Job descriptions for VP, faculty go to board Tuesday

The Policy and Long-Range Planning Committee approved a new job description for full-time faculty and for the vice presidents of academic success at Tuesday’s standing committee meeting.

Both will be recommended to the full board at the next regular meeting Tuesday.

The title of vice president of academic affairs was changed to vice president for academic success.

The job description will guide the search for vice president of academic success at this college and Palo Alto College.

President Robert Zeigler said the name was changed to emphasize student success.

“Changing the name from affairs to success was simply a way of emphasizing that this job was about, as we are all about, students being successful,” Zeigler said.

The position at this college was vacated when Dr. Jessica Howard left June 28 for Oregon to become president of the Southeast Campus of Portland Community College.

Dr. Robert Vela, vice president of student affairs, has been filling the vice president of academic affairs position since July 2 in addition to his regular duties.

The position closed Sept. 14, and Zeigler will assemble a search committee of about 10.

The position at Palo Alto was left vacant when Stacey Johnson, former vice president of academic affairs, left May 31 to become president of Valencia College’s East and Winter Park campuses.

The new vice president of academic success job description was created to accurately reflect the current roles, priorities and qualifications of that position.

The minute order states that position priorities from the current contract will be incorporated into the updated description.

The description also includes input from the chancellor, vice chancellors, associate vice chancellor for human resources and organizational development, presidents and current position incumbents.

People Link, a website for districtwide job postings, is advertising the position with the old job description.

Needed experience in the new job description is a combination of five years teaching and administrative experience in higher education.

It also states they would administer and lead the college’s academic programs, such as transfer, career, noncredit, continuing education and learning support services.

They would also work with the vice president of student services to integrate student programs and services.

To align academic programs, workforce programs and student success initiatives, they must collaborate with vice chancellors of academic success, student success, workforce development, economic development and the chancellor.

Other duties include promoting curriculum development; developing, measuring, evaluating and improving student learning outcomes; and revitalizing processes that meet student and public stakeholder needs.

Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and state requirements must be met as well.

The vice president of academic success must lead the academic team in planning, developing, implementing and improving institutional and academic publications, new technology, facility use and academic services.

Another duty includes leading implementation of the college planning and effectiveness process for the college’s academic areas as well as learning resources and instructional technology.

The vice president is required to recommend academic policies and procedures to improve student success and fulfill the district and college’s objectives.

The committee also recommended a new job description for full-time faculty.

According to the minute order, the description was revised because it needed to show the importance of the faculty’s role in student success.

A faculty evaluation team is co-chaired by English Professor Dawn Elmore-McCrary and Dr. Jackie Claunch, president of Northwest Vista College.

The committee was formed to develop a new faculty evaluation process.

One of their first duties was to review and revise the job description.

Faculty across the district, presidents, vice chancellors and the chancellor were involved in the evaluation process development.

The new description defines the cyclical duties required for the continuous teaching and learning improvement.

The minute order states a separate job description will be formed for adjunct faculty, librarians and counselors.

Duties for full-time faculty will include:
• plan an optimal learning environment
• provide high quality instruction and advising
• assess themselves, their students and their teaching techniques to increase effectiveness
• continue professional development
• participate in shared governance
The full-time faculty job description and the vice president of academic success description will go for approval to the board of trustees at the board meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday at in Killen Center.