Recruiting and Selecting a Learning-Centered Faculty and Staff

Sunday, June 24, 2001

 

Facilitator: Terry O’Banion

Recorder: Suzy Ames

 

Assignment: Create a set of criteria that will be approved by the Board of Trustees, on which all faculty and staff will be selected for employment.

 

Criteria

 

·         Shared Vision (What the candidate believes)

·         Personal Characteristics (What the candidate can offer)

·         Teaching and Learning Vision (What the candidate can do ) This vision should reflect what the candidate can offer and how that can tie into the candidate’s beliefs about the institution.

 

Assignment: Prepare an interview and selection proves to be used for all faculty, administrators and classified staff that will ensure the appointment of the most learning-centered candidates.

 

·         Assumptions

 

·         Search Committee (trained by the search specialist):

 

·         Screening:

 

·         First on-site Interview

 

·         Criteria for Identifying final candidates (forward top three unranked):

 

·         Open Forums

 

·         Complete Reference Checks

 

·         Names Forwarded to Dean/Vice President/President/Appropriate Hiring Authority

 

·         Hiring Authority Questions:

 

·         Final Interview Questions:

 

·         Final Offer of Employment Is Made:

 

 

Developing, Evaluating, and Rewarding

a Learning-Centered Faculty and Staff

Monday, June 25, 2001

 

Facilitator: Terry O’Banion

Recorder: Suzy Ames

 

Assignment: Create the key components of a staff development program that will ensure the continuing development of learning-centered skills, abilities, and values in the faculty, administration, and classified staff.

 

Statement of purpose: The purpose of the staff development program at Mathka Community College is to support employees who are striving to improve and enhance learning.

 

·         In alignment with the goals of the college

·         Foster a strategic environment of learning

·         Culture of lifelong learning

·         Learning opportunities that will develop a consensus about what learning-centered is, and the college’s goals as a learning-centered institution

·         What is core set of understanding that we want to make the basis of all of the learning?

·         What is being a learning institution about?

 

Assumption:

Developing a new staff development program that is learning centered. It will be a total curricular event where everyone is a learner (all employees). “Building Common Bonds” will be in alignment with performance evaluation and rewards and recognition. Resource support will be available and equitable based on the needs of the institution. Equitable means all employee groups and within all employee groups. Clear understanding of explicit annual goals and the institutional priorities.

 

Key Questions

 

1. Is there a core of activities appropriate for all groups (faculty, administrators, classified staff) in the institution?

·         Title – “Building Common Bonds”

·         Orientation to institutional culture: Mission, Vision, Institutional Core Values

·         Orientation to the community college system

·         Understanding everyone’s role in the learning college, including interdependencies (i.e. How does your role impact student success?)

 

2. Will the college identify a set of minimal skills, abilities and/or values all staff are expected to meet?

·         Communicate with clarity

·         Technology proficiency

·         Think critically

·         Interact in complex and diverse environments

·         Learn actively (partnership in learning)

 

3. Are special activities to be designed for new staff members?

·         Orientation

·         Assign mentor (an employee who was on the hiring committee) to new employees

·         Customized mentoring

·         Continue orientation over time

·         Newsletter with best practices

·         Practical applications of the job along with institutional culture

·         A cohort-based discovery journal written by new employees as they experience the learning college

 

4. Are special activities to be designed for special groups such as full-time faculty, part-time faculty, administrators, classified staff, trustees and others?

·         Faculty = faculty regardless of F-T or P-T status

·         Tone will be meaningful, authentic learning experience

·         Based on the needs of individual groups; specialized training/access

         

5. What assessments will be used to determine the current level of skills, abilities and values of staff and their future needs?

·         Dean, department chair, supervisor assesses employees’ skill levels and determines what they need for the job, as well as self-assessment by employees.

·         The assessment should be based on the categories in their performance reviews.

·         The staff development offers programs based on the needs of employees.

 

6. How will the staff development program balance the needs of the institution with the personal and professional needs of the individual staff members?

·         The institution will only support programs that support the institution’s needs.

·         Understanding employees’ individual goals, determine what kind of environment can be created for all employees for their long-term needs.

·         Help identify where people want to go and helping them achieve their goals.

 

7. To what extent and under what circumstances will participation in the staff development program be required or voluntary?

·         Answering this question generically will not work for individual colleges

 

8. How will the program be designed to meet the diverse learning styles of the staff?

·         Offer a variety of pedagogies

·         Ground everyone in learning theory so they understand their own learning styles

 

9. How will technology be used to enhance and improve staff learning?

·         Allow the training not be tied to place-bound

·         Use technology to offer a variety of training

 

10. How will you know that the staff development program you have designed is successful?

·         Create a culture of lifelong learning, people ask for more training.

·         Performance reviews will document the level of staff development employees engage in.

·         Employees are satisfied, they learned something, the earned cognitive skills, they used the knowledge in their jobs, the institution gained from the knowledge learned and used.

 

Assignment: Outline the key components of a system to evaluate faculty, administrators and classified staff to ensure they meet the ideals of a learning-centered college.

 

Belief System

·         Inclusive of all employees, learning-centered

·         Developmental system (formative)

·         Integration of professional development and evaluation system.

·         Assessment and evaluation are separate entities

·         System supports the integrity of the institution

·         Ongoing process, not an event

·         Environment is trustworthy and a source of learning from failure

·         Employees = peers = faculty, staff, administrators

 

Statement of purpose

·         Institutional alignment of all employees to the learning college mission and vision

·         To ensure the employees meet the ideals of the learning-centered college

·         System models all as learners with opportunities for continual growth

 

Characteristics/elements

·         Resources for continuous learning: time, money, space, expertise

·         Formative and summative

·         Training for those doing evaluation and assessment

·         Share with/for others of innovative assessment and evaluation possibilities

·         Employee teams (learning communities) to develop a win-win agreement (desired results guidelines, resources, accountability, consequences) between evaluee and evaluator

         

Timeline

 

Activities:

·         Goals, accomplishments for evaluee

·         Student evaluation for every employee connecting with students

·         Continuous self-evaluation based on job description, which learning-centered

·         Peer evaluation

 

Evaluation cycle

·         Assessment

·         Develop a plan

·         Do the plan

·         Evaluation

·         A “yes” will lead to a continuation of the cycle; a “no” will lead to another corrective plan and that’s evaluated. If it’s a “yes” it will lead back into the assessment cycle. If it’s a “no” they will leave the institution.

 

Assignment: Create a plan for recognizing and rewarding faculty, administrators and classified staff who make exemplary contributions to improving and expanding student learning.

 

Awards Process:

·         Starts with three questions:

§         What did you do?

§         How did it contribute or expand to learning?

§         How do you know?

·         In the following three areas: Learning, service and community/organization culture

·         Four of the following categories of people: Faculty, support staff, administrators, students, volunteers (external to college)

 

Criteria

·         Learning

§         versatility based on learner needs

§         Understanding teaching/learning process

§         Integrity

§         Willing to be mentored

§         Use of technology in teaching/learning

§         Student readiness

§         Instructional design skills

§         Knowledge of learners at the college

§         The learning style know-how

·         Service

§         Customer Service

§         Work with all stakeholders

§         Passion for work

§         Problem-solving

§         Competence in field

·         Learning community/Organization culture

§         Team skills for how to teach/learn

§         Knowledge of the college

§         Knowledge of the learners at the college

§         Learning college language

§         Coach of others

§         Optimist/belief in human spirit

§         Ability to communicate

§         A risk taker

§         Flexible, not controlled-obsessed

§         Value the uniqueness of individuals

§         Value diversity

§         Authenticity

§         Truth teller

§         Pragmatic visionary

§         A learner

 

Timetable

·         Ongoing/informal

§         incident driven

§         activity driven

§         recipient generated

·         Periodic/formal

§         nominations

§         application process

§         formal criteria

 

Types of Awards

·         Time – Time off, time to do a project, release time

·         Recognition - from colleagues, administrators, staff

·         Material – computer equipment

·         “Prime Parking”

·         Learning Opportunities

·         Money

·         Promotion

·         Travel to conferences, learning opportunities

·         Flex time

·         Token gifts, Small gifts, gift certificates

·         Bonus to recruit students

·         Merit pay

 

Location of recognition

·         Public Forums

·         Newspaper, college paper, community paper

·         Banquets

·         Website

·         Board meeting

·         Department meeting

 

Many of the traditional awards would stay in place, but new awards would be added to the mix.