by discipline coordinators and department chairs, and the ISC is to help them find solutions. For example, in 2005/06 the Office Administration program found that it was not meeting state requirements for certification, so the ISC helped devise a plan to realign the curriculum to meet the state guidelines. When programs seek to increase enrollment, the ISC can assist with marketing as well as other strategies that may help.

However, the process of referring disciplines and programs to the ISC is not clear. For example, in December of 2004, per the Faculty Agreement, the ISC convened to provide support for disciplines (and where applicable, programs) that were identified by the Instructional Environment Committee (IEC) as having “persistently low enrollment.” Eight disciplines were identified by the IEC as meeting this criterion. The IEC, a contractual committee consisting of administrators and faculty, used “discipline average percent fill below 70% for six semesters” as its benchmark for referring disciplines to the ISC. In January of 2006, the disciplines of Industrial Automation, Manufacturing, and Art and Communication Design were also brought in as “new referred disciplines” from the IEC, though is it unclear if the same criteria for referral were applied.

The efficacy and role of the ISC is also in question. When eight disciplines were originally identified as needing assistance in December 2004, the ISC broke into subcommittees the following semester to work with discipline coordinators (where applicable) to develop an action plan for each of the identified disciplines. The lack of full-time faculty in some areas presented a challenge for data gathering and analysis, as well as challenges for implementation. In May 2005, action plans were completed and recommended by the ISC for:

• Foreign Languages (Spanish, French, German)
• Architectural Design & Engineering Graphics Technology (Drafting)
• Office Administration
• Physical Education
• Fire Science Technology

Implementation of the plans was to begin in fall 2005. However, in the fall of 2005, the ISC did not meet. No new disciplines had been referred by IEC and disciplines were working on the enrollment action plans. In January 2006, the enrollments were reviewed for identified disciplines and ISC requested a status update from each. Since all of the action plans included marketing and promotion as a strategy to improve enrollment, there was considerable discussion and debate about how to provide marketing resources to these disciplines, which had no control over these resources.

Then, in March 2006, several faculty members received letters informing them of a potential program reduction, suspension, or cancellation. These letters did not originate with the ISC, nor were they even discussed by ISC prior to being sent. As a result, the April 11, 2006, ISC meeting was understandably tense and awkward. The purpose and role of the ISC were called into question by faculty, along with the ISCs ability to provide meaningful support to improve enrollment in the affected disciplines; additionally, it was not clear whether the imprimatur of the ISC was used as a vehicle to begin implementation of program termination. No action was taken at the April meeting, and no further meetings have been scheduled.⁶

As of fall 2006, five College programs are being considered for termination. Official notice was given to affected faculty in June of 2006 that, at the end of 2008, Engineering Graphics (EG), Manufacturing Technology (MFT), Industrial Automation (IA), Office Administration (OA) and Art and Communication Design (ACD) may be reduced, suspended or cancelled. It is not clear to all parties what data were used to make the determination that these programs ought to be put on notice, nor is it clear what role either the IEC or ISC has, if any, in the process. At present, the Provost’s office asserts that “meetings have taken place between the administration, MAHE and appropriate faculty members to begin the data collection process to facilitate the above-mentioned programs.” The letters were challenged by faculty and have since been retracted. The Dean’s office, along with the Executive Director of Institutional Effectiveness, is working with the faculty to continuously improve this process and programs. Continuing communication among all affected parties and contractual interests will help the College in its commitment to creating an effective learning environment.

Effective Learning Environments are Created (3c)

Regarding effective learning environments on campus, three examples of significant positive change are evident in the advertisement of Student Services, the offering of Professional Development sessions targeted to understanding and teaching today’s students, and the initiatives of the Learning Resource Center to keep faculty informed about new technologies and resources available.

The Student Services department is one area on campus that has greatly improved its approach to communication with faculty, students, and the community in the past ten years. By aggressively promoting the services it offers, a better learning environment has been created since students and instructors know where to turn for help. Today, faculty are aware of the free tutoring and other services available through the office and many include information about these services and contact information on course syllabi. Staff in the Academic Achievement Center (AAC) have also sent letters to students who are experiencing difficulty in courses, alerting them to services and resources for which they may qualify. Up until about three years ago, support personnel used to telephone students in academic trouble; but today, email and online advertisements seem to reach students more effectively. Staff in the AAC reach students with office information and description of services through the website, the student guide, and College catalog. Students are reminded about the services frequently in campus publications such as the current College Connection; an issue before midterm is especially important for students as a copy of the tutoring schedule is attached. In fact, the tutoring schedule is widely distributed on campus (copies available in the library, student center, and most buildings), and instructors are provided with copies of the schedule via email which can be distributed in class. The AAC currently gets feedback from users of the services from feedback survey cards at the time of service. This method of communication replaced surveys which were sent to users and returned to the office.

The new methods of email and online technologies seem to reach more people on-site and at the time of service. The office now makes contact with all online students by sending a special letter about tutors and study skills resources including online tutoring; it also reaches out to 11^th graders with fliers about the College and its services. The AAC also communicates with area agencies, by being listed, for example, in the directory of the St. Clair County Special Transition Services Agency. In addition, the office gives presentations to special education high school teachers and students in the county. This department on campus has also improved its visibility and communication with faculty by emailing updates about recent software acquisitions such as PLATO and targeting the subject areas that may find these tools most useful. Over the past ten years, mid-term grades gave students information about progress eight weeks into a semester; while worthwhile, the process relied on faculty posting of grades on paper and students being directed to that posting, which was most times posted outside the appropriate classroom. At present, the College supports an early alert letter that involves faculty submitting, via the WAVE, a six-week progress report with the option of including some boilerplate comments as to how a student is progressing in class. This system takes advantage of student familiarity and ease with computers while also providing more feedback for students in hopes of them taking corrective action to improve or maintain the current level of classroom success.

Finally, face-to-face communication is used. Tutors make presentations to classroom peers describing services available. Various staff recently participated in professional development series such as nursing orientations and sessions for adjunct nursing instructors to alert the attendees of available help. In sum, the College’s learning environment is enhanced by the support offered to its students.

The Professional Development series can be an excellent venue for communication geared toward creating a better learning environment on campus. In recent years, the series has worked to educate faculty about new approaches to teaching, especially in using technology and reaching today’s Gen-Next students. Guest speaker Mark Taylor gave a presentation in spring 2005 about the traits of new students and how to best reach them. Responding to faculty calls for specific examples of things that have worked in the classroom, some College instructors demonstrated in an April 2006 Professional Development session the kinds of things that have worked well. An English professor used a multimedia approach, allowing students to discover for themselves the differences between the Medieval and Renaissance periods through exploring the art, music, and literature of the two eras. Chemistry professors demonstrated how using new technology such as the white board has increased student comprehension of difficult concepts, and the Personal Response System has given immediate feedback for instructors and students during the learning process, while proving to be fun for students and teachers alike. Finally, a nursing instructor gave an update about webcasting and podcasting.

The College allows faculty and staff to take courses on campus for no charge to encourage life-long learning. The numbers of faculty taking advantage of this opportunity have ranged from 39 to 86 over the past six years. For example, in the winter 2006 semester an English professor took a German class, and in the fall 2006 semester, a history professor is enrolled in a Spanish class.

One of the greatest assets the College has for helping to create an effective learning environment is the staff of the Learning Resources Center (LRC). Since faculty were interested in the information presented and discussed in the webcasting and podcasting professional development session mentioned earlier, librarians quickly responded by providing a list of webcasts available online in various subject areas via the library newsletter. The LRC Newsletter was created in September, 2003, and is issued on a monthly basis via email to all faculty and staff. Also, an archive of past newsletters is maintained in several locations including links from the homepage and in the LRC’s public folder on the network drive. This newsletter serves as a communication tool about LRC services, internal resources, external resources, and general encouragement to use the LRC and keep it in mind as a resource. Occasionally, the newsletter focuses on a particular topic such as the aforementioned webcasts issue. Another focused issue was in September, 2005, which was devoted to assessment since this was a timely concern for many faculty and administrators. Verbal and written response to the newsletter has been positive. Several staff have commented that they like the newsletter and find it useful. Some faculty and staff have requested books which appear on the new books list. This form of communication is proving to be a valuable resource.

As another valuable resource, the College’s librarians offer orientations at the LRC (primarily as part of the course requirement for English 101 classes) for new students to introduce the concept of Information Literacy Skills. Librarians have also come into the classrooms to demonstrate particular applications. For example, in spring and fall, 2005 at the request of the instructor, LRC staff members gave presentations to History 101 and 102 students to show how to use the LRC resources and demonstrated search terms and strategies to find newspaper articles for a series of short papers that were assigned.

As with any area, the LRC is not without its challenges. From the 1996 Self-Study comes this excerpt: “While the Learning Resource Center’s staffing and collection budget have improved since St. Clair County Community College’s last accreditation visit, space problems remain unaddressed. The College must address the lack of adequate and inviting space for the many departments housed within the Learning Resources Center.” The 2004 Noel-Levitz student satisfaction survey documents students’ past satisfaction with “Library resources and services.”[1] Although this evaluation of some of the College’s constituents appear positive, ongoing efforts to maintain and improve access to and the quality of the LRC has been a major focus of the 2006-2007 Capital Outlay project. This project relocated the LRC and centralized student support services into an open, bright and inviting space. The design and planning of this new facility involved input from representatives of shareholders: students, faculty, staff and board members. Although to be fair, one request for student participation in the planning of the project involved students receiving a postcard-size mailer as invitation to attend a planning session to provide input, but the scheduled date was the Thursday of fall finals week, a time when hardly any students are on campus. Whether or not this resulted in less than optimal student input is unclear; perhaps consideration to student schedules and the planning of such input might bear review. On the whole, updates on design, construction, and budgeting for this project have been broadcast frequently to all involved using print media, local news stories, presentations to community groups, a variety of campus meetings, the website and the monthly Campus Connection e-newsletter.

The LRC’s comparative statistics document the College’s efforts to meet the changing information and instructional needs of students and faculty. Over 100,000 database searches were conducted by the College students in the 2004/2005 academic year and over 65,000 full text documents retrieved. These numbers represent a four-fold increase since the first full year of availability of such services in 2000/2001. The decline in circulation of print and audiovisual materials from a high of over 50,000 items in 1996/1997 to less than 20,000 in 2004/2005 attests to the massive shift in how students access information and the need to adapt the College’s resources and practices. Students are encouraged to provide suggestions and comments on the library’s resources and instruction programs through surveys. In the past three years, the most common suggestion was for “hands on” instruction. To meet students’ demands, the new library has over 30 computers in the bibliographic instruction room. The whole Information Literacy Skills program is being redesigned to include “hands on” training in the new classroom. Across campus, the availability of student workstations has increased from 285 in 1996 to 800 in 2005. In addition, the LRC subscribes to numerous electronic databases that are available from any computer with internet access including those at home, office or classroom.

An upgrade to Horizon bibliographic software in 2004-05 academic year provided expanded access for students and faculty to the electronic catalog and databases from on and off campus. The LRC staff has begun to use the data available from the Horizon system to determine areas in which the collection needs to be developed and titles that can be discarded. The statistics gathered from Horizon along with faculty input guide the selection of print and audiovisual materials for the collection.

Ultimately, the LRC wants to ensure that all its users “recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information,” per guidelines from the American Library Association. Therefore, the College LRC clearly outlines the goals and objectives for Information Literacy Skills following a model established by the American Library Association and American College & Research Libraries Association. The LRC reference staff conducted over 150 library instruction orientations with over 2,500 students attending during the 2004-05 academic year. The majority of library instruction sessions are for students taking English classes. English 101 students complete a library assignment, usually worth the equivalent of one quiz or paper grade that relates to performance indicators for the LRC Information Literacy Skills’ goals and objectives. The library instruction programs are also available for online and off-campus classes in two formats: a compact disk with a two-hour PowerPoint presentation with sound and a class on Educator, the College’s online course management software.

Another aspect involving an effective learning environment is the availability of multimedia classrooms for faculty and student use. The number of such classrooms has greatly increased in the past eight years due in part to LRC staff offering professional development, and in-service presentations, usually on Fridays, that are dedicated to showing staff and faculty how newer technologies can aid teaching. Budget constraints limit the number of facilities available, but what is available is used to benefit the most students by being modified to be more portable and flexible. The increased number of smart boards, multimedia classrooms and technology asked for by faculty attests to the effectiveness of professional development opportunities in these areas and the College’s commitment to help create an effective learning environment.

While most of the faculty and LRC staff were satisfied with the final design of the new Learning Resources Center, the full-time members of the Biology discipline felt disfranchised. Even though they had expressed their point of view regarding the CEM renovations in several meetings with administrators and architects, the Biology faculty feel that their input was not acted upon and was, in effect, ignored. On the other hand, the administration feels that the many planning meetings that included Biology faculty and other interested parties were evidence of “shared governance,” and that the input of the Biology faculty did not require a commensurate output by the administration. This example illustrates what seems to be a concern on campus, and that is what the practice of “shared governance” means among various campus constituencies.

Another concern regarding the current teaching environment lies with the College’s Wismer Communications Center. In 1998, the College received a donation of $250,000 from philanthropist and local businessman John Wismer, whose primary interest was radio, but the donation was split between radio and the College’s TV studios. Two rooms in the Fine Arts Building were remodeled to accommodate the new center. In that same time frame, the College received $25,000 from Citizens First and $25,000 from the College Foundation to upgrade TV equipment. The Community Foundation donated $55,000 to equip the radio station for National Public Radio, a project that is still being discussed.

Enrollment in the Communications Media (CM) discipline has grown from fall 2001 with 91 students enrolled in CM classes to a peak in winter 2005 with 138 students enrolled. Enrollment dropped to 132 students in fall 2005 and 125 in fall 2006. The full-time CM instructor retired at the end of fall 2005. At present, this area of growth and community involvement and commitment is relying on the efforts of one split-discipline full-time member of the faculty and several adjunct faculty to teach and oversee the multiple sections and technologies that are involved in radio and television production. Committee members hope that the March 23, 2006 published comments of the Provost come to fruition, when he told a student reporter: “When Professor Hill retired, we became analytical (of the program)…it gave us an opportunity to reflect on what we want to do about staffing and curriculum…to make it bigger and better.” [2] It is the consensus of the committee that both radio and television could serve the College much more than they currently do.

In summary, as the College strives to keep abreast of new technology, the Student Services Department, the Professional Development series, and the LRC have all evolved to keep constituencies aware of services and improve the use of the technology in order to improve and maintain an effective learning environment. Overall, good support is given to faculty by the LRC, the AAC, and the College scholarships that pay for instructors to attend classes. In addition, useful feedback results from the evaluation process discussed above.     

However, one ongoing concern about creating an effective learning environment is the number of full-time faculty in place at the College. Part of being a connected organization and responsive to students is to act on the realization that students benefit in many ways from the presence of full-time faculty on campus teaching multiple sections as opposed to adjunct faculty. One of those benefits seems to be in greater retention and higher graduation rates for community college students. In an October 16, 2006, article from InsideHigherEd.com, Scott Jaschik writes, “A national analysis of graduation and program completion rates at community colleges has found that institutions with higher percentages of full-time faculty members have higher completion rates.” The study, conducted by Dan Jacoby, the Harry Bridges Professor of Labor Studies at the University of Washington will soon be published in the Journal of Higher Education. Jacoby states later in the same article that many adjuncts do not have an office, are not on campus when not teaching, and lack the consistent involvement in departments that makes them as able as full-time faculty to help students.[3]

According to the state’s Activity Classification Structure (ACS) data provided by the Vice-President of Administrative Services, there were 80/79 full-time continuing-status instructors in fall 1995/winter 1996. In the past ten years, the number of full-time faculty has fluctuated from a low of 71 in fall 2004 to a high of 80 in fall 1995 and winter of 2000. As of fall 2006, there are 71 full-time faculty members. What is of most pressing concern is that faculty numbers have seen an overall 7.6% decrease, while student contact hours have seen an 18.6% increase and student headcount has seen an 18.5% increase. The numbers indicate faculty teaching an increasing number of students with fewer full-time professors. Also, the percentage of full-time faculty between 1999 and 2002 ranged from 35% to 40% of the total faculty over the past ten years. Full-time faculty would like to see both the total numbers of full-time professors and these percentages increase as one measure of how the institution proves it values effective learning.

Another concern is relatively new to the faculty. Since 1996, the College has followed a peer-tutoring model where students who have done well in courses become tutors of those subjects for current students in the subject. The tutoring appointments could be pre-arranged and set if the student was earning a C- or lower. In addition, such appointments could alternately be handled in a drop-in basis for any student regardless of the grade being earned. This system has seemed to work well in the past. For example, a math professor has found that the individual tutoring made a big difference in some of his students’ comprehension of difficult concepts. Starting with fall 2006, there was a model change in tutoring, providing no individual, peer tutoring. This concern is germane here for two reasons: First, there was no communication of the changes in a long-time model of student support. Only after the change was in place were faculty outside the AAC notified. Second, an effective model of tutoring was changed to a model whose efficacy was at least not communicated to faculty. Some faculty members had concerns that the new model offered less student service than the previous model and, therefore, was a decrease in the support of student learning.

The Dean of Learning Resources and Academic Achievement Centers asserts that the AAC continues to provide drop-in, group and professional tutoring. What has been eliminated is the “assigned” tutoring for which staff spent numerous hours scheduling appointments, canceling appointments at the student’s or tutor’s request, and trying to reschedule again. Students are able to meet with a tutor face-to-face during drop-in tutoring times. Fourteen tutors provide services to students in over 100 courses. Two staff members are “lead” tutors and are available all hours the AAC is open. The AAC is in the process of studying how its tutorial services can be improved. Certification of the tutoring program, additional training for tutors, study group formation, and sessions on students with disabilities are some of the items that are being investigated. At present, the impact of this change is unclear.

There seems to have been a breakdown in communicating with faculty about the rationale for and the process of the new tutoring model. For example, a member of the Communications Department was quoted in the Erie Square Gazette on September 20, 2006, as saying, “If it impacts faculty across the board, then why couldn’t we have had some input on potential changes being made?” [4]   It is to be hoped that staying connected as an organization means being connected at every stage of communication: planning, initial contact, implementation and then evaluation, review and, if necessary, revision.

Curricula are Assessed (4c)

In order to serve its constituents, any institution of higher education that believes it is connected to its service area’s needs must know how its curricula work for the betterment of students; however, the College has little data that assesses the usefulness of its curricula to students. The limited assessment available is in the form of graduates self reporting personally perceived growth in global awareness, for example. Within the past two years though, a renewed emphasis on assessment–the collection of data and acting on that data–has taken place; consequently, this has helped some departments and programs change and update the curricula in an effort to meet the needs of students who will enter a global, diverse, and technological society. For example, the Nursing Department has used the results of its assessment plan, which is based upon meeting the College’s general education competencies, to develop a sixteen-hour seminar to assist in the development of critical thinking, to implement a dosage calculation test as a required math competency in each clinical component, and to add a cultural awareness piece to its curriculum. Nonetheless, improvements such as making assessment more a part of the College’s culture perhaps by regularly communicating assessment results to all College personnel will help the College progress in curriculum assessment.

Part of being connected means that the College takes into account its alumni, for they, on many levels, reflect how well the College has met its mission. As mentioned earlier, the 2004 Alumni Survey includes assessment of Alumni’s self perceptions of growth of global awareness. Alumni reported minor or moderate growth in this area. In ongoing efforts to involve more students in global and diversity issues, there has been an increase in activities relating to global awareness and diversity. Examples include 2005, when a sociology professor organized and helped direct the Global Awareness Club, which subsequently organized the 2005 Tsunami Benefit Concert “Rock for a Purpose,” raising $1,868.43 for Tsunami relief. The same professor also organized a successful Culture Fest and student-led conference “All the Children of the World.”

The College planned for the needs of students who will enter a changing technological society by responding to community interest in alternative energy. In 2006, the College began to offer a new certificate in an Alternative Energy Technology program in order to prepare students who wish to develop a working knowledge of alternative energy power generation and delivery systems. This certificate and some of the courses were developed in response to student and community interest in the Alternative Energy Symposium sponsored by the College in spring of 2005. Adding some enrollment figures here would be appropriate, but the committee was told that the current IT provider does not supply enrollment figures. To determine how successful these efforts are, an assessment model should be formalized and administered to keep the College apprised as to how it is staying connected with students in a global society.

The College receives valuable curricula feedback through the annual Program Review of Occupational Education (PROE). A PROE evaluation is conducted on each occupational program on a five-year rotation. The review consists of surveys completed by the Advisory Committee, faculty (both full-time and adjunct), and students with a declared major in the discipline being reviewed. In addition, the evaluation reviews graduation rates, placement and wage data, and statistics reported on Perkins core performance data. The Advisory Committee survey has been a useful tool in evaluating the programs, allowing faculty to compare and upgrade program curricula to industry standards, if need be. Some Advisory Committee members may eventually employ students and graduates, so their involvement in the PROE process serves several roles.

While the PROE evaluation has been in place at the College for over ten years, its purpose and function is still often misunderstood by College faculty. As part of the PROE process, faculty, committee members, and students fill out forms asking for their assessment of all aspects of the program. However, there have been instances where faculty have been asked repeatedly to turn in to the appropriate office the reports of students, faculty, and advisory committee for the completion of the annual review. For many years the data was collected, the report filed with the appropriate state office, and there was little feedback to the contributors. Since 2002, copies of the completed reports have been distributed to the discipline coordinator to be shared with faculty and advisory committees and used as a planning and an evaluation tool. While there are some ways that the process can be improved, PROE is key in helping the College assess the value of its curricula to students.

The goal for many community college students is to transfer to another institution upon completion of coursework here. To understand the transferability of students, a subsequent enrollment request was made to the National Student Clearinghouse in 2006 to determine which institutions students transferred to, if any. A list was assembled of 1,763 students who first enrolled in either the fall or winter semester from 2001 thru 2005 did not return as of winter 2006. Data was available for 302 students. To consider the success of transfer, 98 of those students were accepted at 4-year public institutions.

An improved measurement would be the degree of success that the students achieve once at the transfer institution. While the data is not complete, there are some schools that have reported back to the College. Each institution reports data in different forms, so highlights are listed below:

• Ferris State University (FSU) Transfer Report 2005-06: 18 students transferred and achieved 3.06, compared to all FSU students achieving 3.06

• Western Michigan University (WMU) Transfer Students 2005-06: 28 students transferred and achieved 3.08, compared to native Western achieving 2.87

• Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU) Fall 2004: 37 students transferred and achieved 2.75, compared to equivalent SVSU students achieving 2.52

• Michigan State University (MSU) Composite 2002-2005: 83 students transferred with almost 65% in good standing at MSU

Collecting information regarding the success of the student in job placement after completing coursework at the College has been equally challenging. The survey to alumni which has been mentioned in other areas of the report provides some basis for understanding student achievements. Additionally, a few self-reported success stories can be shared:

• Web development graduate was hired at eprize.com within weeks of graduation

• Nursing graduate begins new career after former employer moved out of state

• New day-care center owner gained computer skills and refreshed her math and English skills in order to open the center after her employer moved to Mexico

• Laid off worker has a job offer once computer training is complete

Data such as this can contribute to positive decision making in regards to student success. However, the data is not consistently received from transfer institutions and alumni. It is difficult to disseminate internally for decision making because of the narrow scope of data. Systematically collection of this data would be a good beginning and the establishment of the Office of Institutional Effectiveness can now assist in moving this effort forward.

Responsive to Constituencies (5c)

The College’s strategic plan, based on its mission, vision, and values, contains six goals. Of those six, Goal II–increasing the quality and accessibility of education–can be measured, in part, by evaluating and communicating the College’s responsiveness to constituencies. The relative freedom that faculty, staff, and administration have to engage and serve the College’s communities is a strength that can be seen in the wide array of opportunities available to a variety of constituents.

For example, there is a strong arts community both within the College and out in the community, thanks to efforts by faculty and staff. Student art and creative writing are featured in Patterns, the College’s arts magazine. A reception is held each April to celebrate the achievements of students. The College advertises the reception widely and opens its doors to students, friends and families. Typically, this event attracts between 100–150 people. Satellite events connected to Patterns, e.g., readings by visiting writers and a workshop for students, are also well-attended, averaging between 45–60 people. The Visual and Performing Arts Department offers a free noon concert series that is popular with students, faculty, staff and the public. Patrons have access to various College brochures, flyers and publications at these concerts. Attendance averages over 100 people, except for the Christmas Concerts, which last year attracted over 550 students and community members. The theater discipline, though staffed solely by adjunct faculty, maintains a vibrant presence on campus, presenting plays and student performances throughout the year. While the freedom to offer these opportunities sparks creativity and results in impressive intellectual and artistic events, College funding of the arts has been limited over the last few years. While some of the limits are made up through state arts grants and two local philanthropic organizations (Friends of the Arts and the Blessinger Endowment), these resources are also being strained. Despite this strain, budgets establish priorities, and if the College values artistic endeavors such as Patterns, support will have to be found as it has been in the past.

High school and middle school students comprise another constituency that the College serves. Students throughout the Thumb Area are given opportunities to display learning and learn about college. The College’s Advancement Office coordinates the Quiz Bowl for teams of competing area high school scholars. Additionally, various departments throughout the College plan, organize, and participate in the Sanilac Games, where high school students from a variety of Sanilac area high schools compete to test knowledge in language arts, math, science and social studies. However, the College recognizes that high-achieving students are not the only ones that need to attend college. To reach out to at-risk students, the College, in collaboration with the St. Clair County RESA, developed The Freshman Institute. Its purpose was to “create an atmosphere that nurtured at-risk students in academics, collegiate and campus awareness and the adjustments to college.” Students in the pilot group were mentored by Phi Theta Kappa Students, faculty members, and academic advisors. In the Institute, the students attended a weeklong summer session in which students and mentors developed an academic plan for skills enhancement as well as received a certificate of achievement documenting the commitment to pursuing a college education. Upon leaving the Institute, each student was provided a detailed educational development plan. As with the arts activities mentioned in the previous paragraph, funding came primarily from private sources - a private citizen and a Citizen’s First foundation grant.          

During the summer, another group of students also come to campus. Middle school and high school students are served by the Reach Out for College Credit program, which gives young students a taste of college along with college credit through successful completion of offerings from disciplines such as theater, journalism, art, science, manufacturing, computers, American Sign Language, and Spanish. This opportunity reflects the College’s commitment to providing the county’s youth a leg up on earning College credit. Improved tracking of attendance in this relatively new outreach program will help monitor and evaluate the program’s effectiveness.

The College’s Advancement Office stays connected to constituencies by working with former students in the College’s alumni association, which has over 850 members from across North America. Alums stay in touch with current College activities through newsletters and group outings and raise money to support College athletics, scholarships, and the Quiz Bowl.

In early 2006, the Advancement Office organized the College’s fourth annual Free College Day, which has grown every year. More than over 750 people attended 138 free classes. This event supports the College’s goal to increase the quality and accessibility of education and underscores the commitment to lifelong learning. Additionally, the College Career Day allows people in the community to find out about current job opportunities, careers that are in demand, and related College educational options. These kinds of events have grown in popularity in the past few years. While this may be in part because of a sagging Michigan economy, it is also likely that the increasing numbers of participants indicates both successful programs and the successful communication of the availability of those programs to the students and public at large.

The College’s chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society, Lambda Mu, has traditionally proven its service to the community through fund-raising events, such as the 2005-06 “Ski-Duel,” which raised $2,500 for the American Cancer Society. In addition, Lambda Mu set a new record in its annual food drive in December, 2005, collecting over 9,000 pounds of food and $975 for the Blue Water Community Food Depot. In 2006, Lambda Mu is again working with staff and students, bringing in hundreds of pounds of food for distribution; as of December 8, around 6,500 pounds of food were collected along with $725. Through the efforts of staff, faculty and students, the College maintains an important connection to those in need.

Perhaps the largest, single College-sponsored community event of 2005 was The Alternative Energy Symposium. In 2005, McMorran Auditorium in Port Huron was packed to see Robert Kennedy, Jr. speak on the topic of alternative energy and the crisis of global warming. There is no question that the event raised important questions in the community about the environmental direction of the Blue Water area.

The previously-described events, programs, and opportunities are a representative sample of what the College offers the community. There is no question that staff and faculty reach out to the community by volunteering vast amounts of time and energy. The College does a good job of providing facilities and the time and energy of the employees who organize all of these things. However, as noted in several examples above, outside sources provide the bulk of financial support. As a result, the continuity of programs is sometimes in question. In addition, staff and faculty sometimes find themselves working on projects without knowing whether the financial support will exist to finish them. For example, four years ago, the College cut Patterns funding from $2,625 to $2,000 per year, insisting that Friends of the Arts and state arts grants should be the first lines of funding. Since 1997, the College’s support has diminished as a percentage of the total cost. In 1997, the College funded slightly less than fifty percent of the total cost of Patterns; by last year, despite a slight increase in the College’s contribution, the College funded slightly less than a third of the cost. For a magazine that has received national recognition from the Community College Humanities Association–five times in the past ten years–this level of funding is discouraging. For the past two years, a firm figure of $2,000 provides a sense of fiscal security, but funding of events deemed important most likely will continue to be a challenge as state funding cuts will continue to drain the College resources.

Constituencies Value Services (5d)

Partnerships and articulation arrangements with other higher learning organizations and K-12 institutions form the heart of a community college’s commitment to its community. Because the College is the higher education linchpin in the St. Clair County area, its growing number of University Center agreements, articulation agreements, and new programs, demonstrate the College’s commitment in this area. Since 1998, the College has signed articulation agreements with 29 area high schools and tech centers, from Harbor Beach in the north to Lapeer in the west. These agreements help provide students with transitions as they move from high school to community college.

However, the College’s duty to serve does not stop at getting students to its doors. In part because of the fairly isolated nature of the community, it is difficult for students to make the move to a four-year school. To connect students to 4-year institutions, the College developed the University Center, which offers more than 30 Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Port Huron from eight universities. Finally, the College has alliances with Cappella University, Franklin University, and Walsh College who also provide for online degree options for the community.

Starting in the fall of 2006, students were given the opportunity to choose from five new career programs: Water Quality, Alternative Energy, International Business, Landscape Design, and Mechatronics. These programs originated in the Engineering Technology Department and the Business Department and helped bring the students to the forefront of careers in developing fields. One question raised in 2006 was about what governance structure or committee is charged with approving new programs. Traditionally, the approval of new programs has been the concern of the College’s Curriculum Committee, comprised of administration and faculty. In order to keep the committee faculty driven, which is the stated premise of the committee in its mandate, the membership roster will continue to be monitored by current and future chairs to gauge whether or not a majority of committee members are faculty. At present, the composition of the committee reflects a two to one, faculty to administrator ratio.

The College’s Workforce Training Institute (WTI) offers a series of Ready to Work certificates, such as the certified nurse aide program, and the Fire and Emergency Services Institute, which graduated the first group from its new firefighter academy in April of 2006. The WTI, previously known as the Center for Business and Industry Training, changed its name in 2005 to reflect its broader training scope. Through its non-credit public offerings, customized training, grants and contracts, it serves as a cost- effective training provider to the local workforce and its employers. The WTI promotes its public offering classes by distribution of its semester brochures, online web pages, and e-mails to prospective learners. In 2005, the WTI joined the College credit classes with online class information and registration, which has streamlined much of the registration process.

Not only has the College responded to the need for innovative programs and certificates, it has also recognized the need to offer educational opportunities in new modes. For example, an associate degree in management or marketing can now be earned in 18 months, and a professional management certificate can be earned in 12 months through the Fast Track program. Flexible course formats, such as online or blended courses, offer students alternatives to the traditional classroom setting. Online enrollment performance showed good growth from Winter 2001 through Winter 2004, starting with 234 students in winter 2001 and moving to 808 students in winter 2004; however, from fall 2004 through fall 2006, while online enrollment has still grown, the rate of growth has slowed, perhaps reaching a plateau with an average of 923 students every semester since fall 2004. Still, the numbers show that the College is meeting the needs of a segment of its student population.

Transfer of coursework to colleges and universities has also continuously improved due to the College’s involvement with the Michigan Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (MACRAO), which helps strengthen relationships between the College and the four-year transfer institutions. The College has also adopted a proactive advising model, which promotes continuous communication with students from entry to exit at the College. The focus of this new model is to help students form a relationship or connection with the College advisor through multiple methods of communication rather than one meeting prior to initial enrollment. Following that appointment, the advisor will communicate with the student via email, phone and mail to check on the student’s status, answer any questions, and encourage the student to seek help when necessary. Data measuring the efficacy of the model have not yet been gathered.

Finally, the College has served its constituents by hosting the annual MACRAO-sanctioned College Day/Night program that attracts approximately 60 colleges and universities to the College with the specific goal of promoting higher education opportunities to the members of the community. This event is promoted through mailings to all service-area high school juniors and seniors as well as to many businesses. Approximately 1,000 people attend this event every October to explore higher education options and to learn how they can advance by starting at their community college. On the whole, the College seems to have built several bridges to stay connected to a variety of constituencies.

As one can see, the College has a number of internal and external constituencies, and various parts of the College, as well as the College itself, expend a great deal of time, resources, and effort evaluating the services it offers to its various constituencies. The recent development of the “Resource Room” in the College’s NCA section of its website means that, for the first time, the results of these efforts can be studied together, and a more accurate reading of whether and how internal and external constituencies value the College can be taken.

The College’s constituencies can be broken down into four general groups: students, local K-12 education officials, business and industry leaders, and the community at large. In the past five years, the College has made a concerted effort to survey all of those groups to get a better understanding of how to improve its service in each sector.

The most obvious of these groups–the students–can be seen as consisting of current students, former students, and possible future students. The College has surveyed all of these groups to measure its service and to look into future needs of each group. For example, in 2004, the Student Success Center surveyed recent graduates to assess the perceptions of their experiences at the College, changes in students’ knowledge and skills in core-competency areas, post-graduation employment and educational pursuits, transfer experiences, and satisfaction with selected services. The College also surveyed current students in the fall of 2003 and winter of 2004 to determine students’ satisfaction with weekend College offerings. In this case, survey results indicated that most students were not interested in further weekend offerings, particularly on Friday nights. According to a 2004-05 student satisfaction survey, “Of the 551 students that were surveyed, 273 (49.5%) indicated they had no future interest in completing weekend College classes. Of those that expressed an interest in weekend College classes, only ten percent indicated an interest in Friday evening classes.” [5] It would seem, then, that no further resources need to be expended in this area at this time. Using data to help make decisions, particularly data from a survey, helps the College stay responsive to constituents. Similar needs assessments of prospective students have also been done between 2004 and 2005 to determine the higher education and training needs of high school students in Eastern Lapeer County, North Macomb County, Huron County, as well as in St. Clair County.

Students, however, is a broad grouping for a constituency that consists of people from a wide variety of backgrounds and with a wide variety of skill levels. For those students who come with limited skills, the College has made some progress in providing those students with the necessary resources to acquire those skills. For example, the Math/Science Department hired a full-time instructor who specializes in teaching developmental math courses. For the past eight years, the College has employed two full-time staff persons to provide GED preparation instruction and work with developmental students who qualify for state assistance and academic assistance through Michigan Works! programs. Currently, the YES! and Skills to Work programs serve approximately 150 students per year. The new director of the YES! program has also recently proposed a new GED and college prep lab and resource center, which would serve a variety of sections of developmental classes, ideally including English 050, Reading 050, Math 050, and Office Administration 110, as well as prepare students for college-level work and GED testing. Should the proposed lab come to fruition, it would bring much-needed help to developmental students.

The College stays connected with the providers of K-12 education in St. Clair and surrounding counties and values the input those educators provide. A primary example of this is the recent Principal Feedback Study, whose results were summarized in February 2006. Principals from St. Clair County and the Director of the Technical Education Center operated by the Regional Education Service Area were surveyed; selected high school counselors were interviewed as well. In this case, respondents felt that the College does stay well-connected to the K-12 education community through direct mail and both formal and informal personal contact. Though local educators do value the College, the College sometimes does not get information out well enough to students through the schools. K-12 officials suggested that the College take advantage of high-school sponsored events, such as grade-orientation-level meetings, to educate high school students about the possibilities at the College.

Providing local businesses and industries with educated and qualified employees is an important part of the College’s mission, so the College cannot evaluate its services without consulting local leaders of business and industry. All departments that offer degrees in occupational programs rely on Advisory Committees made up of community representatives to help them determine what kinds of programs and courses will be most useful to students in those programs. In the winter of 2005, the College worked with Wayne State University to survey students in the Business Administration program. The results were used to determine possible interest in BS/BA majors in a variety of areas, from accounting to marketing. Advisory committees meet once a year at a minimum, some groups more so, and offer input and valued community advice.

The College cannot survive without the support of the local community. That support must be financial, of course, in the form of millages and tuition/fees, but it must also consist of a belief in the integrity and value of the institution. Because the College recognizes that it is critical to understand a community’s feelings toward its College, it conducted a survey of registered voters in St. Clair County in January of 2006. The primary goal was to uncover the levels of knowledge and satisfaction with both programs and services provided by the College. Almost two-thirds of those surveyed gave the College a grade of “A” or “B,” and eighty-three percent of those surveyed felt that the desired classes were being offered by the College. Additionally, the College has surveyed community participants of the annual Career Fair and found that over 95% of those who attended gave an overall rating of “excellent,” “very good,” or “good.” Furthermore, over 91% said they would attend the following year. The recruiters, representing area businesses and industries, also gave the Career Fair high ratings. For example, over 91% rated the fair as “excellent,” “very good,” or “good.” [6]

Looking at the overall picture of the College’s commitment to serving its constituents, the College recognizes that its existence depends on service. In many ways, the College does exemplary work in reaching its constituents, but what will help the College in the future is more effective communication about, for example, the results of the many surveys the institution distributes to its service area. Unless the information gathered is put into the hands of employees, that information is severely limited in its potential to generate broad-based support, effect growth, and drive decisions. What would also benefit the College’s vitality is for the institution to recognize a role of so-called anecdotal information about the College, and as always, assessment must be a part of any institution’s culture. Where there is a lack of data about any action taken by the College, instruments for assessment and reporting must be created and delivered, with the results analyzed and shared among all College stakeholders. An exemplary college effectively fulfills its mission when feedback is asked for, provided, disseminated and acted upon. Only then can an institution say it is fully and honestly connected as a vital, growing organization.

The Connected Organization Creates a Culture of Service

The analysis of the College’s status in serving its constituents and the greater society provides the foundation for a connected organization to create a culture of service. This culture is pursued through the work of faculty and committees to assess curriculum, support the responsible application of knowledge, and respond directly and effectively to constituents.

Curricula are Assessed (4c)

A key component in creating a culture of service lies with curriculum review. The College’s Curriculum Committee has worked hard to update curriculum offerings over the past decade. Through the Curriculum Committee, the College has shown its responsiveness to the needs of the community and the changing market demands. Several new programs have been created based upon the research of faculty and administration to appropriately address the needs of the local service area. For example, over the past ten years the following courses or programs are a representative sampling of additions or revisions:

• Web Development
• International Business
• Mechatronics
• Engineering
• Alternative Energy
• Water Quality

In addition, the College has formed partnerships to include additional opportunities for students, such as Physical Therapy Assistant, Occupational Therapy Assistant, Therapeutic Massage, and Radiological Technology associate degree programs. These programs are possible in conjunction with businesses in the service area that provide the students with state-of-the-art training along with other program requirements for a two-year degree.

Another standing committee that represents the College’s commitment to ensuring that faculty, students and staff acquire, discover and apply knowledge is the Assessment Committee, which asks faculty to document how it assesses student learning and what changes faculty make to better ensure student learning.

Supports Responsible Acquisition, Discovery, and Application of Knowledge (4d)

The very title of the Academic Review Committee (ARC) suggests that it plays an important role in monitoring the current state of academic affairs in the College. The mission of the ARC, consisting of both faculty and administrative staff, is “To review and revise, as needed, graduation and degree requirements, the grading system, scholastic standings and academic requirements.” As part of its mission, ARC assesses the curricula that represent the College’s commitment to general education, and, by extension, the relevance of those curricula to students. In 1995, ARC implemented general education competencies in seven different areas. The competencies are Computer Literacy, Critical Thinking, Global Awareness, Government and the Political Process, Math, Oral Communication, and Writing.

However, the definitions of these competencies, although often discussed in ARC, have not seen any changes since inception. Additional courses that students may take to satisfy the competencies have been added and others have been dropped from the roster, but the College is not creating the best service for its students if definitions remain static while technology and society are dynamic. Students would be better served if definitions were reviewed and, if necessary, revised with more regularity; several committee members believe that politics, concerns about course/class jurisdiction (turf wars), and inertia need to be overcome if the College is to serve its students by changing definitions when such change is warranted.

Two competencies that have sparked the most faculty input and, by extension, seem to be poised to be most useful to students are global awareness and critical thinking. The common denominator to both those competencies is that each has an impassioned professor as its advocate and caretaker. A sociology professor is passionate about global awareness and a philosophy professor feels the same about critical thinking. In critical thinking, the ARC has continually surveyed faculty in relation to its assessment in the approved classes. Courses that purport to meet the global awareness competency faced pointed scrutiny from the sociology professor. Perhaps the concept of a personal faculty advocate for each competency might be a means by which the College can take a more active role in evaluating the usefulness of competency definitions and course content.

The ARC also has reviewed and revised graduation requirements to ensure all students are prepared for whatever future goals may hold, including transfer and occupational degrees. For example, in 2003, the Associate of Science distribution requirements were revised to increase the minimum math level required for pre-calculus, as well as to split out the physical and biological science requirements. This ensures that students have experience in both disciplines. As part of the 2003 changes, all students seeking transfer degrees were required to complete common transfer courses such as Political Science 101 and Speech 101 to satisfy the competencies for the degree. The goal for these changes was to ensure students are adequately prepared for the transfer process. This change came about by relying on input from key committee members, notably in this case, the Registrar, who stays connected with many of the two-year and four-year schools and provides the committee with input as to what is being practiced at other institutions of higher education.

In addition, the College has remained flexible in regard to the competencies required for students seeking degrees in occupational programs. For example, students are able to take classes in the specialty area if the class has been adjusted to include the necessary 20% course content in the competency. To illustrate, students in the Engineering Technology area may complete Quality Assurance 117 with the grade of C or better to satisfy the oral communication competency; the same competency may be satisfied by students in Industrial Automation Technology program by taking Electronics 231, and a Criminal Justice may satisfy the global awareness competency with Sociology 101.

Overall, in comparison to a decade ago, the College has worked hard to align graduation requirements and adjust curriculum offerings with today’s global economy. Much work, however, needs to be done in order to serve students better; definitions need to be reviewed and, if necessary, revised; and reviews of course content need to continue. Meanwhile, much debate has centered on whether or not 20% of a course’s content meeting the general education requirement is sufficient in this day and age. Still, the College has taken a lead role among community colleges in its work with general education and all the concerns that come with general education, but this work needs continuous administrative support and needs to become even more a part of the College’s culture. Current concerns about graduation rates may help spark discussions about general education competencies and the absolute need to keep current with relevant, dynamic competencies and curricula.

Part of the College experience lies outside the classroom, and the College serves by supporting a variety of student activities and clubs, such as the Erie Square Gazette, the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, the Environmental Concerns Organization, and Phi Theta Kappa. Student Government meets regularly with the Director of Athletics and Campus Activities. Events such as the spring Stress Breaker and the fall Welcome Back provide students with chances to socialize and enjoy non-academic pursuits. Students value the change and the experience that clubs and events bring to campus.

Responsive to Constituencies (5c)

The non-credit branch of the College, The Workforce Training Institute (WTI), has also been very active in the area of curriculum offerings in response to community needs. For example, Homeland Security, Fire Science, Health Care offerings, and computer training are all available to meet the demands of today’s competitive marketplace. The College provides the community with a wide variety of valuable training opportunities, both in College credit and non-credit offerings. Another of the constituencies that rely heavily on the College for service and support is the increasing number of unemployed and underemployed workers. In 1999, the College created the position of Workforce Development Coordinator within the Center for Business and Industry Training (now WTI) to assist the College in developing programs to serve the local workforce and its employers. Since that time, the College has had twenty-one contracts with the Macomb/St. Clair Workforce Development Board and Thumb Area Michigan Works! to provide workforce training. Examples of training and applying knowledge in these programs include preparation for the GED assessment, improvement in basic reading and math skills, computer skills (both basic and certification), preparation for post secondary education, career exploration, stress management, problem solving and teamwork. The training has been delivered both on the College’s campus in Port Huron and at locations in Sanilac, Lapeer, Huron and Tuscola counties. Since these programs are fully funded by contracts with the local workforce boards, they are free of charge to the learner, providing individuals meet the Michigan Works! eligibility requirements. While these types of programs have attracted the attention of many, it has often been a disappointment for the prospective learners to find that they are ineligible for the training due to Michigan Works! criteria.

Following the 9/11 attack, Homeland Security became an area of high concern for the country and particularly for this community which sits on an international boundary with Canada. A Homeland Security Advisory Committee was established which includes local emergency medical, fire, hospital, police and school officials; local, county, state and federal emergency management officials; Canadian first responders; and representatives of local business and industry. In 2004, the Fire and Emergency Services Coordinator, with assistance from the committee, created the St. Clair County Community College Homeland Security Institute. The Institute partnered with a private agency, Anchor Homeland Security, to develop a non-credit certificate program, Understanding and Combating Terrorism. All ten required courses are offered online which offers emergency professionals more flexibility in the training. While these classes are being offered by a topical expert and in a delivery method that was felt would appeal to those most in need of this type of training, it is disappointing that only two people have registered for the classes. To expand upon what had already developed in Homeland Security, in 2006 the College also became a partner in a multi-college consortium, The Urban Area Security Institute (UASI), to deliver federally funded training in homeland security.

In addition to the Homeland Security Institute, the WTI provides emergency services instruction through the Fire and Emergency Services Training Institute. In 1998, the Institute was designated as a Regional Training Center by the State of Michigan to provide fire fighters, fire fighter students and seasoned fire officials with all of the state mandated courses necessary in this field. The institute offers classes as public offerings and contracts. In the 15 years since the College has been providing fire and emergency service training, a total of 4,623 students have received these essential services.

The College helps to create a culture of service through the WTI by providing corporate and customized training to the local employers. The WTI offices are located in the Citizens First M-TEC, a training facility built in 2001 with $2.5 million of state funding and $2.5 million of local funding. Local business and industry partners, K-12 representatives, local workforce board members and the Director of the Economic Development Alliance participate as members of the M-TEC Advisory Board. The board meets quarterly with representatives of the College administrative staff to discuss programming and community needs. Recent additions to programming include Certified Nurse Aide training, now offered on both the Bad Axe and Port Huron campuses, and the development of a new non-credit credential, The Career Readiness Certificate. This certificate will provide workers and employers with documentation of workforce readiness skills at a bronze, silver or gold level.

Unemployment in St. Clair County and adjacent counties has continued to exceed the national average since 2001. In June 2005, the jobless rate in St. Clair County stood at 7.5% (not seasonally adjusted). The College was asked by the Macomb/St. Clair Workforce Development Board to host a community job fair. By the time the job fair occurred in July, the documented jobless rate was 8.9%. The M-TEC proved to be an excellent site for the job fair, which was attended by over 300 job seekers and 28 employers. While no hiring data as a result of this job fair are available, the documented jobless rate for St. Clair County dropped to 7.0% in August and 6.6% for September 2005.

In addition, the College has been a very active partner in the Michigan Community College Virtual Learning Collaborative ( MCCVLC), which began in 1998 as a collaborative initiative of the Michigan Community College Association to help Colleges expand the online offerings available to Michigan students. With the assistance of the MCCVLC, the College has been able to increase online offerings to students in the College’s service area from an initial enrollment of 234 students in winter 2001 to a fall 2006 enrollment of 1,003. Through MCCVLC, the College has expanded its presence throughout the State of Michigan and beyond. The online area has seen continued growth during the past decade and is now, according to the Associate Dean of eLearning & Instructional Technology, “…the most demanded alternative delivery method available.” Through the use of this non-traditional method, the College has shown its responsiveness to student needs and has continued to place the focus on “student service.”

The College serves its community through its many free offerings and, in a larger sense, the commitment by staff to give back to the community. In 2002, an office administration professor recognized the difficulty students and others in the community were having securing employment. She began an annual event, Let’s Get to Work, to assist job seekers by providing a full day of job search and resume activities, motivational speakers and free clothing appropriate for interviews and the workplace. Everything for the event is donated by community businesses including many door prizes and giveaways. Every year College faculty and staff have generously given their time to make this event a success. Attendance for Let’s Get to Work has continued to grow; in 2006, 120 job seekers attended the event. While the need for this event and its attendance continues to grow, so does the demand it puts upon the faculty, staff and businesses that support and underwrite the cost of this event. If institutional or external funding were available to hire staff and support Let’s Get to Work, it could be expanded to serve more job seekers in this difficult economy.

In the spring of 2005, the College conducted a survey to measure the perception and needs of students in grades 10-12 in St. Clair, Huron, Eastern Lapeer and Northern Macomb counties, a constituency that in many ways is the core of the College. Surveys were designed to identify the higher educational and training needs for the high school students. These surveys collected data on student demographics, student employment and transportation, education and training, desired course delivery/format, ability in workforce task areas, subjects of interest to improve skill sets, level of interest in career field and in-home computer access. Survey data were compiled and analyzed, and executive summaries were written for each county to provide the College with a tool for planning for these prospective students. The data revealed that many students aspired to educational training leading to a bachelor’s or master’s degree, were willing to travel to an educational facility, but fewer than 25% of students in the outlying areas had high-speed Internet access. The data also revealed that most of the students believed that they were competent at reading and expressing themselves in writing. However, these self-reported data contrast sharply with those for students currently enrolling in the College who perform at below- acceptable levels on CO MPASS assessments. This reflects a lack of understanding by the students as to what reading and math levels are expected by higher education institutions. This survey provided an excellent opportunity for the College to reach out to the high schools and assist in aligning high school and College curricula for student success at the post-secondary level.

Similarly, in the fall of 2005, the WIT conducted a survey of 1,600 local employers to assess the workforce training needs. Additionally, focus groups of selected industry employers, human resource directors, and training administrators met with the Dean of Workforce Development and University Center to provide a more in-depth view on training needs. The results of the employer survey and the focus groups led to the launching of several new courses including Homeland Security, Certified Nurse Aide, and Phlebotomy.

There is other good news/room-for-improvement news as well. Ten years ago, the College took a lead in general education, yet assessment of all curriculum and learning is slow to take hold; the College seems to value many varied external constituencies and that value is reciprocated, yet internal constituencies wonder about sudden appearance of fiats such as the new information technology governance structure along with the administrative appointment of an administrative chair for a blended technology fund committee, two examples that seem to contradict the objective of “shared governance.” The College freely gives its times and talents to community members through many varied forums, including Let’s Get to Work day, yet support for professors whose jobs are jeopardized through proposed program termination seems to be haphazard and sketchy.

What comprises a success and a concern can be dramatically different for any constituency. Some committee members rightly note that this report features and emphasizes the voice of faculty concerns and administrative successes at perhaps the expense of other staff, whose successes and concerns are no less significant to the continued well-being of the institution. In order for the College to continue listening, and serving and creating the institution that residents and the state as a whole both need and want, open, honest communication must permeate every aspect of this College’s culture. Every stakeholder needs to feel that his or her point of view regarding this public institution will at least be heard and, if proven to be of value to the College, acted upon to the extent possible.

The Connected Organization Collaborates

The connectedness existing among the College, its constituents, and the greater society is dependent upon collaboration with multiple organizations that bridge the learning experiences of the students. This collaboration begins internally through the support of effective leadership and is demonstrated externally as the College engages and responds to its constituencies. Additionally, the effect of internal communication on collaboration is analyzed later in the chapter.

Supports Effective Leadership, Collaboration (1d)

The College Strategic Plan has mapped the course to the future, and the various departments on campus have aligned plans to help meet the goals of the College. Through an organized committee structure, faculty, staff and administration work closely together in order to fulfill the mission of the College.

Since early 2005, the Leadership Briefing Team (LBT) has met on a monthly basis with the President to discuss a variety of issues and provide input on pending decisions. The LBT is an example of shared governance that blends ideas from faculty department chairs and administration with the common goal of helping students. Critical decisions faced by the College which have received valuable input from the LBT include projects such as hiring both Nebraska Book Company to manage the College bookstore and SunGard Higher Education as the College’s information technology provider, the $13 million capital outlay project, and technology fee and tuition increases.

Engages Constituencies and Communities (5b)

Throughout this self-study, evidence of the capacity and commitment of the College to engage with its identified constituencies and communities has been addressed. To further this point here, the Professional Development Workshop held in November 2006 was titled, “Integrating Service Learning into the Traditional Classroom.” The presenter shared how another Michigan community college, Kirkland Community College, has implemented a service learning program that integrates service learning into the curriculum. Faculty attending shared examples of existing course activities that connect student learning with serving community needs. While the College has not formalized a service learning program, it is apparent that the faculty are committed to providing this connection. The workshop also showed the College’s commitment to the potential of developing it further.

Responsive to Constituencies (5c)

In part, the College shows its commitment to collaboration by responding to legislation such as the “No Child Left Behind Act,” which established new qualifications for Title I teaching paraprofessionals. All new paraprofessionals were required to meet these qualifications before hiring, and incumbent paraprofessionals had to meet the requirement by the end of the 2005-2006 school year. In July 2003, the Michigan Department of Education approved ACT WorkKeys as one of the assessment tools by which paraprofessionals could meet the new standard. In August 2003, the College’s WorkKeys Service Center in the Center for Business & Industry Training began administering the assessments in reading, mathematics and writing. This high-stakes assessment was administered the second Saturday of each month on the College’s Port Huron campus and through an agreement with the Huron Area Tech Center. Paraprofessionals living in the northern regions of the College service area were able to take the assessments locally instead of making the 90-minute drive to Port Huron. Between September 2003 and July 2006, 339 paraprofessionals sat for the WorkKeys assessments and achieved the requisite scores in the three content areas and were thus able to retain current positions or be hired as a Title 1 paraprofessional. The stakeholders, including the school districts, paraprofessionals and union representatives, expressed appreciation that the College was able to respond and meet the need of documenting the paraprofessional’s skills.

A healthy sense of collaboration is evident throughout the College, notably among staff, departments and various offices; the size of the campus helps facilitate this collaboration among employees. The College collaborates well with business and industry, as is evidenced by being responsive to requests for either training or resources. As the College continues to experience a climate of tight resources and competition, the commitment and the practice of collaboration is essential to the institution’s survival. The history of the College shows periods of collaboration, yet also times of labor unrest and strife. The College accepted the challenge of Mutual Gains Bargaining years ago, and that model has served the area well by providing relative labor harmony, thereby allowing the College to focus on its primary purpose: serving the constituents of its district.

The Connected Organization Engages in Healthy Internal Communication

For collaboration to thrive, the health of the College’s connection to its community must be understood through communication at many levels. Administrative and communication structures connect multiple internal constituents in a variety of ways. To be successful, the communication pathways must assist in aligning all levels of planning to the mission.

Supports Effective Leadership, Collaboration (1d)

The College uses various committee structures and communication vehicles to engage in healthy internal communication. The goal is shared governance, with decisions growing out of broad input on those decisions, and the rationale behind them being communicated effectively at all levels. In the College’s 1996 accreditation report, the NCA Team noted internal communications throughout the College warranted continued attention and improvement. In response, many of these committee structures and communication vehicles were established, adapted or resurrected in different forms over the past 10 years. These structures and vehicles have helped to improve communication. In some cases, accountability by all employee groups for two-way communication continues to be a challenge.

Communication begins with the Executive Leadership Team (ELT–president, provost, vice presidents, executive directors and deans) meeting weekly, with additional meetings as necessary, to discuss priorities, projects and events, as guided by the College’s Strategic Plan. The Executive Leadership Team also has two subgroups, the Operational Cabinet and Instructional Cabinet, to focus on operational and instructional needs. These subgroups each meet every other week. Information is communicated by ELT, Operational Cabinet, and Instructional Cabinet members back to respective departments.

The LBT is an additional established communication flow. The cross-section of representation of administrators and department chairs on LBT provides a way for information to flow back to different departments and different levels of employees. Examples of the projects discussed with LBT include:

• Partnering with Nebraska Book Company and SunGard Higher Education
• Capital outlay
• Fee and tuition increases
• Campus safety procedures

Minutes of the LBT meetings are maintained and a brief email update was implemented in September 2006 to notify the entire the College campus of the LBT activities. Upon receipt of this information, all employees can contact their LBT representative for more information and the communication branches out to several levels. These structures promote effective leadership by bringing together representatives responsible for all areas of the College to collaborate on key decisions.

This collaboration is extended at multiple levels. As a vehicle to promote coordination and integration across all academic disciplines, the dean of instruction meets with the faculty department chairs twice a month as the Instructional Council to discuss issues related to academic departments and curriculum. The administrators who report to the Provost (associate vice president and deans) also meet twice a month as the Provost’s Council to discuss issues related to day-to-day academic operations, both credit and non-credit. These meetings bring together the academic, workforce training and student services areas to collaborate. Academic departments meet regularly to discuss curriculum within that department, scheduling, student concerns and issues, and work between the academic disciplines within that department. In addition, other departments of the College meet regularly to discuss operations and issues within that department.

Various standing committees, temporary committees and task forces within the College also meet regularly and as needed regarding their specific area of responsibility and mission. As appropriate, the results of these meetings are reported to the various leadership teams and councils highlighted above. The strategic planning process in 2005 involved 74 people, representing all employee groups, all leadership teams and councils, the Board of Trustees, students, local businesses and the community.

The structures above are in place to support collaboration and shared governance. Employee groups are seeking consensus about specifically what “shared governance” means. In January 2005, the LBT created a sub-committee led by a faculty department chair to develop a statement of shared governance. The sub-committee requested input from faculty, Career Plan, Department Chairs and ELT. Over the course of a year, the sub-committee worked through five drafts, reporting updates at the monthly LBT meeting. The sixth and final draft was approved at LBT on February 10, 2006, and disseminated throughout the College via the LBT members.

Yet, some members of employee groups at all levels have indicated being left out of the shared governance process. Some employee groups have expressed concern that they, too, could provide valuable input. The concerns expressed in the following examples show a breakdown in communication.

In November 2004, the SC4 Board of Trustees adopted a Code of Ethics defining how Trustees should conduct themselves. The code hindered healthy internal communication by members of the College’s governing body with students, staff and faculty.

Among items included in the code were:

• Do not solicit or encourage faculty, student or employee concerns, whether by telephone, Internet (e-mail), or any other verbal or written communication unless previously authorized by the Board.
• Do not visit the campus in order to talk with students, faculty or employees without first notifying the College president.

In response to the code’s adoption, two federal lawsuits were filed in April 2005, one by a trustee and the American Civil Liberties Union and the other by the Michigan Education Association, on behalf of the faculty. In addition, public outcry came in the form of letters to the editor and editorials in the local newspaper and criticism by residents speaking at board meetings. The Board of Trustees in May 2005 unanimously voted to rescind the code.

Another example of a communication breakdown came the following winter. The faculty’s bargaining unit, part of the Michigan Association for Higher Education (MAHE), functions at times as a structure for communication. For example, during winter semester 2006, MAHE conducted a vote of no confidence regarding the leadership of the Provost. This information initially was not formally shared with the administration. Instead, during both the June and July meetings of the Board of Trustees, the MAHE president attempted to speak to the Board about this issue but was not allowed to do so. The administration indicated it was not informed about the vote of no confidence. MAHE members expressed disappointment that the Board did not formally acknowledge or respond to the vote of no confidence. This example illustrates a breakdown in communication or connectedness.

The support staff’s bargaining unit, Educational Support Personnel (ESP), reported a similar disconnect in regard to shared governance when a private company, SunGard Higher Education, came on campus to explore the idea of outsourcing the Information Technology and Data Center areas of the College. The ESP unit found out about the initial visit after it was scheduled, and the unit employees were asking questions about the process. The ESP unit requested and was granted a meeting with the College president to express concerns but was told this was the direction the College was exploring. No further meeting or discussion took place. The ESP unit also addressed the Board of Trustees on several occasions, filed a grievance, and picketed in an effort to address concerns. ESP leadership indicates that while communication/dialog may not have changed the outcome of the outsourcing issue (SunGard was hired), it may have helped in understanding, accepting and engaging in healthy internal communication. While the ESP unit has cited being invited to participate in the strategic planning process and various president’s leadership dinners as examples of healthy shared governance, it would welcome the idea of a more active role.

The maintenance staff’s bargaining unit, the Teamsters, also cited being invited to participate in strategic planning and being invited to all-staff meetings as a positive step for healthy internal communication. Some members of the unit, however, indicate they only are included in decisions if they are contract related.

Ten years ago, the College had a budget committee comprised of staff, administration and faculty, but this committee has not met for over two years. Through the vehicle of the budget committee, at least a minimum of communication about budget, its use and its impact, was disseminated to employees through the participation of those committee members. The lack of a budget committee may indicate that there is currently more interest in consolidating budget discussions than in soliciting a variety of input over the budget.

The above examples show that employee groups sense a lack of communication and collaboration regarding decisions at times. Emphasis on these examples shows the importance that the College places on communication and its commitment to improve all communication. In addition, this institution has had three administrations in the last ten years. With each administration comes new structures, new ideas on collaboration and governance, and consequently, perhaps fresh concerns as the institution adapts to these repeated changes. When three changes in governance occur over ten years, angst and concerns are not unexpected. Aside from this, it is evident that employees have several communication vehicles available for keeping informed about the College. They include various forms of face-to-face communication, email, newsletters, phone calls, student newspaper, and website.

As part of this self-study process, employees were asked to complete a survey in June 2006 that further explores communication relative to employee groups. Portions of the survey included questions about communication and communication vehicles. Of the 183 employees, 125, or 68%, completed the survey. Results about communication and communication vehicles varied for each employee group. [7] Those results and an analysis and evaluation of them are below.

Of the four major areas measured, communication received the second-highest mean rating by employees in the survey. As a combined group, employees reported:

• Extensively using email from colleagues and the College website as sources of information.
• Somewhat using the College Connection student newsletter as a source of information more frequently than they use other sources of information.
• Infrequently using the Erie Square Gazette student newspaper as a source of information compared to other sources.

Results by employee group show the following:

• Administrative staff–Administrative staff reported using a greater number of sources with greater frequency than other employee groups. Email, online, telephone, print and face-to-face communications all were reported as effective methods for communicating for administrators.
• Faculty–Results seem to indicate faculty primarily use the College website and individual communications, such as phone calls and emails from colleagues, to stay informed. The majority of faculty also reported somewhat using the Campus Connection, College Connection, and Update newsletters to get information.
• Maintenance–Communications with the maintenance staff is an area needing significant improvement. Because the majority of the maintenance staff do not have email accounts, electronic messages and newsletters are ineffective tools for communicating with this group. Indeed, the survey itself was completed by email for all other employee groups while the maintenance staff had to complete printed copies. The maintenance staff also had 100% participation in the survey. Above all other sources, the maintenance staff relied on the Erie Square Gazette, the student newspaper, for information.
• Public Safety (Campus Patrol)–Results seem to indicate email is the most effective method for communicating with public safety employees.
• Supervisory/Technical–Results seem to indicate the College website and email are the most effective methods for communicating with Supervisory/Technical staff.
• Support staff–Results seem to indicate the College website and email are the most effective methods for providing clerical staff with information.

Results from the survey were also summarized by communication vehicle show the following:

• Campus Connection–This monthly newsletter is emailed to faculty and staff the Monday after each regular Board of Trustees meeting. It includes photos of recent campus events, a calendar of upcoming events, reports on action taken by the Board, a list of upcoming staff birthdays, briefings on other projects and events, and a tech tips section. This e-newsletter premiered in October 2004. It is an adaptation of Campus Update, which was typed up manually, copied and distributed to all faculty and staff before being discontinued in early 2001. While administrative staff report using the e-newsletter extensively, other employee groups report using it significantly less. Because other electronic communications are used more extensively, the College could consider converting the detailed e-newsletter to a simplified all-staff email highlighting just a few key items each week. A shorter email with greater frequency might serve communication needs better.
• College Connection–This monthly newsletter, which was started in October 2005, is directly mailed to students, friends and clients of the College and sent by inter-office mail to faculty and staff. It includes profiles of students, faculty and alumni; news of projects and events by the College Alumni Association, the College Foundation and various College departments; a message from the president; and information for students about clubs, enrollment, events, financial aid and student services. Faculty and staff are not the target audience for this publication. Still, all employee groups reported using it at least somewhat, a good rating for a secondary communication medium.
• Update–This start-of-semester newsletter has been distributed to faculty and staff at the beginning of the fall and winter semesters since fall 2003. Content includes updates on key College projects, details about human resources policies, a calendar of events, and staff changes. The frequency of its use was reported fairly consistently across most employee groups, with the majority of each group reporting using it at least somewhat. Because the newsletter is published just two times a year, that is a good rating.
• Web site–The College has a website at www.sc4.edu featuring information about all departments and functions of the College as well as sections for events and news and links for students to use the library and manage enrollment. The current website was launched August 31, 2005, after a redesign. The original website, which was built by a student and launched in 1996, was at www.stclair.cc.mi.us. Employees reported more extensive use of the website than other sources of information. With this data, the College has begun posting various newsletters on the website and ensuring the information included in various communication mediums also is included on the website.
• Periodic all-staff email sent from the Office of the President or the Office of College Advancement and Community Relations–Email and Internet access were recommended in the College’s 1996 NCA report. In 1998, email service was made available to administrators and some Career Plan professional staff members in the Main Building and A.J. Theisen Building; at the time, those were the only buildings wired to the Internet. In 2001, when the College was networked, remaining employees received email and Internet access. Generally, the majority of administrative and public safety staff reported using these communications extensively; the majority of clerical and supervisory/technical groups reported using them somewhat; the majority of faculty reported using them extensively or somewhat; and maintenance staff reported no or infrequent use. These ratings reiterate the concern of the majority of the maintenance staff not having College email accounts. In addition, converting the Campus Connection e-newsletter to a simpler, weekly version with key information could improve the use of these “official” email communications by clerical, supervisory/technical, and faculty employee groups.
• Periodic all-staff email sent from various faculty and staff members–With the majority of employee groups rating the use as extensive or somewhat, these communications receive good use across all employee groups except for maintenance staff. Again, lack of email accounts for maintenance employees is a concern.
• Erie Square Gazette–This free student newspaper is published every other week by students and is available at various locations around campus. The earliest publication, which went under a different name, started in 1931. This publication received comparably low-use ratings among most employee groups as compared to other sources. However, the maintenance staff reported higher use of the newspaper than other employee groups and reported using it more than all other communication sources. The Erie Square Gazette is an independent, student-created communication vehicle. The use by maintenance staff of the student newspaper as the principal source of information again highlights the concern of these employees not getting enough information from the College.
• Face-to-face meetings (coffee, water cooler or break-time chat) –These conversations as a way to stay informed about events at the College received comparably high ratings from public safety and supervisory/technical staff, medium ratings from clerical staff and faculty; and low ratings from administrative and maintenance staff. These results are a reminder of the need for good communication across all groups through all communication vehicles so all employee groups feel informed and accurate information is being relayed.
• Email (informal emails from colleagues)–These communications received high-use ratings from all employee groups except maintenance. These results also show the importance of good, timely communication for all employee groups so accurate, up-to-date information is being relayed at all levels.
• Phone (calls from colleagues)–These communications received comparably high-use ratings from clerical employees, public safety staff, and faculty; medium use ratings from administrative staff; and low use ratings from maintenance and supervisory/technical staff. Again, these results show the importance of good, timely communication for all employee groups so complete information is available.

In sum, the College has the governance and administrative structures, mission documents/plans, and communication vehicles in place to ensure that students and staff have the means to engage in healthy internal communication. Results from the June 2006 employee survey show where the College could fine-tune some practices to improve internal communication. Informally, however, employee groups point to “poor communication” affecting the reaction to some decisions, such as class cancellation and notification of possible program termination, even though department chairs are always involved in the cancellation process and those impacted by program notification process received letters. Including representatives from all employee groups–such as support personnel and maintenance, who often provide the front line of communication–on the Leadership Briefing Team could help to expand shared governance and improve internal communication. This also may aid all employees in understanding the budget process since the Budget Committee no longer exists. Resolving the issue of the definition of “shared governance” could aid employees in feeling connected, for example, to the budget process.

Improving communication with the maintenance staff is an area that should be addressed immediately. Results of the employee survey showed the maintenance employees do not have the tools (i.e., email) to participate in much of the communication process. However, the maintenance employees’ 100% participation in the survey, given to them in printed form, shows that communication is valued. Discussions in early October 2006 with several individual maintenance employees and the supervisor, the Director of Physical Plant, indicate providing access to email for maintenance employees may not solve the communication gap. The maintenance secretary, who has access to email, posts a printed copy of all electronic communications on the maintenance bulletin board; based on the survey results, that is not effective. Individual copies of electronic communications are also reportedly put in each maintenance employee’s mailbox in the Maintenance and Receiving Building. The Director of Physical Plant reports all maintenance employees are told to check mailboxes each day. One employee reported receiving these copies in the mailbox about two years ago while another reported starting to receive them six months ago. The importance of each maintenance employee getting an individual copy of all printed materials distributed staff-wide and a printed copy of all materials distributed staff-wide by email has been discussed with the Director of Physical Plant and the maintenance secretary.

Because most employee groups reported more extensive use of the website than other sources of information, the College should continue to ensure as much information as possible–such as information included in other communication vehicles–also is posted on the website.

Because informal communications such as emails from colleagues and phone calls rated comparably high as communication vehicles, it is critical for leadership teams and councils to regularly report information back to departments. It also is critical for good communication practices at all levels and with all vehicles. This will ensure accurate information is available to be relayed in these informal communications.

The vehicles for internal communication have improved in recent years but should remain a key focus. Healthy communication and accountability by all employee groups working for a common goal will minimize any “them vs. us” attitudes. A delicate balancing act exists between communication and information overload. All employee groups and leadership teams must continue to provide efficient and effective committee structures and communication vehicles. In addition, all individuals at all levels must realize the importance of attending the meetings and reading the emails, newsletters, and publications created for the purpose of healthy internal communication.

Planning Aligns with Mission (2d)

As part of the strategic planning process, the College’s mission, vision and core values were updated. The mission statement, “It is the mission of St. Clair County Community College to provide quality learning opportunities,” has been added to all of the College’s internal and external newsletters and other publications. In addition, the mission, vision and core values are posted on the College’s website.

The new strategic plan, which updated the 1999–2004 strategic plan, includes six main goals.

• Position the College for success.
• Increase the quality and accessibility of education.
• Appreciate and understand diversity.
• Enhance global awareness.
• Ensure the innovative and effective use of technology.
• Assess institutional effectiveness.

In addition, near-term initiatives related to the strategic goals were developed.

The new strategic plan was distributed as a printed booklet to all staff and faculty. The six main goals also are posted on the College’s website. In addition, the plan and the near-term initiatives were unveiled at an all-staff meeting at the beginning of the fall 2005 semester. An update on the progress of the near-term initiatives was provided in the Update newsletter distributed to all staff and faculty at the beginning of the winter 2006 semester. The progress also was reported in the president’s State of the College address at the beginning of the winter 2006 semester.

As called for in the strategic plan, planning across campus is coordinated to ensure the strategic plan serves as the basis for all other plans. These include, but are not limited to:

• Academic plan.
• Marketing plan
• Technology plan.
• Budget plan.
• Master plan
• Facilities plan.
• Enrollment plan.
• Human resources plan.
• Fund-raising plan

When creating these plans, the goals and objectives of each are linked directly to specific goals in the strategic plan. This ensures all other plans are accountable to the goals of the strategic plan.

The Connected Organization: Conclusion

The claim at this chapter’s beginning is that the College is a connected organization that is not without room for growth and improvement. This claim has been supported by evidence and analysis. To measure further the College’s status and progress as a connected organization, the committee achieved consensus on an institutional rubric, designed by two members of the committee (See Appendix B). The mission, vision, goals and supporting objectives were rated on the following scale: 1-Beginning, 2-Developing, 3-Proficient, and 4- Exemplary. The committee’s average scores are as follows:

Vision: To be the Preferred Choice for Post-Secondary Education	1.8
Mission: To Provide Quality Learning Opportunities	2.70
Goal I: Position the College for Success	2.25
Goal II: Increase the Quality and Accessibility of Education	2.625
Goal III: Appreciate and Understand Diversity	1.666
Goal IV: Enhance Global Awareness	1.9
Goal V: Insure the Innovative and Effective use of Technology	1.83
Goal VI: Assess Institutional Effectiveness	2.16
Average:	2.12

The overall rating falls into the category of a developing organization.

Within this chapter are committee recommendations for enhancing the College’s position as the provider of higher education in its service district. This committee, a blended group of volunteers representing every employee group except for the maintenance staff, challenged itself during the self-study to assess honestly this institution’s strengths and weaknesses, while recognizing that each individual member comes from a perspective that inherently lends itself to the pitfalls of an “us vs. them” attitude. The process of working through the data, of recognizing the positions held as a result of who individuals are as employees, and of listening to other voices with an awareness of personal tendencies to pre-judge, was largely handled with goodwill and humor as the committee volunteered its energies and time throughout the self-study process. The self-study that approaches an ideal is the self-study through which employees have a greater understanding of not just the institution, but of the people and the processes that comprise the daily pulse of the College. To that end, this committee takes pride in its work and believes that this chapter is the result of as strong a collaborative effort as is possible.  

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Page	Evidence
110	SC4 Novel-Levitz Student Satisfaction Survey, “Recommendations for Targeted Improvement Efforts,” September 28, 2004.
112	Erie Square Gazette, 1, March 23, 2006, Vol. 53, Issue 4 (located in the physical resource room)
113	Jaschick, Scott. Inside Higher Ed. Oct. 16, 2006
114	Erie Square Gazette, Sept.20, 2006 (located in the physical resource room)
120	St. Clair County Community College Weekend College Survey Executive Summary, August 10, 2004
122	2005 Career Fair Summary
132	Institutional Climate Survey (accidentally omitted from print copy)