Metropolitan State College of Denver 2010 Campus Climate Survey

1. Metropolitan State College of Denver2010 Campus Climate Survey Presented by: Richard Boyer Partner, ModernThink LLC June 2, 2010 Metropolitan State College of Denver

2. Program Background 2008 – The Chronicle and ModernThink launched Great Colleges program Includes climate survey (faculty and staff) and audit of policies, practices and demographics 89 participants and 45,000+ faculty and staff initially surveyed Findings published annually in The Chronicle’s Academic Workplace Supplement 2009 Participation - 247 institutions 2010 Participation - 274 institutions Metropolitan State College of Denver

3. Surveys as Strategic Tool "It isn't that they can't see the solution. It's that they can't see the problem.“ - G. K. Chesterton • Strategic Planning • Board Mandate • Change in Leadership • Accreditation • Campus Climate Goals Metropolitan State College of Denver

4. 15 Core Survey Dimensions Policies, Resources & Efficiency – assesses the perceived effectiveness of various systems, policies and infrastructure Shared Governance – captures information about the perception of inclusion and cooperation as related to shared governance Professional Development – provides insight into the reported satisfaction with career/professional development opportunities; and for faculty, support for research and clarity of the tenure process Supervisors/Department Chairs – provides insight into the relationship faculty/employees report with their department chair or supervisor and assesses critical managerial competencies Senior Leadership – measures the confidence faculty and employees report in the capabilities and credibility of senior leadership; senior leadership was defined as the most senior members of the institution Metropolitan State College of Denver

5. Survey Overview Survey Instrument 60 core Belief Statements 20 Additional Statements 18 Item Benefit Satisfaction component 26 Demographic Questions 4 Open-ended Questions Methodology Online survey administered February 1 – 17, 2010 Response Rate (All Faculty & Staff): 41%...793/1924 Response Rate (Full-time Staff & Faculty): 63%...651/1041 Audit of institution policies, benefits, practices and demographics Benchmarks 2009 & 2010 Great Colleges Best in Category Benchmark - Enrollment: >10,000 (Large-size Category) Carnegie Classification: Bac/A&S Metropolitan State College of Denver

6. Guidelines for Positive Responses Response Scale: Strongly Agree; Agree; Sometimes Agree/Sometimes Disagree; Disagree; Strongly Disagree; Not Applicable Positive Response - Strongly Agree & Agree Metropolitan State College of Denver

7. 60 All things considered, this is a great place to work. Metropolitan State College of Denver

8. Overarching Themes On the continuum of workplace quality, today, Metro State is a fair to good place to work. Faculty and staff report a strong sense of pride in the organization. The commitment to the mission, the impact on students and the positive influence in the community are particular points of pride. For many, there is a strong sense of community. There are many close relationships and “family-like” camaraderie within many departments. Faculty and staff are appreciative of the stability of the organization in the current economic climate; the autonomy and flexibility they are afforded; and the support for work/life balance. On the whole, faculty and staff report good rapport with and respect for their supervisors. “Metro State really is a family of individuals, dedicated to the betterment of our community and students. Although I must say that at times the family seems rather dysfunctional.” Metropolitan State College of Denver

9. Overarching Themes While employees value the mission of the institution, there are varying degrees of understanding regarding Preeminence and the role/connection of some of the strategic initiatives. Administration, faculty and staff express a need for improved communications. There is a desire for greater transparency, more inclusive processes and improved cross-functional communication. Faculty experience of shared governance warrants attention. While there are mechanisms/processes in place to facilitate shared governance, there remains a sense that faculty (and staff) input is not fully considered/heard. There are concerns regarding fairness, specifically related to consistent/equitable treatment, performance management and compensation. Many report feeling unappreciated…that their contributions are not valued and that they are not sufficiently recognized/respected. Faculty and staff report varying degrees of alignment across departments…and varying degrees of skill/effectiveness across different levels of leadership. Metropolitan State College of Denver

10. In their own words… I appreciate the College's mission and its outreach to the community. The College does not seek to only producing outstanding graduates, but it teaches those students, by example, how to go into the community and work to make it a better place. I appreciate the hard working, caring, selfless employees who see working here as the 'service profession' that it is. I appreciate that we are helping students attain goals and that we can have such a profound positive effect on their lives. I enjoy the campus itself. I love the location, and I enjoy perks such as concerts, the library, inexpensive rtd pass, etc. i also very much appreciate my coworkers as I think we work well together and sincerely care about each other's happiness. Despite some of the low scores I gave, I am very happy at my job on a day to day basis. I enjoy the students and my colleagues tremendously. Metropolitan State College of Denver

11. Job Category (Overall % Positive) Metropolitan State College of Denver

12. School(Overall % Positive) Metropolitan State College of Denver

13. Divisions(Overall % Positive) Metropolitan State College of Denver

14. Job Satisfaction Supervisor Relationship Pride Diversity & Community Strengths by Theme “The mission of this institution is completely inline with my personal and professional missions. I believe in Metro and the impact we have on our surrounding communities. We have the ability and responsibility to positively shape what metro Denver is to become by providing access to, and success in, quality educational opportunities for our diverse, urban student.” Metropolitan State College of Denver

15. Job Satisfaction Metropolitan State College of Denver

16. Supervisor Relationship Metropolitan State College of Denver

17. Pride Metropolitan State College of Denver

18. Diversity & Community Metropolitan State College of Denver

19. Opportunities by Theme Resources Communication & Collaboration Shared Governance Compensation, Benefits & Recognition Fairness Senior Leadership Metropolitan State College of Denver

20. Resources Metropolitan State College of Denver

21. Communication Metropolitan State College of Denver

22. Communication Metropolitan State College of Denver

23. Shared Governance “More organization and clarity of institution and departmental policies. Metro would be a better place to work if there was a 'we're in this together' team spirit engendered in staff and faculty. I feel that Metro operates in silos and it can be very, very difficult to accomplish anything across departments (particularly between administrators and faculty).” Metropolitan State College of Denver

24. Compensation, Benefits & Recognition “There are days when it really feels like I am a Roadrunner about to become road kill. I know there are some who are trying very hard to prevent layoffs and furloughs. But there are others who seem to underestimate the importance of the work done…” Metropolitan State College of Denver

25. Fairness “Making sure everyone is treated fairly, no matter what division they work in. Some divisions appear to have more leeway with how things are handled in regards to institutional practices/policies.” Metropolitan State College of Denver

26. Senior Leadership Metropolitan State College of Denver

27. Senior Leadership Seeing senior leadership visit our offices to support our efforts and demonstrate (at our level) that we're appreciated for what we do. If the VPs were required and held accountable for working as a team and setting that example for the entire staff, it would be a much better place to work. Senior level administration has improved. However, chairs and deans have declined in their honesty and inclusion of faculty in decision making. Additionally, the aforementioned leaders do little to provide the message accurately from the top level administrators leaving a feeling of distrust. Many quality people have left the institution over the past two years which should be a concern for the institution. While I am sure many would state that they left for a "better opportunity," the truth is that studies show most people leave supervisors and cultures, not jobs. We need good leadership at the division and department levels now more than ever. Metropolitan State College of Denver

28. On Preeminence… In many cases the College needs to focus on core-competencies to obtain preeminence. It seems that numerous initiatives are continually being added when basic services, such as IT, Human Resources, and the enrollment services are less than adequate. At times it seems we are focused on picking the apple at the very top of the tree instead of focusing on the low-hanging fruit first. Metro State's mission makes the College unique, and by executing this mission to its fullest, we can obtain preeminence. Many of the initiatives the institution is embracing are good ones. However, a systematic implementation seems to be missing. A little more focus on setting the goals, objectives and timelines and communicating them to the institution would get everyone on the same page. Also, given the economic and budget challenges, initiatives need to be prioritized so that departments can appropriately allocate their resources. To be preeminent, we must treat the people who work here as preeminent - pay, benefits, respect. No amount of initiatives will change the way this college is perceived if those people who make up this college are underpaid and overworked. We, the faculty and staff, ARE the face of this institution. Metropolitan State College of Denver

29. Recommendations Communicate a high level summary of the survey results to faculty, staff and appropriate leadership groups. Ensure leaders across the university have the necessary training to provide day-to-day leadership…especially as related to coaching behaviors and creating a culture of appreciation and accountability. Focus on quality communications…with an emphasis on interactive processes and “cross-functional” dialogue. Create opportunities to reinforce confidence in the credibility and alignment of senior leadership…and to create greater alignment across all levels of leadership. Address fairness concerns regarding compensation, performance management processes and consistency/equity. Consider more specifically defining the Metro State “employee value proposition” (employment brand) to better capitalize on current strengths and differentiating qualities and to proactively manage employee expectations. Metropolitan State College of Denver

30. Alignment “You’ve got to think about the big things while you’re doing the small things, so that all the small things go in the right direction.” Alvin Toffler Metropolitan State College of Denver