To Standard 3 Summary 

Developing and Applying Resources and Organizational Structures to Ensure Sustainability

• Faculty and Staff
• Fiscal, Physical and Information Resources
• Organizational Structures and Decision-making Processes
  
  

Faculty and Staff

Criteria for Review

3.1-The institution employs personnel sufficient in number and professional qualifications to maintain its operations and to support its academic programs, consistent with its institutional and educational objectives.

3.2-The institution demonstrates that it employs a faculty with substantial and continuing commitment to the institution sufficient in number, professional qualifications, and diversity to achieve its educational objectives, to establish and oversee academic policies, and to ensure the integrity and continuity of its academic programs wherever and however delivered.

3.3-Faculty and staff recruitment, workload, incentive, and evaluation practices are aligned with institutional purposes and educational objectives. Evaluation processes are systematic, include appropriate peer review, and, for instructional faculty and other teaching staff, involve consideration of evidence of teaching effectiveness, including student evaluations of instruction.

3.4-The institution maintains appropriate and sufficiently supported faculty development activities designed to improve teaching and learning consistent with its educational objectives and institutional purposes.

Questions for Institutional Engagement

1. How effectively do the institution workload policies and practices balance appropriate expectations for faculty scholarship and creative activity, teaching assignments, and other uses of faculty time?
2. In what ways does the institution ensure that part-time faculty are oriented, supported, and integrated appropriately into the academic life of the institution?
3. How does the institution ensure that it recruits, supports, and continues to develop its nonacademic staff in a manner that encourages their effectiveness and actively furthers institutional purposes?

Fiscal, Physical, and Information Resources

Criteria for Review

3.5-Fiscal and physical resources are effectively aligned with institutional purposes and educational objectives, and are sufficiently developed to support and maintain the level and kind of educational programs offered both now and for the foreseeable future.

3.6-The institution holds, or provides access to, information resources sufficient in scope, quality, currency, and kind to support its academic offerings and the scholarship of its members. For on-campus students and students enrolled at a distance, physical and information resources, services, and information technology facilities are sufficient in scope and kind to support and maintain the level and kind of education offered. These resources, services and facilities are consistent with the institution's purposes, and are appropriate, sufficient, and sustainable.

3.7-The institution's information technology resources are sufficiently coordinated and supported to fulfill its educational purposes and to provide key academic and administrative functions.

Questions for Institutional Engagement

1. How effectively does the institution demonstrate that it is able to maintain fiscal and physical equilibrium through its array of fiscal policies and strategies and through the regular appraisal and renewal of its physical assets?  In what ways does an institution align its fiscal, physical, and human resources to fulfill its mission, priorities, and educational objectives?
2. How does the institution ensure that its learning environment and any associated physical facilities are safe and accessible?
3. How does the institution assess the continuing adequacy of its fiscal, physical, and information resources and plan for the future to ensure that they are appropriately renewed and (if necessary)altered in size and character?
4. In what ways does the institution engage its faculty and other members of its community in the process of determining and deploying its fiscal, physical, and information assets?
5. How does the institution ensure that its members develop the critical information literacy skills needed to locate,evaluate,and responsibly use information? How does it utilize the special skills of information professionals to support teaching, learning, and information technology planning?
6. To what extent do the institution resources, services, and information technology respond to faculty needs with respect to scholarly activity and curricular development?

Organizational Structures and Decision Making Processes

Criteria for Review

3.8-The institution's organizational structures and decision-making processes are clear, consistent with its purposes, and sufficient to support effective decision making.

3.9-The institution has an independent governing board or similar authority that, consistent with its legal and fiduciary authority, exercises appropriate oversight over institutional integrity, policies, and ongoing operations, including hiring and evaluating the chief executive officer.

3.10-The institution has a chief executive whose full-time responsibility is to the institution, together with a cadre of administrators qualified and able to provide effective educational leadership and management at all levels.

3.11-The institution's faculty exercises effective academic leadership and acts consistently to ensure both academic quality and the appropriate maintenance of the institution's educational purposes and character.

Questions for Institutional Engagement

1. In what ways does the institution ensure that its organizational structures and decision processes remain appropriately aligned with its size, complexity, character, institutional purposes, and service to students?
2. How does the institution ensure that its established organizational structures and decision-making processes are being followed and respected?  How does it evaluate the effectiveness of these processes and ensure that the resulting information is used to improve them?
3. How does the institution assure continuity of leadership through its processes for selecting and evaluating its chief executive and other top administrators?  How does it ensure that its leadership remains credible and communicates effectively with members of the institution community?
4. How does the institution encourage and support the active exercise of leadership and responsibility at all levels including supporting faculty to discharge their distinctive leadership roles?
5. How does the institution interpret and put into practice shared governance through appropriate faculty participation in planning and decision-making in pursuit of the institution purpose and character?
6. How does the institution define the role of students in campus decision-making and how is that role exercised?