Rapid Implementation of a New Shared
Governance Structure and Culture
Jon Connolly, Ph.D., President
Cory Homer, Director of Institutional Research
Sussex County Community College
Sussex County Community College
• Comprehensive Community College
• Located in Northern New Jersey
• Approximately one hour North of NYC
• Enrollment of approximately 2,700 students
• Over 50 Degree Options, 9 Professional Certificates, 13 Certificates of
Achievement, and 2 Health Science Certificates.
• 40 Articulation Agreements with 14 different institutions
Arrival of the New Administration
• Dr. Connolly arrives November 2015
• Appointment of the Interims (VPAA
and Dean of Student Services) in
December 2015
• Atmosphere and Culture at that point
• Initial concerns/opportunities (Lunch
Sessions)
Creation of Governance Document
• The necessity for immediate action
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Personal previous experiences, previously
observed abuses
Lived experience of the benefits
MSCHE
Promises made – promises broken
• Original objective was to construct
governance structure collectively
•
Pilot structure and document
• Christmas holiday time opportunity
Article I
Precepts of Shared Governance at Sussex County Community College
• Composed of 15 principles that
cultivate a culture for a system of
shared governance
• Key Principles of Article I include:
• Fostering free speech;
• Demonstrating democratic principles to
students and community;
• Increasing organizational transparency
and empowerment; and
• Encouraging a culture of collaborative
and creative exchange of ideas.
• Setting expectations for communication
and follow-through between
administration and the remainder of the
college.
Committees & Structure
• Outlined in Article 2
• Initially composed of 14 distinct
committees
• Committees include
representation from faculty, staff,
and students
• Bicameral representation from
Faculty and Staff Senates
• Faculty Senate
• Staff Senate
• Academic Standards
• Curriculum
• Promotion and Tenure
• Work Flow and Work Process
• Space Planning and Utilization
• Instructional and Admin. Technology
• Online and Distance Education
• Institutional Effectiveness
• Program Review
• Assessment
Implementation of the New Structure
• Article 3
• Selection Procedures for
Governance Committees
• Mixed methods for committee
selections
• Initial focus on bicameral
Senates
• Constituent Voting
• Some committee overlap from previous
governance structure
Implementation Challenges
• Culture shift in the face of
various institutional challenges
• Initial implementation very time
consuming
• Coordination of meeting times and
places
• College culture is unaccustomed to
using shared governance
• Citizens do not instinctively know the
difference between governance,
operations, and administration
• Lack of experience in using the channels
of shared governance
• Workflow and work process committee - mail
Unique Case Study- Staff Senate
● Comparison
●
between traditions of Faculty Senate and Staff Senate
SCCC legacy governance as a challenge – College Forum
Absence of experience with governance handicaps a sense of
efficacy for the team
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Free speech in jeopardy due to the composition (supervisors and
subordinates on equal footing within the chamber)
Amendment Article for the Pilot
• Article 7
• “This article allows for the simple
addition of sequential amendments
to be in-force after voted upon and
approved by the governance
entities and executed by the
Executive Team.”
• Examples
• Enterprise Resource Planning
System Migration
• Academic Appeals
Questions or Comments
• Jon Connolly, President
• [email protected]
• Cory Homer, Director of Institutional
Research
• [email protected]