University Considerations

Jennifer Dana Sawyer BSN, RN

American Sentinel University

Critical Issues For Illinois State University’s Organization:

• Shared Governance

• Budgetary Decisions

• Hiring Instructors

• Instructor Evaluations

Shared Governance Committees:

Pertinent for organization’s success

Ensure staff involvement

Allows faculty to have a voice

Encourage innovative methods

Utilize key stakeholders’ ideas

Facilitate belongingness (Bamford-Wade & Moss, 2010)

Are relatively new to the organization (Miller, 2015)

Budgetary Decisions:

• Have always been facilitated by board members

• Made through collaborative approach

• Voted upon twice a year

• Less funding due to state budget cuts

• All costs must be voted upon

• Fiscal year is July 1st to June 30th

• Budgeting committee now permit roll-overs

(Folken, 2015)

Hiring Instructors:

Hiring has always been determined by the board (Folken, 2015)

Need instructors now more than ever (Bess & Dee, Understanding college and university organization: Theories for effective policy and practice, 2012)

Applicants interviewed by all faculty (Folken, 2015)

High expectations from instructors (Miller, 2015)

Instructors must be supportive, innovative, and motivated (Miller, 2015)

Continually strive to seek out best candidate (Miller, 2015)

Instructor Evaluations:

Pertinent for growth process

Necessary for feedback (Oermann & Gaberson, 2014)

Paves direction for future

Signify successes and failures

Important gauge for evaluating program effectiveness

Now considered even more valuable than before

Less emphasis placed on them years ago (Miller, 2015)

Concerns With Shared Governance Committees:

Convincing faculty to attend

Convincing staff they can make a difference

Ensuring staff to take ownership in decisions

Frustrating when staff do not attend

Difficulty finding suitable meeting times for everyone

(Miller, 2015)

Concerns With Hiring Instructors:

Difficult due to decreased amount of applicants (Miller, 2015)

Increasing amounts of faculty shortages (Miller, 2015)

Instructor need has tripled over last decade (Billings & Halstead, 2012)

Higher education levels required for Magnet status (Bess & Dee, Understanding college and university organization: Theories for effective policy and practice, 2012)

Expectations for performing more with less staff (Miller, 2015)

Requirements to teach in class and online (Billings & Halstead, 2012)

Concerns With Instructor Evaluations:

Need to be performed within certain time

Can be biased

Unrealistic expectations of participants

Can be skewed

Reliability based on proportion of class size

(Oermann & Gaberson, 2014)

Solutions For Issues With Shared Governance Committees:

Reiterate shared governance process and purpose

Discuss the criteria and decision-making process

Explain inconsistencies when faculty do not attend

Ensure faculty recognize the importance of communication

Relay the importance of everyone’s opinions

Provide data proving the benefits of collaboration

Ensuring that meeting times accommodate individuals’ schedules

(Bamford-Wade & Moss, 2010)

Solutions For Issues With Budgetary Decisions:

Appropriate communication with faculty to demine needs

Maintain a collaborative approach

Remain open-minded to alternate options

Keep sight of end-result goals

Maintain vision of original values and mission

Strive to be creative

(McConnell, 2001)

Solutions For Issues With Hiring Instructors:

Provide appropriate amounts of training and mentoring

Ensuring that new instructors have appropriate class-loads

Additional training for class and online teaching

Communication with budget leaders regarding increased needs

Providing new faculty with welcoming, nurturing environment (Billings & Halstead, 2012)

Solutions For Issues With Instructor Evaluations:

Reiterate the importance of everyone’s evaluation

Requesting to return the evaluations on time

Evaluations to reflect program as a whole

Evaluations needed to gauge progress

Reiterate feedback importance for program’s overall success

(Miller, 2015)

Strategic Map

Ensure academic excellence

Advanced research and securement of scholarships

Develop strategic partnerships through collaboration

Promote faculty excellence

Sustain resources associated with strategic plan

(Miller, 2015)

References

Bamford-Wade, A., & Moss, C. (2010). Transformational Leadership and Shared Governance: An Action. Journal of Nursing

Management, 18(7), 815-821.

Bess, J., & Dee, J. (2012). Understanding college and university organization: Theories for effective policy and practice (1 ed.,

Vol. 1: The state of the system). Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, LLC.

Bess, J., & Dee, J. (2012). Understanding college and university organization: Theories for effective policy and practice (1 ed.,

Vol. 2: Dynamics of the system). Sterling: Stylus Publishing, LLC.

Billings, D., & Halstead, J. (2012). Teaching in Nursing (4 ed.). St. Louis, Missouri: Elsevier.

Folken, D. (2015, June). Business officer at Illinois State University's Mennonite College of Nursing. (J. D. Sawyer, Interviewer)

McConnell, C. (2001). The manager and equipment decisions: Is that in the capital budget? Health Care Manager, 19(4), 59-71.

Miller, C. (2015, June). Dean of Illinois State University's Mennonite College of Nursing. (J. D. Sawyer, Interviewer)

Oermann, M., & Gaberson, K. (2014). Evaluation and Testing in Nursing Education (4 ed.). New York, New York: Springer

Publishing Company, LLC.