Standard 6: Governance & Administration

Standard 6.A – Governance System

The institution's system of governance facilitates the successful accomplishment of its mission and goals.

6.A.1

The system of governance ensures that the authority, responsibilities, and relationships among and between the governing board, administrators, faculty, staff, and students are clearly described in a constitution, charter, bylaws, or equivalent policy document.

6.A.2

The governing board, administrators, faculty, staff, and students understand and fulfill their respective roles as set forth by the governance system's official documents.

6.A.3

The system of governance makes provision for the consideration of faculty, student, and staff views and judgments in those matters in which these constituencies have a direct and reasonable interest.

6.A.4

In a multi-unit governance system (state or district), the division of authority and responsibility between the central system office and the institution is clearly delineated. System policies, regulations, and procedures concerning the institution are clearly defined and equitably administered.

Standard 6.B – Governing Board

The governing board is ultimately responsible for the quality and integrity of the institution (or institutions in the case of the multi-unit system). It selects a chief executive officer, considers and approves the mission of the institution, is concerned with the provision of adequate funds, and exercises broad-based oversight to ensure compliance with institutional policies. The board establishes broad institutional policies, and delegates to the chief executive officer the responsibility to implement and administer these policies.

6.B.1

The board includes adequate representation of the public interest and/or the diverse elements of the institution's constituencies and does not include a predominant representation by employees of the institution. The president may be an ex officio member of the board, but not its chair. Policies are in place that provide for continuity and change of board membership.

6.B.2

The board acts only as a committee of the whole. No member or subcommittee of the board acts in place of the board except by formal delegation of authority.

6.B.3

The duties, responsibilities, ethical conduct requirements, organizational structure, and operating procedures of the board are clearly defined in a published policy document.

6.B.4

Consistent with established board policy, the board selects, appoints, and regularly evaluates the chief executive officer.

6.B.5

The board regularly reviews and approves the institution's mission. It approves all major academic, vocational, and technical programs of study, degrees, certificates, and diplomas. It approves major substantive changes in institutional mission, policies, and programs.

6.B.6

The board regularly evaluates its performance and revises, as necessary, its policies to demonstrate to its constituencies that it carries out its responsibilities in an effective and efficient manner.

6.B.7

The board ensures that the institution is organized and staffed to reflect its mission, size, and complexity. It approves an academic and administrative structure or organization to which it delegates the responsibility for effective and efficient management.

6.B.8

The board approves the annual budget and the long-range financial plan, and reviews periodic fiscal audit reports.

6.B.9

The board is knowledgeable of the institution's accreditation status and is involved, as appropriate, in the accrediting process.

Standard 6.C – Leadership and Management

The chief executive officer provides leadership through the definition of institutional goals, establishment of priorities, and the development of plans. The administration and staff are organized to support the teaching and learning environment which results in the achievement of the institution's mission and goals.

6.C.1

The chief executive officer's full-time responsibility is to the institution.

6.C.2

The duties, responsibilities, and ethical conduct requirements of the institution's administrators are clearly defined and published. Administrators act in a manner consistent with them.

6.C.3

Administrators are qualified to provide effective educational leadership and management. The chief executive officer is responsible for implementing appropriate procedures to evaluate administrators regularly.

6.C.4

Institutional advancement activities (which may include development and fund raising, institutional relations, alumni and parent programs) are clearly and directly related to the mission and goals of the institution.

6.C.5

Administrators ensure that the institutional decision-making process is timely.

6.C.6

Administrators facilitate cooperative working relationships, promote coordination within and among organizational units, and encourage open communication and goal attainment.

6.C.7

Administrators responsible for institutional research ensure that the results are widely distributed to inform planning and subsequent decisions that contribute to the improvement of the teaching-learning process.

6.C.8

Policies, procedures, and criteria for administrative and staff appointment, evaluation, retention, promotion, and/or termination are published, accessible, and periodically reviewed.

6.C.9

Administrators' and staff salaries and benefits are adequate to attract and retain competent personnel consistent with the mission and goals of the institution.

Standard 6.D – Faculty Role in Governance

The role of faculty in institutional governance, planning, budgeting and policy development is made clear and public; faculty are supported in that role (see Standard Four – Faculty).

Standard 6.E – Student Role in Governance

The role of students in institutional governance, planning, budgeting, and policy development is made clear and public; students are supported in fulfilling that role (see Standard Three –Students).

Policy 6.1 Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination

Educational institutions should contain within their environment the essence of the qualities they endeavor to impart, including the essential of nondiscrimination. They have a responsibility to develop selection and promotion standards and procedures based on principles which consider qualities, aptitudes, or talents simply as they pertain to the requirements of the position, with due regard for affirmative action. Institutions are expected to review their policies and procedures regularly to determine their validity in keeping with these principles.

Adopted 1973/Revised 1987

Policy 6.2 Collective Bargaining

The decision to enter into a collective bargaining agreement is primarily institutional, governed by state laws for public institutions and federal laws for independent institutions. The Commission takes no position on such agreements and does not encourage or discourage them.

Regional accreditation evaluates the effectiveness of an institution in achieving its stated mission and goals. Its primary concern must lie with the total institution. Whenever institutional policies and procedures are modified by collective bargaining agreements, such modification should not contravene the requirements of Commission standards, particularly Standard Four - Faculty, or unduly disrupt the educational process of the institution.

At institutions which have collective bargaining agreements, the self-study, the evaluation committee, and those responsible for accreditation decisions must address the impact of collective bargaining on the quality and effectiveness of the institution. To help achieve this result, the Commission requests:

1. self-study articipation by representatives of the entire campus community – administrators, faculty, and support staff – as well as appropriate involvement of trustees and students. Collective bargaining processes should not impede self-study participation.

2. assessment of the impact of collective bargaining on the quality and effectiveness of the institution, both by the self-study committee and the evaluation committee.

3. care on the part of accrediting committees in composing recommendations which may be used by either party to influence what occurs at the bargaining table. Institutional representatives are reminded that the evaluation committee recommendations must be considered, but no one of them is necessarily a mandate or an arbitrary standard.

4. institutional effort to clarify the respective roles of faculty bargaining units and other faculty governance organizations.

5. inclusion of bargaining agreements with documents available for visiting evaluation committees.

If an institution believes that collective bargaining negotiations will, at any specific time, impair an effective self-study or evaluation committee visit, the chief executive officer is invited to confer with the Commission's Executive Director. In unusual circumstances, the Commission will consider a request to defer either or both processes.

Adopted 1982/Revised 1987

Supporting Documentation for Standard Six

Required

1. Board and committee membership with a brief background statement on each board member, including term(s) of office and compensation (if any) for board service. Indicate which board members, if any, are employees of the institution.

2. Organization charts or tables, both administrative and academic, including names of office holders with a notation of any changes since the last accreditation visit.

Required Exhibits

1. Articles of incorporation and bylaws.

2. Board policy manual, together with the agenda and minutes of the last three years of meetings.

3. Administrative policy manuals.

4. Administrative position descriptions.

5. Staff Handbook.

6. Salary data (including ranges if applicable) and benefits for administration and staff.

7. In multi-college systems, organization charts of central office, description of functions of central office personnel and their relationships to institutional personnel, and administrative or policy manuals of the system.

8. Collective bargaining agreements, if any.

9. Constitutions or bylaws of faculty and staff organizations, with minutes of meetings, for the last three years.

10. List of currently active committees and task forces with names and on-campus phone numbers of committee or task force chairs.

Suggested

1. Reports to constituencies, including the public.

2. Charter or constitution of student association.

Standards are reproduced from www.nwccu.org, © 2003 Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.