Core Component 1D:
The organization's governance and administrative structures promote effective leadership and support collaboration processes that enable the organization to fulfill its mission.

St. Cloud State University's administrative and governance structure has evolved since the last accreditation visit to respond to the needs of the university. Reorganization of existing offices and the creation of new administrative units have occurred to address new and expanded programs and services. Enhanced collegiality and expanded internal communication have increased participation in and support of university decisions.

Administrative Structure

The administration is led by the President and the President's Council. The council consists of the President, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Vice President for Student Life and Development, Vice President for Administrative Services, Vice President for University Advancement, Assistant Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness, Director of Athletics, the Affirmative Action Officer, and the Special Advisor to the President. Each vice president has a council of deans or directors that form their individual leadership teams. Within each college, the deans have an advisory council consisting of department chairs that form the leadership team within the college.

Changes to the Administrative Structure

Provost: In 2002, St. Cloud State University hired its first Provost as a result of the expansion of responsibilities of the Vice President for Academic Affairs. This was done to enhance the coordination of both academic and administrative activities.

Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management: In 2003, an Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management was hired to address the emerging demographic changes resulting in challenges related to declining enrollment.

Assistant Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness: In 2005, the Office of Institutional Effectiveness (OIE) was created to link strategic planning, assessment, and institutional research activities. The goal of OIE is to improve collaboration and communication throughout all areas of the university regarding planning and accountability. The institutional effectiveness process is supportive of and in keeping with the accountability framework and annual work plan reporting process created by the MnSCU Office of the Chancellor.

Dean of Continuing Studies: The position of Dean of Continuing Studies was created in 1998 in response to external constituencies about the growing interest in alternative delivery of coursework through online learning and outreach efforts. The Center for Continuing Studies has experienced tremendous enrollment growth over the past five years.

Dean of Undergraduate Studies: The position of Dean of Undergraduate Studies was created in 2003 to strengthen St. Cloud State University's commitment to student success. The Undergraduate Studies program has centralized student retention initiatives, including the development of the First Year Experience Program, expanded advising services, and improved coordination of academic support services for students who do not meet the typical admission requirements through the Division of General Studies.

In addition to changes to the formal administrative structure, St. Cloud State University has made great strides in encouraging cross-institutional collaboration to achieve its strategic priorities. Examples of such collaboration include the Strategic Planning Committee, the Enrollment Management Committee, and the development of the Plan for Enhancing Student Success.

Shared Governance

St. Cloud State University's shared governance system is specified by the Inter Faculty Organization (IFO) IFO/MnSCU Master Agreement. This framework clearly recognizes the separate and shared functions of the administration and the faculty in the governance of the university. As indicated in the introduction, St. Cloud State University faculty members are represented by the Faculty Association (FA). The Meet and Confer process serves as the formal structure for communication between the FA and university administration and as the official mechanism for the faculty and administration to exchange policy, process, and governance recommendations and decisions, and to discuss their consequences. The statewide IFO serves faculty at the seven state universities within the MnSCU system. A statewide Meet and Confer process serves as the formal communication structure between the state-wide faculty leadership and the MnSCU system.

Internal Consultation and Feedback for Continuous Improvement

The university regularly consults with its employees on major issues, such as planning, budgeting, and hiring. Each bargaining unit has regularly scheduled Meet and Confer opportunities with the administration to discuss important issues related to the university's operations.

Search committees are composed of representatives from all impacted bargaining units and are used to fill most faculty, managerial, and administrative positions on campus. Guidelines for hiring and details of these hiring procedures are different for each bargaining unit.

Additional consultation occurs through the monthly meeting of the University Council, whose membership consists of the president of each bargaining unit, representatives from Student Government Association and the Strategic Planning Committee, and the director of the Campus Anti-Racism Education Initiative (CARE) committee. Town hall meetings and messages on the university "announce" listserv are also used as a means of communicating important issues related to the university's operations, as well as updates on important topics that are affecting or might affect the university in the future.

Occasionally, the university uses taskforces to work on strategic issues that require a cross section of faculty, professional staff, and administrators. Meet and confer meetings are used to establish the nature of the taskforce and establish the charge. These taskforces are very effective, not only at addressing issues important to our campus, but also in bringing different portions of shared governance structures together. The use of task forces has brought a level of flexibility to the system that allows the university to come together to solve problems as a community without impinging on the governance responsibilities of the faculty, staff, or administration. An example of such a task force was the Task Force on Restructuring. The purpose of the task force was to examine the structure of St. Cloud State University with an aim to fulfill its mission and goals in a way that is more effective and efficient.

MnSCU policy 2.3 outlines the required process for involving students in decision-making processes. The goal of the policy is to assure that student perspectives are considered. The administration consults with the St. Cloud State University Student Government Association (SGA) regularly on matters of planning, tuition, and major policy. The President meets formally twice each semester with the SGA to discuss issues of concern to students and to answer questions.

Shared Responsibility for Academic Processes

The administration and faculty collaborate to establish academic policies, procedures, and curriculum. For example, the Assessment Office coordinates assessment through the activities of the Assessment Steering Committee (ASC), made up of members of many units across campus. The Director of the ASC is a member of the faculty. Another example of collaborative efforts is the Teaching, Learning, Technology Roundtable (TLTR), where faculty, staff, and administrators come together to address current issues and challenges related to technology.

Evaluation of Core Component 1D

St. Cloud State University's administrative and governance structures encourage effective management of the university and campus community and allow for input into critical decisions affecting the institution. The university has adapted its organizational structure and enhanced internal collaboration to ensure it is meeting current and future challenges.

Strengths: The St. Cloud State University community believes in and fully supports shared governance and a consultative decision-making process. University leadership makes every possible effort to openly discuss and invite feedback and input on major institutional decisions. Faculty and staff play an active role in the strategic planning and budgeting processes.

Initiatives inProgress: St. Cloud State University continues to move forward using cross-institutional initiatives to address issues or solve problems or challenges. Examples include the Campus Anti-racism Education initiative, TLTR, and the University Assessment Committee.

Future Challenges:
The open and consultative process, while often leading to broad consensus, requires significant time to reach a final decision. The changing environment of higher education requires more nimble and timely actions and reactions by institutions. St. Cloud State University will need to develop ways to maintain the integrity of its consultative process while increasing the speed at which it makes critical decisions.