Glendale
Community College
NCA
Self-Study Report, January 2002
Chapter Two
Responses to Interim Advisory Visit
In January 2000, a
letter from the GCC Faculty Senate informed Interim Chancellor Raúl
Cárdenas of ongoing communication difficulties between President Pollack
and some faculty. Upon Dr.
Pollack’s recommendation, Dr. Cárdenas requested an NCA Advisory
Visit to address these issues.
As a result of
this request, an NCA Advisory Visit occurred on May 8-9, 2000. Initial faculty resistance to these
dates (spring semester-finals week) was withdrawn because of the necessity to complete
the Advisory Visit prior to the end of the semester. More importantly, the College hoped to resolve real or
perceived communication difficulties between the Administration (specifically
President Pollack) and faculty and staff.
· Chair: Dr. Charles J. Carlsen, President,
Johnson County Community College, Overland Park, KS 66210
· Board Member: Ms. Linda Bebout, Business
Manager, Columbia Health Care, Riverton, WY 82501
· Member: Dr. Commodore Craft, Instructor of
English, South Suburban College of Cook County, South Holland, IL 60473
· Member: Dr. B. Diane Davis, Professor of Psychology, Oakton Community College, Des Plaines, IL 60016
The NCA Advisory
Visit Report received on July 11, 2000, concluded “GCC has had an
excellent reputation for academic excellence. It is the team’s view that is a very fine institution
and although it has serious problems these problems can be solved internally. To place the institution on probation
at this time or take other drastic actions would damage the institution far
more than solve the problems.”
The team determined that within the institution rests the good will and
shared leadership to identify and work toward common goals.
Board Members should adhere to their Code of Conduct.
On December 12,
2000, the Board reaffirmed its Code of Conduct.
At a Board
meeting to be held on campus, Board Members should clarify their expectations
of the role of GCC’s President.
The Governing
Board held a meeting at GCC on September 18, 2000. The Chancellor clarified his expectations of a president by
referencing the job description. A
videotape of this meeting is available in the Resource Room.
A campus
climate survey to identify problem areas should be conducted; collected data
should identify problem areas to be mediated by an outside consultant.
At the October 13,
2000 President’s Advisory Committee (PAC) meeting, the ad hoc Campus Climate Subcommittee was
established. Dr. Pollack requested
several PAC members, along with several other faculty and staff employees,
serve on the subcommittee. Meeting
over the spring and summer, with the guidance of Shapard Wolf of the ASU
Research Lab, the Subcommittee created a survey instrument to assess the campus
climate at the beginning of Fall 2001.
The survey was written during this time and mailed to all full-time,
Board-approved employees at the end of September 2001. Survey results were tabulated and
shared with College employees in December 2001. Dr. Pollack created an ad hoc consultation selection committee, and a
consultant was hired in mid-January 2002.
A Code of
Conduct for employees should be developed, including guidelines for dealing
with violations of the Code of Ethics (Criterion Five, NCA Handbook).
Also at the
October 13, 2000 PAC meeting, a second ad hoc committee, Ethics and Campus Code of
Conduct Subcommittee, was established.
Dr. Pollack asked PAC members to serve on the subcommittee. The Subcommittee wrote The Glendale Community
College Standards of Conduct and Informal Conflict Resolution Process, and
recommended its approval to Dr. Pollack.
PAC adopted the document on September 14, 2001; a copy is available in
the Resource Room.
The
President and Faculty Senate leaders should meet regularly to discuss issues of
mutual concern.
The College
President and the Senate President established a standing meeting time to
discuss issues of mutual interest and concern. Administrators also meet with the Senate several times
during each semester. In addition
to encouraging faculty to attend regular Senate meetings, Faculty Senate
leadership established a monthly Campus Forum/Coffee Hour to foster
communication as a continuing priority among faculty.