If they were assigning letter grades to the Pima Community College Governing Board, faculty at the College would have given them a D+.
A recent survey, of Pima Community College employees, which was conducted on Nov. 26-Dec. 20, 2013, shows that while overall employee satisfaction is close to the rating that employees at benchmark institutions give their colleges, there remains a lack of confidence in the Governing Board.
The College on Monday released an Executive Summary of findings from the survey, which was sent to 3,970 employees, with 982 responding.
The PCC employees, who responded to the confidential 20-minute survey, rated their overall workplace satisfaction at 3.70 on a five-point scale, with a 1 being not satisfied at all and a 5 being very satisfied. The overall satisfaction at six benchmark comparison institutions participating in the same survey is 3.93.
However, the statement: “Efforts to improve the effectiveness of the Board of Governors’ leadership are paying off at the institution,” received the lowest rating of all with a mere 2.39.
“We understand the College has a lot of work ahead of it to improve morale,” said Chancellor Lambert, who directed PCC to conduct the survey shortly after he started working at PCC on July 1, 2013. “We owe it to our employees, and to the students we serve, to create the kind of workplace that offers more than just a paycheck. Pima’s employees are dedicated and hardworking. I want them to come to work every day knowing that the work they do matters, and that they are genuinely appreciated.”
Chancellor Lambert said the College will build upon the survey by incorporating its findings into the strategic planning process, conducting focus groups to discern factors underlying employee attitudes and perceptions, and conducting follow-up surveys in a year or two to gauge the College’s progress.
Regarding satisfaction with College culture and policies, the lowest-rated statements were:
1. Efforts to improve the effectiveness of the Board of Governors’ leadership are paying off at the institution, 2.39
2. The institution consistently follows clear processes for selecting new employees, 2.40
3. There are effective lines of communication between departments, 2.48
4. Employee suggestions are used to improve the institution, 2.52
5. There is a spirit of teamwork and cooperation at the institution, 2.57
The highest-rated statements were:
1. Faculty take pride in their work, 3.64
2. PCC fosters an environment that is inclusive of diverse identities, 3.54
3. Staff takes pride in their work, 3.50
4. The institution does a good job meeting the needs of the administrators, 3.43
5. Most people are generally supportive of the mission, purpose, and values of the institution, 3.32
The College has taken several actions to improve the workplace since the survey was conducted. They include:
1. Revising Human Resources policy to ensure employee protection of rights
2. Making it easier for employees to compete for positions identified as an Opportunity for Career Advancement
3. Establishing a new governance model to ensure all key internal stakeholders have a voice in decision-making at the College
4. Reorganizing Chancellor’s Cabinet to emphasize accountability and multidirectional communication
5. Holding a Futures Conference of external and internal stakeholders to help determine strategic directions for the College over the next three to five years.
Currently, two Board members are the subjects of a recall effort. According to the group, Citizens for PCC Integrity, they are committed to removing all four of the Flores-era board members. They argue that recall is the appropriate action for voters to remove elected officials, who have committed egregious actions or failed to act to protect the very people they serve.
The group’s claims stem from the fact that the Higher Learning Commission, the college’s accrediting agency, on April 6, 2013, placed PCC on probation. The commission’s fact-finding team characterized the college’s Board of Governors as “dysfunctional.” They concluded, “Serious breaches of acting with integrity have been demonstrated by (PCC’s) Board of Governors, the Former Chancellor and some other senior administrators.”
According to the report, the Board of Governors failed “to act quickly and with all due diligence on serious complaints against (PCC’s) CEO,” and lacked a “structured review of its institutional policies and procedures.”
While the group says that Board members Brenda Even, Scott Stewart, Marty Cortez and David Longoria are “guilty of failing to protect the people they serve,” they are only targeting Stewart and Cortez. They do not say why Longoria is not a subject for recall, but do note that Brenda Even’s District 1 seat is up for reelection in 2014, so that seat has not been targeted.
To learn more about the recall effort visit fixpimacollege.com
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