Draft Final Report

Table of Contents

Executive Summary

I. Background and Process

II. Principles that Should Drive the Governance System

III. Description of Proposed Governance System

Principal Features

Foundations of the Governance System

IV. Governance Councils

Background

Design

Responsibilities of Councils

Responsibilities of Council Members

V. Roles and Responsibilities within the Governance System

Board, President, and Executive Team

Students, Classified Staff, Faculty, and Mangers

VI. Council Operations

Membership

Decision-making mode

Decision-Making Protocol

Council Structure

VII. Councils and Other Entities

VIII. Unresolved Issues

IX. Transition and Training Plan

X. Appendix

Governance Task Force Charter
Glossary of Terms
Council Charters
College Council
Finance Council
Learning Council
Student Affairs Council
Board Governance Policy
College Governance Policy
Relevant accreditation standards

Executive Summary

Background

In July, 2003, the board of education adopted a "governing by policy" approach and directed the president to develop a system of college governance that appropriately shared responsibility among the stakeholders (defined as students, classified, faculty and managers) of the college.

Key parameter concerns were to achieve a governance system that did not create another layer of bureaucracy or impede timely decision making or innovation, but would be guided by principles of good practices in governance, recognize legitimate differentiation of realms of responsibility and competence, establish sound structures and procedures, and ensure collaboration.

In September, the president established a governance task force to design a new governance system for the college. They were asked to develop recommendations for review by the college community. The task force finalized a charter for their work, developed a set of principles, reviewed the current governance system and then designed a system of governance for review.

Governance Design Proposal

The new system will consist of a College Council that will serve as the major planning and assessment body for the college. The council membership will consist of representatives of the college stakeholders, two vice presidents, the Director of Institutional Research, Assessment, and Planning and the president.

In addition there will be six councils organized around the major work of the college:

• Learning Council
• Student Services Council
• Finance Council
• Facilities Council
• Diversity Council
• Technology Council

Each council will include representatives of college stakeholders, an administrator with authority and responsibility for the area, and additional members may be appointed by virtue of expertise. Each council has a charter that outlines the scope of work and a decision matrix that assigns decision-making authority. Councils may charter standing committees and task forces to accomplish their tasks.

Of necessity, the councils will operate at a high level of planning and policy development. Councils will be responsible for publicly defining processes by which they will obtain review comments from key stakeholders at critical decision points (problem definition, solution elements, and final recommendation/decision) in their deliberations.

Much work remains to be done to fully construct the governance system. However, it is important for the college community to first review and comment on the design elements. Then, after finalizing the design, councils can be appointed and continue to work on implementation issues.

Governance Task Force Members

Bob Baldwin
Bob Barber
Barbara Dumbleton
Glenn Goss
Nancy Hart
Rebecca Hill
Betty Hosokawa
David Keebler
Donna Koechig
Marie Matsen
Rustie Redmon
Cheryl Roberts
Jim Salt
Marcia Sexton
Mary Spilde
Stan Taylor
Elizabeth Uhlig
Rick Venturi
Karen Louise White

Lane Community College
Governance Task Force 2004
Draft Report

I. Background and Process

Three developments contributed to the board of education's decision to redesign the college governance system:

•  The board's own desire to "govern by policy"

In June 2003, the board of education had a retreat on the topic of governance. They dealt with two issues - global governance (board) and college governance (internal). With respect to their own governance they decided to "govern by policy." This meant that they did not plan to be a "managing" board. Rather they would set policy, establish executive directions and delegate the operation of the college to the president.

•  Compliance with accreditation standards

The accreditation self study Standard VI Committee identified that the current governance system does not clearly define or align administrative and decision making activities to contribute in a timely, cost-effective and participatory manner to the college achieving its vision, mission, core values, learning principles and strategic plan.

•  Awareness that the current system was not effective

There was general agreement that many parts of the college's current system did not work well. Lack of timely decisions and unclear roles and responsibilities marked the current system.

For these reasons the board directed the president to develop a new college governance system. They directed that the system should be developed in collaboration with stakeholders in the college. Also, they stated that it was their intention to hold the president accountable for the system and the decisions made through the system. They requested draft policies for the July 2003 board meeting for their review so that there would be a policy framework for the governance work. They agreed that the current shared governance policy would stay in effect until a new policy was developed.

In July 2003, the board reviewed policies on Global Governance (Policy B020) and College Governance (Policy B025, first reading). Faculty and staff commented on the policies. Concern was raised about moving forward with the College Governance policy.

The board chose to approve a first reading of both policies. Subsequently, they approved the board policy on governance, Policy B020. The policy on College Governance is still in first reading status. (See Appendix for copies of policies)

As a result, and in accordance with the current shared governance policy, the president asked the councils, unions, student leadership, and Management Steering Committee to appoint individuals to serve on a task force to develop a framework that clearly defines the collegewide governance system including structure, scope, roles, and processes. Thus the 2003 Governance Task Force was chartered, with representation from classified staff, faculty, managers, and students.

The group began their work by revising the charter and defining a set of principles that would shape the governance system. The charter is included in the appendix. The following items were deemed to be outside the scope of work for the Governance Task Force:

• Collective bargaining and agreements
• Statutory requirements and board policies that are already in effect
• Administrative policies not related to governance
• Internal department decision making

The Task Force conducted a series of meetings September 2003 through February 2004 and representatives of stakeholders discussed issues with their constituencies. Based on those discussions, the Task Force submits the current draft report to the college community for discussion and feedback, after which it will be finalized and formally presented to the president as a final set of recommendations for the college governance system. Ultimately, the board will approve the college governance system.

II. Principles that Should Drive the Governance System

• The governance system should embody and support the college's vision, mission, core values, strategic directions and learning principles.
• The board of education, students, classified staff, faculty, managers/administrators all have a role in college governance.
• Stakeholders in the college governance system are defined as classified staff, faculty, managers, and students.
• The governance system should provide stakeholders full participation in decision making at the earliest possible moment and rely on their collective wisdom.
• Stakeholders have a right to representation on college governance committees. Stakeholders determine their representatives within their established processes.
• As directed by the board, the president is responsible for developing the college governance system. The president is responsible to the board for decisions made in the governance system.
• The governance system should be efficient and effective, balancing the need for timely, informed decisions with the need to provide adequate time for participation in decision-making processes.
• The governance system should encourage and promote a wide range of opportunities for many people to provide leadership regardless of their formal positions at the college.
• The governance system should provide for clear, frequent, consistent, and timely communication within governance groups and between groups and the wider college community.
• The college governance system should provide for clear decision processes.
• The governance system should be open and provide for consistent and accessible records of council and committee work.
• The governance system should clearly define and align the authorities, responsibilities and relationships among the board, managers, faculty, classified staff, and students.
• The governance system should provide support necessary for staff and students to participate and contribute usefully, including skill/knowledge building, reassignment time/backfill, and other resources as necessary within the cost neutrality goal as stated in the charter.
• Participants in the governance system should have access to pertinent information to fulfill their role in governance.

III. Description of the Proposed Governance System

A. The Principal Features of the Proposed Governance System Are:

• Recognizing the formal status of the classified staff, faculty, managers, and students as stakeholders in college governance, as well as the role of administration and the board of education.
• Establishing six collegewide planning and policy making governance councils within specified governance areas. Councils may establish standing committees and task forces.
• Restructuring the role of College Council to serve as the major planning body of the college with responsibility for strategic planning, institutional effectiveness and coordinating the governance system.
• Clarifying the role of the Executive Team and its relationship to the governance councils, the president and the board.
• Clarifying the role of the Faculty Council in governance.
• Acknowledging and integrating the realms of responsibility of faculty, managers/administration, classified staff and students.
• Including representational, position-based and/or expertise-based appointments on councils.
• Outlining the scope of work and decision-making processes through the development of charters.

Stakeholders are defined as classified staff, faculty, students, and managers . Classified staff will be appointed to councils by LCCEF. LCCEA will appoint representatives of the faculty as whole. The Faculty Council will appoint representatives to appropriate councils, committees, and task forces. Students will be appointed by ASLCC and managers by Management Council. (name to be changed)

While stakeholder groups have the exclusive right to appoint their representatives, they are encouraged to consider appointees who would provide a broad point of view from within their group and expertise in the scope of the council's work.

The person(s) responsible for the area(s) of the college affected by the work of each council, generally the vice president, associate vice president, or executive director, will be council members. To manage workloads, they may appoint a designee.

Governance councils will also include members whose participation is necessitated by their position - that is, because their job is so focused on the particular area that the council could not do its work unless the person is involved. And, councils will have the opportunity to appoint additional members whose role is based on their expertise in the area.

IV. Governance Councils

A. Background

As the Task Force reviewed the current governance system it became clear that a system organized around the work of the college instead of just around employee groups would be better for the college. This made sense for several reasons:

• It helps keep the focus on the work and its outcomes
• It brings the constituents of the college together to deliberate on issues, share perspectives and reach conclusions
• It improves coherence by connecting associated issues in one council with standing committees

B. Design:

The design calls for:

• A College Council that will serve as the major planning and policy body of the college and is responsible for strategic planning, policy development, institutional effectiveness and coordinating the governance system and the councils that are part of the system
• Six governance councils organized around specified areas:

Diversity Council
Facilities Council
Finance Council
Learning Council
Student Affairs Council
Technology Council

There is ongoing discussion about the need for an organizational development council to focus on college climate and individual and organizational development.

See draft charters for four of the councils in the Appendix, which includes the proposed scope of work and decision making matrix. Charters for the remaining councils will be available within two weeks.

. Faculty Council

While the Faculty Association represents the faculty on "all matters bargainable under Oregon law" and 'provides a common voice for LCCEA members in matters pertinent to their general welfare' (LCCEA Constitution), the Faculty Council serves as a faculty forum and referendum holder for all subjects, but particularly academic matters, of the college (Article 39.1.1, LCCEA Contract). It also has responsibilities, while excluding 'dealing' with the College, that include specific areas, currently grading policy and student evaluations.

The proposed governance system provides for greater involvement in the governance of the college for both the Faculty Association and the Faculty Council. The Faculty Association will continue to represent the faculty as a whole, with seats on the College Council, governance councils, and appropriate standing committees and taskforces. The Faculty Council will appoint its representatives to appropriate councils, committees, and taskforces. It will also assume responsibility for appointing the faculty members of the Degree Requirements Review Committee and the Curriculum Approval Committee, and will "approve and refer" a collegewide "learning master plan" to the college on behalf of the faculty, and function in general as a formal recommending body for the faculty on matters of instructional policy and the learning environment.

C. Responsibilities of Councils

The Governance Task Force has developed written charters for each of the councils. These charters define the purpose, scope of work, and membership of each council. Charters also contain a decision matrix that defines the roles of groups and individuals for the various tasks and decisions that are within the scope of the council.

Within the scope of their charters, governance councils are generally responsible for planning, policy and evaluating effectiveness. The councils will function at a strategic level. While stakeholders will be supported to participate in governance work, it is recognized that they cannot devote substantial parts of their work week to governance activities. Therefore, the nature of the governance work must be at a planning and policy level, not an operational or implementation level.

Each council will develop appropriate methods for listening, dialogue, and communication with the college community prior to, during, and following its deliberative process. Each council will be responsible for coordinating with the other governance councils and the College Council.

Councils are also responsible for coordinating standing committees that have charters within the councils' scope of work. Many existing committees will be incorporated into the new system. Councils, in consultation with College Council, may charter standing committees that are assigned a specific area of responsibility. There is also a provision for councils and/or management to charter a task force. A task force would be chartered when there is not an appropriate or available standing committee and the charter is such that the task force would disband at the end of its assignment.

D. Responsibilities of Council Members

Council members are responsible for:

• Consulting with and reporting to their appointing bodies
• Communicating with, representing and bringing issues from their stakeholder group
• Working collaboratively with other council members, and other councils as appropriate
• Fully participating in council work
• Ensuring the council charter is followed

V. Roles and Responsibilities within the Governance System

The system will clarify the roles of faculty, classified staff, students, managers, administrators, the Executive Team and the board of education by implementing a structure that maximizes participation and the best thinking of all and placing authority at the appropriate level. It must be recognized that ultimately the board holds the president and the administration accountable and responsible. Within this framework, the goal is to produce a process in which timely decisions are made and the reasons for them are guided by involvement and action from, and are transparent to, the rest of the community.

A. Board, President, and Executive Team

Role of the Board

The governance system recognizes the role and authority of the board as responsible to the public and being legally vested with final decision making in all matters of college policies, programs, facilities, budget and personnel. The board is responsible for monitoring the effectiveness of the college. The board's responsibility is to prescribe policies regarding the effective operation of the college. These policies will guide the president of the college, who is responsible for establishing effective operations to carry out such policies. The board delegates to the president the responsibility and authority to operate the college in compliance with policies and executive directions.

Role of the President

The governance system recognizes the role and authority of the president of the college as being directly accountable and responsible to the board of education for the educational leadership and effective management of the college's human, physical and fiscal resources. The president's role includes but is not limited to:

• Articulation of the vision, mission, core values, and learning principles for the college within which its educational objectives are developed and implemented.
• Formulation of strategic long- and short-range plans for the college
• Provision of leadership, direction and guidance to the administration of the college including holding administration accountable for completed work
• Responsibility for recommending a balanced budget and strategies that lead to fiscal stability to the board of education
• Representation of and primary spokesperson for the college to various external organizations
• Development and maintenance of a climate in the college conducive to productive learning and effective teaching

Role of the Executive Team

The Executive Team comprises the vice presidents; associate vice presidents; executive directors; director of Institutional Research, Assessment and Planning; Executive Assistant to the President and the president. The members of the team have individual accountability and responsibility for and to their assigned areas and are collectively accountable and responsible for viewing the college as a whole and making or recommending decisions that align the best interests of their units and the college.

It is recognized that the role of the Executive Team as a body lies largely in the executive and administrative realm. Members of the Executive Team as individuals are accountable for particular branches of the college and as such are active participants in the governance system. It is further recognized that the realms of governance and administration and the roles of administrators as individuals and as members of the Executive Team may overlap. When this occurs it will be necessary to clarify roles and in which realm issues belong.

The board and the president rely on the Executive Team as a body to provide expert advice that views the college as an entire system rather than individual disconnected parts.

In the administrative realm, the Executive Team is accountable and responsible for:

• Collaborating with governance councils to assure that information is shared to inform decisions/recommendations
• Forwarding issues to governance councils according to their charters
• Sharing perspective and implications with councils prior to decisions/recommendations
• Initiating major collegewide issues in conjunction with the governance system
• Executing major initiatives of the college
• Implementing plans and policies
• Advising the president on matters relevant to their areas of responsibility
• Assisting the president in formulating final recommendations to the board of education
• Implementing operational systems and management
• Providing triage on day-to-day management
• Coordinating implementation of plans, projects and operations

B. Students, Classified Staff, Faculty, and Managers

The job description of individuals largely does not change under this governance system. Faculty's primary responsibility continues to be teaching and creating the learning environment, classified staff to support learning, and managers to support learning by organizing and implementing strategies to effectively use the resources of the college and advance the college.

Each of these groups, plus students, will be recognized stakeholders and will be afforded opportunities to participate in the governance system. Processes will need to be developed to allow for and encourage such participation.

Role of Students

Students provide valuable insight and perspective to community needs and contribute to the college's collective wisdom. Students are in a unique position to speak to diversity by virtue of their varied constituency. As recipients of college services, they provide insight about the college's institutional effectiveness and quality. Incorporating students into the college's decision-making processes promotes greater involvement of students in the life of the college and prepares them for community stewardship. Recognizing these factors, the college governance system provides for active participation of student representatives.

Role of Classified Staff

The primary responsibility of classified staff is to support students, faculty, managers, and administrators in carrying out the vision, learning principles, mission, and core values of the college. Classified staff members participate in the governance system as stakeholders and because of their expertise in operational, instructional, and technical areas. Classified staff have extensive knowledge of student needs, college processes and procedures, as well as professional standards and practices. Classified staff members provide the college community with a unique perspective, insight, and sound judgment that will help guide the decisions made in the governance process.

Role of Faculty

College faculty have primary authority over several areas of the college, including strategies and methods of instruction and assessment; curriculum design; course and program requirements; faculty research; roles, expectations, and interactions among teachers and students; and academic elements of student life. The methods and processes for faculty and instructional department decision making at the level of the individual course and program are well established, and not the subject of collegewide governance except insofar as regulated by college policy and external constraints such as state law and accreditation. These principles are elaborated in formal documents of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and the National Education Association, available at:

The faculty, individually and collectively, also participate as an active partner in decisions in other areas of the college. Faculty participation occurs both through collective bargaining processes and in discipline, department, division, and collegewide governance structures. A specific review of the decision making responsibilities encompassing all levels of faculty involvement will be provided by Faculty Council and LCCEA.

Role of Managers

Managers have accountability, authority and responsibility to work with faculty, classified staff and students to achieve the vision, mission, learning principles, strategic plan and goals of the college. Managers are active partners in college decisions and are charged with executing and implementing timely strategies that move the college forward.

VI. Council Operations

By Oregon statute, authority to govern Lane Community College is vested in the board of education. The board, in turn, delegates authority to execute the functions of the college to the college president. The president, to achieve the college ends, delegates authority to college administration and the college governance system, while retaining final authority over both.

The college governance system:

• Governs the strategic directions of the college
• Integrates the authority and expertise of management, faculty, classified staff, student and administration representatives, and, when appropriate, community members.

Each Council will have a charter that outlines its purpose, scope, and membership, and a decision matrix that identifies its authority and how the council's work intersects with the college administrative structure.

A . Membership

Council membership incorporates: administrators (or their designees) who have authority for areas of work centrally impacted by councils; faculty, classified staff, managers and student representatives; and ex-officio members whose central function, authority, and/or expertise is central to a council's work.

Administrators not serving as members of a council, but with override authority for council work identified in the decision matrix, will communicate with the council about such work early in the process. Such communication should be direct, when feasible, and via other administration representatives serving on the council, when not.

B. Decision-making mode

Councils will strive to reach consensus. In the event that consensus cannot be achieved within timelines identified for council decisions, councils will present majority and minority positions to the College Council or designated administrator as identified in the council's decision matrix. Recipients of majority and minority positions will consider them, and either return the deliberations to the council with advice on resolving the issues, or, as called for in the governance system charters and decision matrices, resolve the issue and provide the rationale to the council.

Administrators with override authority designated by decision matrices should do so rarely. Whenever feasible, overridden decisions should be returned to councils for further work with full explanation of the rationale for the veto. When not feasible (e.g. due to time constraints), the overriding administrator will make the decision and provide the rationale to the council.

Reasonable timelines for council decisions will be established early in the decision-making processes, in concert with other councils, the College Council, and administration. Deadlines may be established such that failure to reach a consensus decision or majority and minority reports results in moving the decision to the College Council or the administrator with authority and accountability for that area of the college.

C. Decision-Making Protocol

Consensus is a goal of the governance councils and should be the primary decision style. Consensus can be expressed through unanimous agreement or it can be a modified consensus where members can live with a decision even though they may not be in full support.

In the event that agreement is not reached, the council may take one or more of the following steps:

• Study and further discuss the issues, bring in expertise, amend/redesign the proposal to achieve consensus.
• Table the decision (postpone discussion).
• Reject the proposal and explain rationale.
• Seek advice from the College Council or external constituencies
• Publish the council's documents including minority and majority opinions (with analyses) for proposals that did not have full consensus. (Published documents are summative and are required to forward the council's decisions to the next governance level).
• Distribute the published document to administration, constituents and the College Council, as appropriate.
• If College Council is responsible, it will act on a non-consensus proposal by either choosing an opinion/alternative or returning the non-consensus proposal to the governance council (in which case it might not be implemented in the current planning/budgeting cycle).
• If an administrator is responsible, he or she may return the proposal to the council or make the decision. The decision and rationale should be communicated to the council.
• If all else fails, the administrator with authority and responsibility may make a final decision/recommendation and communicate it to the college community.

D. Council Structure

Members from the stakeholder groups (faculty, classified, students, and managers) serve at the pleasure of the stakeholder group which appointed them. While it is recognized as being generally desirable that members serve for a sufficient period of time as to acquire expertise in the issues facing the councils, both the independence of the stakeholder groups and the time constraints faced by members may impact on this issue. A two-year term of membership is a goal, but cannot reasonably be mandated.

It is the intention of the college to provide adequate support for full participation.

The governance council will have three defined member roles: a chair, a vice-chair , and a liaison to the College Council. One of the officers or a designated council member shall serve as a liaison to College Council. The chair and vice-chair are full members of the council.

The chair is elected by the council members for a one-year term. Role of chair:

• Facilitates meetings
• Drafts agenda with vice chair and other council members
• Reviews notes and documents
• Calls meetings
• Assures the council works within its charter
• Facilitates appointment of members
• Assures effective communication to college community

The vice chair of the council is an administrator with authority and responsibility for that area (typically a member of ET). Role of vice chair:

• Draft agenda with chair and other council members
• Facilitate the effectiveness of the council by assembling and preparing informational materials.

Minutes, notes, and other documents will be produced and distributed.

Recognizing that experience in council process and business is a necessary element of leadership, the chair of each council shall have at least one year's prior service on that council. It is also recognized that this experience requirement, in conjunction with the participation issues noted above, may make it difficult for members of some stakeholder groups to chair councils, as they may consistently have difficulties acquiring the necessary experience. The success of the governance system will, therefore, require that these obstacles to full participation be eliminated.

VII. Councils and Other Entities

Other types of councils may continue to operate as forums of constituent groups, e.g. the Classified Council, but are not formally part of the governance system.

VIII. Unresolved Issues

A number of important questions and issues have yet to be fully addressed and incorporated into the Taskforce's recommendations. These will be addressed before a final recommendation is provided to the college president and the board of education. These questions and issues include:

• Will release time be provided to council members? How will backfill be provided? What other kinds of support will the college need to provide, and how will it do so?
• Who will be responsible for council note-taking and documentation? Will the college provide clerical support for councils? If so, how?
• Exactly how will the governance system processes function? While the system components have been laid out, how each of these components work together has not been fully addressed.
• How will overlaps among councils be addressed?
• Does governance work continue throughout the summer months?
• How will the effectiveness of councils be evaluated?
• Should council chairs be reserved for non-managers, given that the vice-chair positions are reserved for administrators?
• What will the proposed governance system cost? What savings from the current system will it produce? What other cost benefits will it produce? Is the proposed system consistent with the principle that it will be "cost neutral?"
• How are additional members (e.g. by virtue of expertise) selected by the council?

IX. Transition and Training Plan

A transition and training plan will be developed in the next two months and finalized following approval of the governance system.

X . Appendix

Governance Task Force Charter
Glossary of Terms
Council Charters
College Council
Finance Council
Learning Council
Student Affairs Council
Board Governance Policy
College Governance Policy
Relevant accreditation standards