Shared Governance Approaches for Engagement

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Shared Governance Approaches for Engagement

• Roberta C. Teahen, Ph.D.
• July 18, 2005

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• Other ways to think about SG
• Communications
• Improvement
• Participation
• Shared governance can
• Expand engagement
• Lead to better decision-making
• Improve communications

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ASHE-ERIC Definition (2003)

• shared governance can be defined as a mutual
  recognition of the interdependence and mutual
  responsibilities among trustees, administration,
  staff, faculty, and students for major
  institutional decision making relating to
  mission, budget, teaching, and research (p. 31).

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Typical places to share in governance (or
leadership, engagement, participation). . .

• Planning
• Setting budget priorities
• Establishing academic standards
• Creating new programs
• Selecting faculty

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• Governance is one aspect of the entire
  leadership, management, and committee structure
  of the college
• Governance relates to both the structure and the
  process(es) for engagement

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California Code of RegulationsDescribe Shared
Governance

• to ensure faculty, staff, and students the
  opportunity to express their opinions at the
  campus level and to ensure that these opinions
  are given every reasonable consideration, and the
  right to participate effectively in district and
  college governance, and the right of academic
  senates to assume primary responsibility for
  making recommendations in the areas of curriculum
  and academic standards.

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There Are Many Approaches to Shared Governance. .
. Heres one classification approach

• Administration operates the college with advice
  from the colleges constituents. The input of
  the constituents is received via a committee
  structure.
• The college divides itself into areas of
  responsibility, each of which is exclusively
  managed and controlled by certain constituencies.
• Everyone governs the entire college
• Which of these best describes SVCC today?

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One Set of Models

• Hierarchical
• Pyramid, traditional organization. Advantage of
  maintaining a central focus on goals and making
  decisions rapidly.
• Open Model
• Encourages broad participation and ownership. At
  times can lose focus and decision-making can be
  slow.
• Advisory Groups advice only to functional
  units.

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What the HLC Says About Governance Criterion 1

• Core Component 1D The organizations governance
  and administrative structures promote effective
  leadership and support collaborative processes
  that enable the organization to fulfill its
  mission
• Examples of evidence
• The distribution of responsibilities as defined
  in governance structure, processes, and
  activities is understood and is implemented
  through delegated authority
• People within the governance and administrative
  structures are committed to the mission and
  appropriately qualified to carry out their
  defined responsibilities
• Faculty and other academic leaders share
  responsibility for the coherence of the
  curriculum and the integrity of academic
  processes.
• Effective communication facilitates governance
  processes and activities
• The organization evaluates its structures and
  processes regularly and strengthens them as needed

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Criterion 2

• Core component 2a The organization realistically
  prepares for a future shaped by multiple societal
  and economic trends.
• Narrative speaks to expectation that shared
  governance will serve as a check and balance to
  ensure academic integrity.

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AAUP Statement

• Adopted in 1966 subsequently revised only for
  gender language
• Statement is intended to foster constructive
  joint thought and action, both within the
  institutional structure and in protection of its
  integrity against improper intrusions.

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AAUP Preliminary Considerations

• Interdependence among governing board,
  administration, faculty, students, and others
• Relationship calls for adequate communication
  among these components and full opportunity for
  appropriate joint planning and effort
• Ed. Note What is appropriate is largely based
  on the culture of the organization and shared
  values.

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Joint Effort according to AAUP Statement

• Sometimes initially proposed by the president
  with consideration by faculty at later stage
• Sometimes proposed by faculty, subject to the
  endorsement of the president and the governing
  board
• 1) Important areas of action involve at one time
  or another the initiating capacity and
  decision-making participation of all the
  institutional components, and
• 2) Differences in the weight of each voice, from
  one point to the next, should be determined by
  reference to the responsibility of each component
  for the particular matter at hand

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General Educational Policy (AAUP)

• When an educational goal has been established,
  it becomes the responsibility primarily of the
  faculty to determine the appropriate curriculum
  and procedures of student instruction.
• Such matters as major changes in the size or
  composition of the student body and the relative
  emphasis to be given to the various elements of
  the educational and research program should
  involve participation of governing board,
  administration, and faculty prior to final
  decision.

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Internal Operations (AAUP)

• First area Planning
• Effective planning demands that the broadest
  possible exchange of information and opinion
  should be the rule for communication among the
  components of a college or university. The
  channels of communication should be established
  and maintained by joint endeavor. Distinction
  should be observed between the institutional
  system of communication and the system of
  responsibility for the making of decisions.

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Internal Operations (cont.)

• Second area . . .is that of decisions regarding
  existing or prospective physical resources. The
  board, president, and faculty should all seek
  agreement on basic decisions regarding buildings
  and other facilities to be used in the
  educational work of the institution.
• Third area is budgeting. The allocation of
  resources among competing demands is central in
  the formal responsibility of the governing board,
  in the administrative authority of the president,
  and in the educational function of the faculty.
  Each component should therefore have a voice in
  the determination of short- and long-range
  priorities, and each should receive appropriate
  analyses of past budgetary experience, reports on
  current budgets and expenditures, and short- and
  long-range budgetary projections.

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AAUP -The Faculty

• The faculty has primary responsibility for such
  fundamental areas as curriculum, subject matter
  and methods of instruction, research, faculty
  status, and those aspects of student life which
  relate to the educational process.
• The faculty sets the requirements for the
  degrees offered, determines when the requirements
  have been met, and authorizes the president and
  board to grant the degrees thus achieved.
• Faculty status and related matters are primarily
  a faculty responsibility this area includes
  appointments, reappointments, decisions not to
  reappoint, promotions, the granting of tenure,
  and dismissal.

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The President (AAUP)

• The president shares responsibility for the
  definition and attainment of goals for
  administrative action, and for operating the
  communications system which links the components
  of the academic community. The president
  represents the institution to its many publics.
  The presidents leadership role is supported by
  delegated authority from the board and faculty.
• As the chief planning officer of an institution,
  the president has a special obligation to
  innovate and initiate. The degree to which a
  president can envision new horizons for the
  institution, and can persuade others to see them
  and to work toward them, will often constitute
  the chief measure of the presidents
  administration.
• The president is largely responsible for the
  maintenance of existing institutional resources
  and the creation of new resources has ultimate
  managerial responsibility for a large areas of
  nonacademic activities is responsible for public
  understanding and by the nature of the office is
  the chief person who speaks for the institution.

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Typical Players in the Governance or Planning
System

• College leadership Administrative, student,
  employee groups
• Councils and Committees, such as
• Academic Senate
• Curriculum Committee
• Planning Task Force
• Student Government
• Ultimate governance responsibility rests with the
  Board of Trustees the group charged with
  fiduciary responsibility

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Not included per se

• Administrators, except the president, except as
  they are designated members of deliberative or
  advisory groups, are not in the governance
  structure.
• Collective bargaining groups are not typically
  part of the governance structure, although their
  members are usually active members of many of the
  other groups and the union/professional
  association may name the members who will serve.

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Considerations for Shared Governance System

• Purposes
• What ends are to be achieved?
• Examples
• Enhanced communications
• Strengthened roles for stakeholders
• Better decisions
• Improvement quality and service
• Increased focus on learning
• Silo reduction
• Areas of Responsibility
• Budget, planning, student services?
• Model or Design
• Committees and structures
• Charges and descriptions for each

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Considerations, continued

• Effectiveness Indicators
• Examples
• Serving more students
• Serving students more effectively
• Increased involvement of all groups
• Timely responses
• All recommendations are considered within 30
  working days
• Processes
• Increasing use of consensus methods rather than
  majority rules.
• Minimization of the top-down perception or
  practice

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Characteristics of Consensus

• Speaking Up
• Everyone in group bears the responsibility for
  sharing their ideas, opinions, and feelings
• Consensus does not mean unanimity.
• A few unconvinced cannot hold up the group
• Silence is not consensus
• Check to assess agreement levels
• Solidarity
• Members must support the decisions of the group

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Guidelines for Gaining Consensus

• Clarify the problem or question being addressed
• Determine the criteria for a good solution (cost,
  scale, scope, acceptance, etc.). Ensure that
  everyone agrees on the criteria.
• Brainstorm a range of alternative solutions
• Generate a thorough list of alternatives
• Do not evaluate the alternatives as they are
  being generated
• Write the alternatives in a format that can be
  seen by everyone

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• Take a straw poll to check for the possibility of
  early agreement. If there is only a little
  disagreement, determine the reasons for
  disagreement.
• Evaluate alternatives according to the criteria
  you developed. Rule out any alternatives that do
  not meet the criteria or are rejected by the
  group after reflection. Determine if any
  alternatives require further research. If so,
  make a plan to carry out the research.
• Make a decision. Test ways to combine or modify
  alternatives to meet the interests of as many
  people in the group as possible. Select one or
  more alternatives.

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Operational Rules for Open Committees

• Open meetings may mean that any individual may
  join and fully participate clarify what it
  means at SVCC
• Committees should be appointed in the spring so
  that new appointees begin in July
• Chair or co-chairs can either be designated or
  elected.
• Agendas should be available at least a day before
  the meeting (ideally longer)
• Minutes from the meetings should be available
  promptly after the meeting (websites are perfect)
  but announce their availability
• Representatives of various groups bear primary
  responsibility for both informing their
  constituency of the committees work and
  informing the committee of the constituencys
  position on matters under deliberation. It is
  not the Committee Chair or College
  Administrations responsibility to inform
  constituency groups of matters under deliberation
  by the governance structure.

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The SVCC Environment

• New leadership presents new opportunities
• Recent expanded engagement in mission-critical
  functions planning and assessment
• An open (non-hierarchical) design for OPIC
• Reportedly limited experience with broad-based
  engagement (so opportunity to redefine)

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Thinking about responsibilities. . .

• The Stakeholders
• Students
• Board
• President
• Executive Leadership
• Faculty
• Administrative Staff
• Clerical Personnel
• Maintenance and other support workers
• Community Members

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Brainstorming Activity

• Answer the questions for the assigned group
• What does this group have to gain from an
  effective shared governance system at SVCC?
• What contributions can this group make to a
  shared governance system?

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Attributes of Successful Shared Governance

• Shared values
• Goals-focused
• Learning-centered
• Informed judgments
• Assumed responsibilities
• Active engagement
• Trust
• Enlightened stakeholders

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Characteristics of the Ideal Individual Members

• Other-centered (service attitude)
• College and community focused (not departmental
  or employee group)
• Well informed about topics being considered (does
  homework)
• Knowledgeable about community and college
• Always learning (a scanner, learner)
• Breadth of knowledge beyond discipline
• A big-picture thinker forward looking

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Evaluating Shared Governance Systems

• Build evaluation in from the outset Begin with
  the end in mind (Covey)
• Evaluation/assessment is integrated with the
  governance processes. . . not an add-on, but part
  of the way you do your work
• Set governance process goals/targets as well as
  strategic goals for the college
• Examples
• Increased percentage contributing to
  decision-making
• Improvements on communications concerns. . .
  Lower will rate this a problem
• Increasing percentages will report that their
  ideas were heard

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Resources

• Chabot College http//www.advisorteam.com/my/cli
  ent.asp
• Georgia Perimeter College http//www.gpc.edu/Gov
  ernance/governance.php3
• AAUP http//www.aaup.org/statements/Redbook/Gove
  rn.htm
• ASHE-ERIC. (2003). Gayle, Tewarie, and White.
  Governance in the 21st Century Approaches to
  Effective Leadership and Strategic Management.