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 1 st to June 30 th 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), 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), 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.