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<ul>
<li>Faculty governance is primary in academic programs. Faculty set admission criteria for academic programs; lead program and curriculum development; define frameworks for program and student assessment; initiate and lead academic projects; among other academic duties.</li>
<li>The Faculty Senate provides a structure through which faculty can recommend and provide feedback on all College policies and practices.</li>
<li>The Faculty Senate's Special Committee on Administrative Affairs participates in searches for and makes recommendations on all administrative positions at the level of director and above. This Committee is also provided the opportunity to share input on any changes to the College's organizational structure, including the creation of new positions/offices and the elimination of existing positions/offices.</li>
<li>Faculty have primary responsibility for the search and hiring process of faculty and for evaluating their peers and recommending which faculty should be reappointed, granted tenure, and promoted. This responsibility is exercised through department-based rank, tenure, and promotion committees.</li>
<li>Through faculty chairs, academic departments propose each term's schedule of classes and assign classes to full-time and adjunct teaching faculty.</li>
<li>As participants in the Shared Leadership Coordinating Council, faculty offer input to the President on decisions related to the institution as a whole; in 2017-18, this group was chaired by the President of the Faculty Senate and in 2018-19, it is chaired by the Vice President of the Faculty Senate. This Council was created by MCC's shared governance and union leadership in 2016, and through a collaborative process, students, faculty, staff, and administrators wrote and agreed to the Council's bylaws. The chair of the MCC Board of Trustees regularly attends and actively participates in the discussions of this committee, alongside the aforementioned.</li>
<li>Faculty are engaged in all College committees and initiatives, often in leadership roles. For example, MCC's Middle States Commission on Higher Education accreditation committee was chaired by faculty; the College's Ad Hoc Committee on Job Descriptions had three co-chairs, two of whom were faculty; faculty have taken the lead in chairing MCC's employee affinity groups and have been actively engaged in designing new and renovated facilities.</li>
<li>The Board of Trustees offers faculty the opportunity to address the Board at each meeting either during the Shared Governance Updates or Open Forum portions of the meeting. Faculty can also share their thoughts in writing with the Trustees. Trustees interact with Faculty at College events, through the Shared Leadership Coordinating Council, and in planning work for various initiatives. In addition to hearing recommendations on policy from the Faculty Senate, the Board provides a web-based policy portal that accepts input from the entire College community--employees and students.</li>
<li>To share updates about the College and hear faculty concerns, President Kress meets monthly with the Faculty Senate President and regularly with the Faculty Association President and members. When invited, President Kress also shares information with and takes questions from the Faculty Senate and its Executive Committee at their meetings.</li>
<li>All employees and students are invited to attend a number of open forums led by President Kress each year to learn more about MCC initiatives, ask questions, and provide input. These include two Message to the College Community town halls, an Enrollment Management workshop, and a Budget workshop. To facilitate engagement, some of these forums are offered on both campuses and are filmed for access by all employees. The Provost and other administrators also hold town hall meetings throughout the year.</li>
<li>All employees have the opportunity to submit questions and suggestions anonymously to the President via an online system; the President responds to these via her blog and in the open forums.</li>
<li>President Kress holds open office hours and, at the invitation of employees, attends department meetings to hear ideas and concerns and respond to questions.</li>
<li>The Faculty Association contract includes provisions that offer the Association the right to appoint a member to the Facilities Committee, and to meet with the President on budget matters.</li>
<li>The Faculty Association contract includes a provision establishing a Joint Committee on Labor/Management Cooperation that is intended to provide an opportunity for labor and management representatives to discuss matters of mutual concern. The Faculty Association and College contract administrators also have regular meetings outside of this committee to discuss issues that arise with respect to the application of the contract and the terms and conditions of employment for faculty members.</li>
<li>Committees and task forces abound and provide opportunities for involvement in decision-making. Some are charged by a college leader or leadership group; others evolve from employees with a shared interest in an aspect of the College.</li>
<li>Communication across the College is facilitated by an e-newsletter that any employee can contribute to and that every employee receives. Employees have ready access to College data and analysis through MCC's Institutional Research Department. MCC also publishes all employee salaries annually, in keeping with the transparency requirements of the Freedom of Information Law.</li>
</ul>

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MCC Daily Tribune

Opportunities for Employee Involvement in College Operations

Higher education is distinguished by its adoption of "shared governance," that is, the idea that the different components of a college or university--the board, administration and faculty--have distinct, yet complementary, responsibilities and roles. Shared governance engages institutional constituencies to offer informed and timely input on college policy- and decision-making. Shared governance takes different forms at different institutions. In 2014, the Monroe Community College Board of Trustees adopted the institution's first formal policy on shared governance. Its primary goal is to assure that MCC achieves its mission and goals in a manner that is effective, efficient, and beneficial to the College and our students. MCC provides broad opportunities for faculty involvement so that their input is heard and considered in MCC policy and governance. Among these aspects of active shared governance and engagement for faculty at MCC are the following:

  • Faculty governance is primary in academic programs. Faculty set admission criteria for academic programs; lead program and curriculum development; define frameworks for program and student assessment; initiate and lead academic projects; among other academic duties.
  • The Faculty Senate provides a structure through which faculty can recommend and provide feedback on all College policies and practices.
  • The Faculty Senate's Special Committee on Administrative Affairs participates in searches for and makes recommendations on all administrative positions at the level of director and above. This Committee is also provided the opportunity to share input on any changes to the College's organizational structure, including the creation of new positions/offices and the elimination of existing positions/offices.
  • Faculty have primary responsibility for the search and hiring process of faculty and for evaluating their peers and recommending which faculty should be reappointed, granted tenure, and promoted. This responsibility is exercised through department-based rank, tenure, and promotion committees.
  • Through faculty chairs, academic departments propose each term's schedule of classes and assign classes to full-time and adjunct teaching faculty.
  • As participants in the Shared Leadership Coordinating Council, faculty offer input to the President on decisions related to the institution as a whole; in 2017-18, this group was chaired by the President of the Faculty Senate and in 2018-19, it is chaired by the Vice President of the Faculty Senate. This Council was created by MCC's shared governance and union leadership in 2016, and through a collaborative process, students, faculty, staff, and administrators wrote and agreed to the Council's bylaws. The chair of the MCC Board of Trustees regularly attends and actively participates in the discussions of this committee, alongside the aforementioned.
  • Faculty are engaged in all College committees and initiatives, often in leadership roles. For example, MCC's Middle States Commission on Higher Education accreditation committee was chaired by faculty; the College's Ad Hoc Committee on Job Descriptions had three co-chairs, two of whom were faculty; faculty have taken the lead in chairing MCC's employee affinity groups and have been actively engaged in designing new and renovated facilities.
  • The Board of Trustees offers faculty the opportunity to address the Board at each meeting either during the Shared Governance Updates or Open Forum portions of the meeting. Faculty can also share their thoughts in writing with the Trustees. Trustees interact with Faculty at College events, through the Shared Leadership Coordinating Council, and in planning work for various initiatives. In addition to hearing recommendations on policy from the Faculty Senate, the Board provides a web-based policy portal that accepts input from the entire College community--employees and students.
  • To share updates about the College and hear faculty concerns, President Kress meets monthly with the Faculty Senate President and regularly with the Faculty Association President and members. When invited, President Kress also shares information with and takes questions from the Faculty Senate and its Executive Committee at their meetings.
  • All employees and students are invited to attend a number of open forums led by President Kress each year to learn more about MCC initiatives, ask questions, and provide input. These include two Message to the College Community town halls, an Enrollment Management workshop, and a Budget workshop. To facilitate engagement, some of these forums are offered on both campuses and are filmed for access by all employees. The Provost and other administrators also hold town hall meetings throughout the year.
  • All employees have the opportunity to submit questions and suggestions anonymously to the President via an online system; the President responds to these via her blog and in the open forums.
  • President Kress holds open office hours and, at the invitation of employees, attends department meetings to hear ideas and concerns and respond to questions.
  • The Faculty Association contract includes provisions that offer the Association the right to appoint a member to the Facilities Committee, and to meet with the President on budget matters.
  • The Faculty Association contract includes a provision establishing a Joint Committee on Labor/Management Cooperation that is intended to provide an opportunity for labor and management representatives to discuss matters of mutual concern. The Faculty Association and College contract administrators also have regular meetings outside of this committee to discuss issues that arise with respect to the application of the contract and the terms and conditions of employment for faculty members.
  • Committees and task forces abound and provide opportunities for involvement in decision-making. Some are charged by a college leader or leadership group; others evolve from employees with a shared interest in an aspect of the College.
  • Communication across the College is facilitated by an e-newsletter that any employee can contribute to and that every employee receives. Employees have ready access to College data and analysis through MCC's Institutional Research Department. MCC also publishes all employee salaries annually, in keeping with the transparency requirements of the Freedom of Information Law.

Andrea Wade
Provost and Vice President, Academic Services
11/19/2018