Great Colleges Initiative

Seminole State College participated in The Chronicle of Higher Education’s “Great Colleges To Work For” survey in Spring 2013. The results, tabulated by ModernThink, were received in Fall 2013.

Throughout 2014, a task force of approximately 60 of your colleagues reviewed and analyzed the data and shared their recommendations with the Executive Team. They made recommendations in three specific areas:

• Employee Excellence: Centering on recognition and appreciation of employees
• Shared Governance: Defining a model and strengthening our current processes/systems
• Supervisor Training: Creating and designing a required program for all employees who supervise others

Our goal is not only for Seminole State to be recognized as one of the top institutions in the nation, but also, more importantly, for the College to be a community that values the needs and contributions of all faculty and staff. All of us help to make this a great place to work.

The following initiatives have been implemented:

• Dr. E. Ann McGee began weekly “walkabouts” on various campuses. The locations are announced in advance in the Wednesday Update.
• Dr. Joe Sarnovsky has started shadowing staff at campus locations. His first stop was the Office of Safety and Security, with more to come.
• Dr. Laura Ross and Dr. Dick Hamann have scheduled regular open forums. The next forums are planned during the Collegewide Convocation on Sept. 29.
• The Leadership Academy Advanced Experience was placed on hiatus for this academic year to focus on the Great Colleges Initiative, and the Leadership Academy Advisory Council has been repurposed to become the Great Colleges Advisory Council (GCAC).

The Great Colleges Advisory Council consists of following committees:

Employee Excellence:

The Employee Excellence Committee recommended to the Executive Team that a standing committee be created and that a position be added in the Human Resources Department to help implement the work of the standing committee going forward. These recommendations were approved by the Executive Team. The Employee Excellence Committee procedure has been drafted, as well as the position description. Look for the procedure and position to be posted in the future.

Shared Governance:

College faculty and staff were invited to participate in a survey in late October. The survey results were compiled, and the shared governance definition was edited to reflect the suggestions. The team is currently working to get the shared governance definition and accompanying summary posted to the College website. The team’s process, changes and non-changes will be explained so that people who took the survey can see how the committee arrived at the final definition.

The group also is finalizing its recommendations for the Executive Team. This includes both immediate and long-term strategies for improving shared governance. The recommendations also put forward a plan for ownership of continuing the work on shared governance once this group is finished.

Supervisor Training:

The Supervisor Training Implementation Team recommended a comprehensive supervisor training plan, including a budget and the addition of a staff member to assist with the recommendations, to the Executive Team. The Executive Team agreed that it is critical to train new and existing supervisors.

The Supervisor Training Implementation Team has turned over their recommendations to HR to serve as a basis for an RFP for an outside vendor to provide training. Robert Sparrow and Kim Maznicki will be on the RFP committee to provide context for the previous research the team conducted and recommended. The remainder of the Implementation Team has completed their work.

A list of the Great Colleges Implementation team members can be found here.

Implementation dates will be determined after the final 2016–17 budget is approved.