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ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP INITIATIVES SUMMARY

The discussion on this section was held December 1, 2005 and was supplemented by e-mail comments and follow-up work done by the Academic Council.

Ideas:

  • Make better use of teleconferencing and video conferencing technology to ensure that faculty from other sites can participate in meetings. 
  • Be sure that the conference phone is in the Academic Council meetings so that all site directors can participate without having to drive to San Diego for a 90 minute meeting.
  • Chairs: Department Chairs, School Deans and Site Directors need some fundamental training in management (this should be focused on new chairs but would be helpful to all chairs).  Key issues include:
    • General management principles/techniques.
    • Basic training in personnel law especially as it applies to non-exempt staff (support staff and student workers).
    • Basic financial management training particularly the details of how our PLNU system works and how to access financial information on CARS.
    • Information about who makes what decisions – in particular what can they decide on their own, what do they need to ask their Vice Provost and what must go to Cabinet.
  • Improve the information flow from Cabinet to Chairs/School Deans/Site Directors.  The President is currently considering some possibilities related to Strategic Planning that should aid in addressing this problem. 
  • As the responsibilities for Chairs/School Deans/Site Directors increase, make sure that the release time corresponds to the level of administrative work.
  • Department leaders need to have access to adequate information for decision making.
  • The division of responsibility for decision making needs to be more clearly defined.  There is some confusion about who gets to decide what.
  • Consider ways for the Center Directors to have more direct input into the University’s academic vision.  One suggestion is to add them to the Academic Council.

Note:

  • CPR Group Three: Standards 1 & 3 recommends:
    • Increased opportunities for the trustees to meet the faculty on a personal level, and to understand the faculty’s pedagogical approaches and scholarly work.
    • Broader academic representation on the Administrative Cabinet.
    • Increased use of teleconferencing to allow faculty at other campus sites to become involved in university committees and task force groups.
  • CPR Group Five: Planning recommends:
    • Implement the three-year planning cycle described in detail in the report.  This maps our carefully the involvement of the PLNU community in the planning process.
    • Implement a University-wide communication strategy to keep the PLNU community informed about the progress in planning.
    • Examine and modify the structure of the Strategic Planning Committee with the goal of optimizing the communication between planning and budgeting and ensuring direct information access to all key University areas.  Among the suggested changes is the inclusion of all Cabinet members on the SPC. 

Framing questions:

  1. What initiatives could the academic administration take to encourage faculty discourse and scholarship?
  2. Is the academic structure effective in supporting the academic program?  What adjustments could be made?
  3. Does the academic program have adequate representation and input into budget development and the strategic planning process?