MEMO ' Date: March 15,2005 To: President Bill Richards From: Middle States Integrity Committee Mindy Ross, Chair; Diane Bress, Vinnie Cazzetta, Frances Cummins, Stacey Moegenburg, Mike Prutsman, Margot St. Lawrence, Roberta Smith, Mark Strunsky, John Sullivan RE: Middle States Integrity Committee Recommendations We're pleased to let you know we've completed our work as the reconvened and expanded Middle States Integrity Committee. As you requested, we've worked to select several key priorities from our initial Middle States committee report, and our recommendations are attached. Please let us know if you need further information or clarification of any kind. We look forward to working with you and the rest of the College community to make progress on these important goals. Middle States Committee on Integrity) Spring 2005 Introduction The Middle States Integrity Committee was reconvened by President Richards in the Fall, 2004, to follow up on its recommendations in the 2004 Institutional Self-Study report. Pres. Richards charged the committee with aggregating and prioritizing those recommendations, identifying a few key areas on which the College can concentrate over the next several years. To this end, the Committee expanded its membership and met in the late fall 2004 and early spring 2005 to review the original report and set a clear direction for implementation of the most important recommendations in the report. While the original committee report noted that the College, in general, maintains a climate of integrity and respect, the reconvened committee has identified two significant themes which can form the basis for progress on institutional integrity over the next several years. These are "Fair and Equitable Treatment of Employees," and "Ethical Climate and Communication." Recognizing that some progress has already been made in these areas, the attached plan delineates a set of goals for these themes in order to continue to reinforce the principles of fair and equitable treatment and to enhance the ethical climate at the College in the years to come. Action Plan for Issues Raised by the Middle States Committee on Integrity Theme #1: Fair and Equitable Treatment of Employees Goals Responsible parties Action steps Announce to the College Human Resource officer .. Announce professional community all vacancies at President Vice President(s) development positions. the College, including new or redefined positions, so that qualified members of .. Encourage internal the College community may applicants for all new & indicate their interest and redefined positions. receive due consideration. .. Announce special project opportunities. Institute a comprehensive VP Academic Affairs .. Establish a college-wide orientation/mentoring Assistant to VPAA program of departmental process for employees at all Associate VP(s) orientations and mentoring levels. Department Chairs for adjunct faculty. VP Academic Affairs .. Publish a Faculty & Staff Handbook, to be updated annually and distributed widely. VP Academic Affairs .. Develop a Department Chair's Handbook. , Governance Executive .. Institute, via the Governance Committee Executive Committee, a practice of orienting new administrators to the details and requirements of the Constitution and By-Laws of the College Governance System. Fair and Equitable Treatment of Employees, page 2 Goals Responsible parties Action steps Insure that all personnel VP Academic Affairs .. Equalize the pay and are fairly and equitably VP Administration promotion opportunities compensated and Faculty Association for day and evening evaluated. adjuncts. VP Academic Affairs .. Review the current Associate VP's practice of using Department Chairs numerical ratings to PRT Advisory Committee evaluate faculty. VP Academic Affairs .. Institute a practice of PRT Advisory Committee meeting with unsuccessful candidates for promotion. President .. Develop and implement a Vice President(s) standardized, regularly scheduled evaluation process for Management Confidential personnel. VP Academic Affairs .. Develop and implement Direct supervisor(s) the evaluation of academic S&C Association coordinators. VP Administration .. Provide a mechanism for S&C Association promotion within the grade for professional staff. Action Plan for Issues Raised by the Middle States Committee on Integrity Theme #2: Ethical Climate and Campus Communication Goals Responsible parties Action steps Develop a protocol for President .. Identify parties holding addressing potential Cabinet concurrent appointments. conflicts of interest for Human Resources Officer those holding concurrent .. Identify potential conflicts positions. of interest. .. Draft a written policy delineating how such conflicts of interest will be handled. .. Designate a person responsible for monitoring the plan and reporting regularly to the Cabinet. . Establish a policy Director of Security .. Present emergency addressing campus-wide VP Administration procedures manual emergency or crisis VP Student Development (drafted Mar. '04) for situations. review by various college constituencies. .. Finalize and distribute emergency procedures manual. .. Provide training to administration, faculty, and staff, and orient students regarding emergency protocols. .. Plan for ongoing training and updating of procedures. Ethical Climate and Communication, page 2 Goals Responsible parties Action steps Support the principle of S&C Association .. Provide a clear statement academic freedom. Academic Policy on academic freedom in Committee the Staff & Chairs� contract and the Academic Policy Manual. Foster a sense of College Governance .. Develop an institutional community and Code of Ethics and commitment to the provide for the periodic College. assessment of issues related to integrity. President .. Develop and continue to Cabinet sponsor events and College Governance programs aimed at fostering a sense of community and commitment to the College (e.g., faculty lounge, interdepartmental events, Leadership Conference, retreats, mentoring, colloquia, etc.). VP Student Development .. Promote a continuing VP Academic Affairs college-wide discussion of Associate VP's academic dishonesty and Department Chairs ways in which we can nurture a climate of academic integrity.