|
|
Posted By Gina Kennedy, NOSM University,
Tuesday, July 16, 2024
Updated: Monday, July 15, 2024
|
Building a Collaborative University Culture
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of ACUPA or NOSM University.
Welcome to the ever-changing world of university governance, where policy development meets cultural alchemy, and every decision is both a strategic move and a playful dance. As a governance professional, you hold the magic wand that can shape the very
culture of your institution. In this blog, we’ll explore the delightful intricacies of policy culture, the significance of understanding your institution's unique ethos, and the tools at your disposal to craft policies that foster an inclusive and
collaborative environment.
Policy Culture: More Than Just Words on Paper
When we talk about "policy culture," we’re diving into the collective mindset and behaviors that influence how policies are created, implemented, and perceived. Think of policy culture as the secret sauce that flavors every decision and action within
the university. It's not just about the rules themselves but the spirit in which they are embraced.
Shaping the Culture You Want and Need
To shape the policy culture your organization needs, start by understanding the current cultural landscape. Is your university a haven for innovation, or does it cling to tradition like a cat to a warm laptop? By recognizing these traits, you can craft
policies that resonate and inspire. Remember, policies should not be seen as rigid commandments but as living documents that evolve with the institution.
Guiding Documents and Tools
As a governance or policy professional, you’re not navigating this journey alone. You have an arsenal of guiding documents, tools and people!
- Policy Frameworks: These provide the backbone for developing coherent and consistent policies. They ensure that every policy aligns with the university’s mission and values.
-
Consultation Processes: Engage with stakeholders across the university. From faculty and students to the board and senate, inclusive consultation fosters buy-in and enriches policy development.
-
Feedback Mechanisms: Implement systems to gather ongoing feedback on policies. This helps in refining them and keeping them relevant.
-
People: Your greatest asset is the people involved in the policy process. Build a network of policy champions across the university who can advocate for and help implement new policies. These individuals, ranging from faculty and staff to students
and board members, bring diverse perspectives and drive cultural change through their everyday interactions and influence.
The Cultural Compass: Why Understanding Culture is Crucial
Understanding the culture of your institution is akin to having a reliable compass; it guides every step of the policy cycle. Culture impacts how policies are received, interpreted, and enacted. A policy that thrives in one university might flounder in
another due to differing cultural contexts.
The Inclusion Imperative
In today’s world, inclusivity isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a necessity. An inclusive culture ensures that diverse voices are heard and valued, leading to richer and more effective policies. Here’s how to proactively create an inclusive culture:
- Broad-Based Engagement: Include a wide array of perspectives in policy discussions. This includes staff, faculty, students, and the board or senate.
-
Cultural Competency Training: Equip everyone involved in policy development with the skills to understand and appreciate diversity.
-
Transparent Communication: Maintain open channels of communication where individuals feel safe to express their views and ensure that the message is being received – which means you may have to use different methods to achieve your purpose – be
open to variety.
The Role of Governance Professionals
Your role is to act as a bridge, connecting various groups within the university to ensure that policies are inclusive and reflective of the institution’s values. Think of yourself as the university’s cultural gardener, planting seeds of inclusivity
and collaboration that will bloom into robust policies.
Tools for a Collaborative Policy Culture
Creating a strong and collaborative policy culture is like assembling a well-coordinated orchestra. Here are some practical suggestions to support this harmonious environment:
- Policy Management Software: Invest in technology that simplifies policy creation, distribution, and tracking. This ensures that everyone is on the same page and that policies are easily accessible.
-
Workshops and Training: Regularly conduct workshops to educate stakeholders on policy processes and their roles. This fosters a sense of ownership and accountability.
-
Pilot Programs: Before rolling out new policies, run pilot programs to test their effectiveness and gather feedback. This iterative approach leads to more refined and accepted policies.
-
Celebrating Successes: Recognize and celebrate the successful implementation of policies. This reinforces positive behavior and highlights the value of collaborative efforts.
In Conclusion
Navigating the world of policy development in a university setting is both an art and a science. By understanding the cultural underpinnings of your institution, promoting inclusivity, and leveraging the right tools, you can craft policies that not only guide but also inspire.
Together, let’s cultivate a vibrant, inclusive, and collaborative university culture!
Tags:
campus culture
culture
Gina Kennedy
Policy Writing
stakeholders
Permalink
| Comments (0)
|
|
|
Posted By Judy Gragg, Maricopa Community Colleges District,
Monday, May 20, 2024
Updated: Thursday, May 16, 2024
|
Harnessing Your Policy Superpowers
In our role as policy professionals, we routinely deal with complex processes and subject matter outside our immediate span of control. We may likely find ourselves depending on the efforts of key partners to accomplish parts of the work. We may also recognize, all too clearly, that policy development is a collaborative and cross-functional effort involving others over whom we may have no actual authority. If policy making is a team sport comprised of players from distinct silos within the organization, how then do we most effectively engage the team resources for the policy program?
Following are three superpowers that may be utilized to harness the power of a cross-functional team for the policy office, especially when dependent on informal influence rather than direct formal authority to accomplish tasks.
The Power of Relationships
Build trust and relationships with key organizational stakeholders
Relationships provide the secret sauce to get things done. Determine the key partners to your work who are outside your span of control and intentionally seek them out. Build mutually beneficial alliances to support the policy work.
The Power of Clarity
Establish role clarity within the policy process
Although we are partners in the policy process, our roles will vary. Ensure your partners are clear on what you are asking of them and when it is needed, as well as how it supports their interests.
The Power of Culture
Understand the culture of your organization
Knowing the informal conventions about how things work and what is valued in your particular environment provides the crucial context around how to get things done most effectively and avoid missteps. Develop keen organizational awareness.
Through these avenues of influence, we may create a pathway for cross-functional collaboration that allows us to accomplish and maintain outcomes beyond our immediate office resources. We activate expanded assets within the organization for the policy work by leveraging our influence.
Tags:
culture
policy development
relationships
Permalink
| Comments (0)
|
|
|
Posted By Jessica Teets CCEP, Purdue University,
Tuesday, October 18, 2022
Updated: Monday, October 17, 2022
|
Articles on topics that may affect your organization’s policies
As we continue the fall semester, the Blog Committee would like to share some of the articles we’ve been reading that relate to policy administration in higher education. We have sorted them by subject matter for easier browsing.
Title IX
Hurry Up and Wait: What Can You Do While Awaiting the
Title IX Final Rule?
By Alisha Carter Harris for TNG Consulting, JD Supra, Sept. 27, 2022
Department of Education Releases New Guidance on
Pregnancy and Related Conditions
By Susan D. Friedfel, Carol R. Ashley, Crystal L. Tyler, and Desiree H. Langley, Jackson Lewis P.C., Oct. 10, 2022
Title IX Mandatory Reporting Expansion Under Fire
By Katherine Knott, Inside Higher Ed, Sept. 27, 2022
Health and Wellness
At
One University, Resistance to a New Covid Policy Comes From Inside the House
By Francie Diep, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Oct. 14, 2022
Remote Work
What must leaders consider as they develop permanent
remote work policies?
By Jon McNaughtan, Catherine Whaley, and Chelsea Wallace, Times Higher Education, Oct. 12, 2022
Academic Freedom and Women's Health
University of Idaho: Academic freedom policy, birth
control access haven’t changed
By Becca Savransky for Idaho Statesman, The Spokesman Review, Oct. 5, 2022
Inclusion and Institutional Culture
University of Guelph Establishes Anti-Racism Policy Statement
Press Release by University
of Guelph, Education News Canada, Oct. 13, 2022
We need to have new conversations about culture
By Edie Goldberg, Talent Management and HR (TLNT), Oct. 11, 2022
Student Admissions and Accessibility
Why Would-Be Students Aren’t Choosing College
By Sara Weissman, Inside Higher Education, Sept. 29, 2022
Admissions to the Major
By Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed, Oct. 3, 2022
When ‘Rigor’ Targets Disabled Students
By Katie Rose Guest Pryal, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Oct. 6, 2022
Campus Safety
Sexual assaults prompt Republicans, Democrats to
relaunch Campus Safety bill
By Chris Burt, University Business, Oct. 7, 2022
Concordia University dragging feet on sexual violence
policy, student unions say
By Erika Morris, CBC News, October 5, 2022
Transcript Withholding
Most
Colleges Withhold Students’ Transcripts Over Debt. That’s Starting to Change.
By Sylvia Goodman, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Oct. 6, 2022
Higher Ed Groups Urge Review of Transcript Withholding
By Katherine Knott, Inside Higher Ed, Oct. 13, 2022
Tags:
academic freedom
accessibility
admissions
anti-racism
birth control access
campus safety
covid
culture
disabled students
enrollment
health
health and wellness
inclusion
pregnancy
remote work
sexual assault
sexual violence
Title IX
transcript withholding
transcripts
Permalink
| Comments (0)
|
|
|
Posted By Jessica Teets CCEP, Purdue University,
Monday, February 18, 2019
Updated: Monday, September 27, 2021
|
The Dreaded Conversation Stopper
The views expressed in this post are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of ACUPA or Purdue University.
I stole this title from a blog post by John Vasquez that I read in “Inside Higher Ed.” The title caught my eye, because it is a question that I dread. If I answer with, “I’m a policy administrator,” I get a blank stare and silence, as if the other person is still waiting for me to answer the question. Sometimes I answer, “I work in ethics and compliance.” To which the other person responds with a knowing, “Oohhh,” as if they are buying time while they think through all the rules they broke that day and wonder if I’m going to call them out on anything. Either answer tends to be a conversation stopper.
This is one of the drawbacks to working in a relatively new industry. Only those of us who are policy administrators know what it means. Does the fact that others don’t understand what I do make my job less significant? At times, it feels like it does. When people are not able to relate to something, they disregard it. So, I wonder how I can answer the question about what I do that makes it more relatable to the uninitiated.
Policies outline the rules and expectations for the university community. From a compliance perspective, policies are necessary for setting the tone of an employer’s culture. If the employer does not specify what is right and wrong and what employees can do to prevent wrong behavior, the employer will be hard pressed to say it has an ethical culture. As the person responsible for making sure that Purdue University’s policies are clear, reasonable, and current, I play a pretty big role in shaping its culture.
Maybe the next time I’m asked what I do, I will answer with something along the lines of, “I help faculty, staff, and students understand what it means to be a Boilermaker.” Would that be a conversation starter?
Tags:
compliance
culture
policy administration
Permalink
| Comments (4)
|
|
Blog Home
All Blogs
RSS