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Clarion University
Executive Leadership Confidence Survey
March 2012
The Confidence in Clarion University Executive Leadership Survey was distributed on February 28, 2012
via web and closed on March 16, 2012. Each entry was anonymous. The aggregated results were derived
from 278 valid responses out of 285 attempts. The comments represent the respondent’s responses to
specific actions the President and the Executive Officers could take which would increase employee
confidence in the leadership.
Regarding the question…
The executive leadership demonstrates a commitment to the university.
29.6% strongly agree
39.7% agree
13.0% neither agree nor disagree
7.6% disagree
10.1% strongly disagree
Regarding the question…
The executive leadership has made changes that ensure the future of the
institution.
14.5% strongly agree
33.8% agree
26.9% neither agree nor disagree
13.8% disagree
10.9% strongly disagree
Regarding the question…
I have confidence in all the executive officers. (President, Provost, VP Student
& University Affairs, VP Finance & Administration, Executive Dean of the
Venango Campus, and the Assistant to the President for Social Equity).
12.9% strongly agree
33.1% agree
23% neither agree nor disagree
18% disagree
12.9% strongly disagree
Regarding the question...
I have confidence in the President.
39.8% strongly agree
30.9% agree
7.4% neither agree nor disagree
4.8% disagree
17.1% strongly disagree
Comments:
For readability, comments are grouped under common themes and not all comments are
reported. For instance, where respondents expressed similar comments, one comment is used to
illustrate the survey findings. Additionally, comments which did not answer the question are not
presented, such as comments related to what other employees could do to increase confidence
are not reported. As such, the following are comments in response to the question:
What could the executive officers do to increase your confidence in the Clarion executive
leadership as an employee?
Greater Transparency
•
Practice greater real transparency.
Be Caring & Supportive
•
•
VP of my division should be a lot more supportive and attuned to the operations of my
dept.
Care more about the student.
Regularly Communicate
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
We get different information from different groups - all seemingly trying to institute their
own programs, assessments, analysis of where the University is going etc. Some of the
programs are not well defined and that leads to confusion and discontent. We need clear
information on newly initiated programs.
Communication, honesty, consideration, understanding.
Make their decisions public and why a decision was made.
Communicate with all employees not just the directors.
Get out of Carrier and talk to the people who are out trying to make this college work and
a lot of the time not getting any help or support to do their jobs.
Post on the webpage an organizational chart with names, job titles, and duties to cut
down on the confusion and the RC income and expenses broken down for each area. It is
hard to do an evaluation when you have lumped so many positions together.
Come out with a consistent message.
I have been pleased by the transparency of the executive leadership, especially involving
financial issues. I would like more clarity on the relationship between the Clarion campus
and the new Venango College.
Continue to keep us informed regarding the financial status of the university.
I have heard a lot regarding the steps taken to decrease expenditures in effort to stay in
budget. But I have not heard any plans to increase revenue.
Express Clear Expectations and Hold Each Person Accountable
•
•
•
•
Hold people accountable.
We really need to streamline our processes and perfect them to make the students'
experience more enjoyable and less stressful.
A full revision of the hiring, tenure, promotion and overall retention of faculty would
provide clear guidelines as to what the expectations and performance measures for the
future would be.
Make everyone accountable for their performance and hours worked.
Greater Faculty/Staff Involvement in Decision-Making
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Continue to openly discuss your plan and reasoning for them and involve employees
directly in decisions that affect them. You'd be surprised at the insights you get from
people actually getting their hands dirty here that executives and administrators can miss.
Take advantage of non-executive staff experience.
Ask for opinion of "front line" employees... AND ACTUALLY CONSIDER suggestions
made by employees.
Make better decisions on how university money is spent. Support staff should be viewed
as an important part of the campus.
Be honest about their true intentions concerning the future direction of the university and
willing to express these intentions well in advance of taking action.
Respect, approach, and use faculty members and their expertise as allies, not enemies.
There should be more insight from the staff members.
More than listening ... too often, changes are presented as 'open to discussion' when the
decisions have already been made and input is not actually desired or desirable; asking
faculty/staff to spend time offering suggestions re: a fait accompli is not a good use of
faculty/staff time, nor does it build support for change.
More openness in the decision making process.
The executive officers could ask for my input prior to making decisions that directly and
negatively impact the future of a program and students
Executive Approach to Making Decisions
• Respect faculty, staff, and students; learn the environment; respect contracts.
• Greater accessibility...dispense with chain of command barriers.
• The most important task at hand is to transform the culture of our university into one that
is more merit based, more data driven, and one that rewards excellence.
• Demonstrate a commitment to the University and an energy and enthusiasm for the
future.
• Require expenditure reductions for institutional support activities that burden revenue
generating units.
• If upper level administrators follow the President's lead, we may just come out on top.
• I would like some assurance that educational goals play a role in decision making.
• More leadership and direction needed. Resolve issues on a more timely basis.
• Have a working knowledge of the jobs of those they oversee and the ability to look
towards the future with clarity in their decision-making.
• Honor the expertise and talent of the faculty.
• Provide strong leadership that is able to make decisions and carry them out.
• If the university is going to an RC model, then RC managers must have the appropriate
support to deal with budgets on a larger scale.
• Greater thought and attention need to given to the managing of transitions (when
employees retire or resign, when new systems are implemented, etc.) with a focus on
trustworthy communication and clear decision-making processes.
• President and Provost, continue to stay in the position, making positive contributions, for
more than 3 years. Evaluate RCM and its effects on morale and the inequities between
revenue and non-revenue generating RCs.
• Evaluate all student programs (Academics, Residence Life, Athletics, etc.) to ensure
students are having the best experience possible. We need to be student-centered to retain
and attract new students from an enrollment standpoint.
• By doing things fair, take a little pride in the campus looks to others inside and out and
update necessary equipment so we may execute our ability to do our jobs effectively.
• Pay close attention to diversity issues!
Executive Leadership Confidence Survey
March 2012
The Confidence in Clarion University Executive Leadership Survey was distributed on February 28, 2012
via web and closed on March 16, 2012. Each entry was anonymous. The aggregated results were derived
from 278 valid responses out of 285 attempts. The comments represent the respondent’s responses to
specific actions the President and the Executive Officers could take which would increase employee
confidence in the leadership.
Regarding the question…
The executive leadership demonstrates a commitment to the university.
29.6% strongly agree
39.7% agree
13.0% neither agree nor disagree
7.6% disagree
10.1% strongly disagree
Regarding the question…
The executive leadership has made changes that ensure the future of the
institution.
14.5% strongly agree
33.8% agree
26.9% neither agree nor disagree
13.8% disagree
10.9% strongly disagree
Regarding the question…
I have confidence in all the executive officers. (President, Provost, VP Student
& University Affairs, VP Finance & Administration, Executive Dean of the
Venango Campus, and the Assistant to the President for Social Equity).
12.9% strongly agree
33.1% agree
23% neither agree nor disagree
18% disagree
12.9% strongly disagree
Regarding the question...
I have confidence in the President.
39.8% strongly agree
30.9% agree
7.4% neither agree nor disagree
4.8% disagree
17.1% strongly disagree
Comments:
For readability, comments are grouped under common themes and not all comments are
reported. For instance, where respondents expressed similar comments, one comment is used to
illustrate the survey findings. Additionally, comments which did not answer the question are not
presented, such as comments related to what other employees could do to increase confidence
are not reported. As such, the following are comments in response to the question:
What could the executive officers do to increase your confidence in the Clarion executive
leadership as an employee?
Greater Transparency
•
Practice greater real transparency.
Be Caring & Supportive
•
•
VP of my division should be a lot more supportive and attuned to the operations of my
dept.
Care more about the student.
Regularly Communicate
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
We get different information from different groups - all seemingly trying to institute their
own programs, assessments, analysis of where the University is going etc. Some of the
programs are not well defined and that leads to confusion and discontent. We need clear
information on newly initiated programs.
Communication, honesty, consideration, understanding.
Make their decisions public and why a decision was made.
Communicate with all employees not just the directors.
Get out of Carrier and talk to the people who are out trying to make this college work and
a lot of the time not getting any help or support to do their jobs.
Post on the webpage an organizational chart with names, job titles, and duties to cut
down on the confusion and the RC income and expenses broken down for each area. It is
hard to do an evaluation when you have lumped so many positions together.
Come out with a consistent message.
I have been pleased by the transparency of the executive leadership, especially involving
financial issues. I would like more clarity on the relationship between the Clarion campus
and the new Venango College.
Continue to keep us informed regarding the financial status of the university.
I have heard a lot regarding the steps taken to decrease expenditures in effort to stay in
budget. But I have not heard any plans to increase revenue.
Express Clear Expectations and Hold Each Person Accountable
•
•
•
•
Hold people accountable.
We really need to streamline our processes and perfect them to make the students'
experience more enjoyable and less stressful.
A full revision of the hiring, tenure, promotion and overall retention of faculty would
provide clear guidelines as to what the expectations and performance measures for the
future would be.
Make everyone accountable for their performance and hours worked.
Greater Faculty/Staff Involvement in Decision-Making
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Continue to openly discuss your plan and reasoning for them and involve employees
directly in decisions that affect them. You'd be surprised at the insights you get from
people actually getting their hands dirty here that executives and administrators can miss.
Take advantage of non-executive staff experience.
Ask for opinion of "front line" employees... AND ACTUALLY CONSIDER suggestions
made by employees.
Make better decisions on how university money is spent. Support staff should be viewed
as an important part of the campus.
Be honest about their true intentions concerning the future direction of the university and
willing to express these intentions well in advance of taking action.
Respect, approach, and use faculty members and their expertise as allies, not enemies.
There should be more insight from the staff members.
More than listening ... too often, changes are presented as 'open to discussion' when the
decisions have already been made and input is not actually desired or desirable; asking
faculty/staff to spend time offering suggestions re: a fait accompli is not a good use of
faculty/staff time, nor does it build support for change.
More openness in the decision making process.
The executive officers could ask for my input prior to making decisions that directly and
negatively impact the future of a program and students
Executive Approach to Making Decisions
• Respect faculty, staff, and students; learn the environment; respect contracts.
• Greater accessibility...dispense with chain of command barriers.
• The most important task at hand is to transform the culture of our university into one that
is more merit based, more data driven, and one that rewards excellence.
• Demonstrate a commitment to the University and an energy and enthusiasm for the
future.
• Require expenditure reductions for institutional support activities that burden revenue
generating units.
• If upper level administrators follow the President's lead, we may just come out on top.
• I would like some assurance that educational goals play a role in decision making.
• More leadership and direction needed. Resolve issues on a more timely basis.
• Have a working knowledge of the jobs of those they oversee and the ability to look
towards the future with clarity in their decision-making.
• Honor the expertise and talent of the faculty.
• Provide strong leadership that is able to make decisions and carry them out.
• If the university is going to an RC model, then RC managers must have the appropriate
support to deal with budgets on a larger scale.
• Greater thought and attention need to given to the managing of transitions (when
employees retire or resign, when new systems are implemented, etc.) with a focus on
trustworthy communication and clear decision-making processes.
• President and Provost, continue to stay in the position, making positive contributions, for
more than 3 years. Evaluate RCM and its effects on morale and the inequities between
revenue and non-revenue generating RCs.
• Evaluate all student programs (Academics, Residence Life, Athletics, etc.) to ensure
students are having the best experience possible. We need to be student-centered to retain
and attract new students from an enrollment standpoint.
• By doing things fair, take a little pride in the campus looks to others inside and out and
update necessary equipment so we may execute our ability to do our jobs effectively.
• Pay close attention to diversity issues!