1. Nick Kremer, Facilitator NCWE Consultant
Finding Your Way Through the Maze: Navigating Organizational Structures
Nick Kremer, Facilitator
NCWE Consultant

3. Why Spend Time on This?
May have only worked in one college and it is good to know the variations
Can help you understand your own organization better
Useful in considering future positions at other colleges

4. A Typology Single college –local governing board
Single college with outlying centers
Multi-college district –more than one college under a board of trustees
A sub-unit of a four year institution
A statewide system—several colleges, a statewide board

5. The Good and the Bad Which type is closest to your setting?
What’s good about it?
What’s not so good?

6. Internal Organization
Typical all units are grouped (think VPs)
Instructional
Student Services
Fiscal/operations
Human Resources/Personnel
Foundation
Workforce Education and Training?
Occasionally other

7. What Does Your College’s Org Charge Look Like?

8. Important Players Operational offices Administrative staff above you
fiscal, HR, maintenance, foundation
Administrative staff above you
Faculty
Unions
Academic Senate
Curriculum Committee
Board of trustees

9. Never Forget….. It is a political organization Collaboration but…..
Budget, space, faculty positions, staffing are all “fighting words”
Collaboration but…..

10. Never Forget…..
Buried somewhere in all of this is the goal of student success
Important that you are able to distinguish between what’s on paper and how it really works (organizational culture)

11. Workforce Education Models
There are numerous models of how and where workforce education resides in the organization and how it is structured
CTE Programs are Integrated
most divisions have a related department of two
CTE Programs are Separated
departments are concentrated in one or two divisions

12. Workforce Education Models
VP of Instruction/Academic Affairs and a VP of Workforce reporting directly to the president
Provost with a VP or AVP of Academic Affairs and a VP or AVP of Workforce Education
VP of Instruction with AVP of Workforce

13. Workforce Education Models
Where is non-credit instruction located?
Does the college do noncredit workforce programs and certifications?
How does contract training relate to the rest of the institution?

14. Discussion Where do you fit in?
What do you like about where you fit in the organization?
What don’t you like?

15. A Personal Organizational Chart for Success
All the boxes are important but….
Keys to your success are ……
Supervisor
Fiscal Office
Human Relations

16. Mission: Make Friends With These Offices
Fiscal
Human Resources
Operations/maintenance
Grants
Foundation
Strategy for success—ask how you can best work with them

17. Being Successful in the Organization
Do your job well (obvious but…)
On time –reports, meetings, evaluations
Own your mistakes
Choose your battles
Do you really want to die on that hill today?
Lose gracefully

18. Being Successful in the Organization
Understand and respect the perspective of the decision-makers above you
They have more information than you do and make decisions based on that information
Use data
Communicate, communicate, communicate

19. Being An Effective Workforce Advocate
Study and prepare
Educate
Anticipate objections
Be strategic
Know how far you want to push
Be persistent

20. Getting Somewhere Toot your own horn (softly)
Volunteer for committees and workgroups—particularly outside your unit
Get on a workgroup with someone you really respect in order to learn from them

21. Indicators That You Are Being Successful
You are asked to take on more duties (usually without pay)
You are asked to be on important interdepartmental committees
Few questions about your paperwork (invoices, timecards, HR forms)
You are sent to leadership training!