C-2. COLLEGE ORGANIZATIONAL PRINCIPLES

Value Statements:

A. College Unity

               Austin Community College is a single college with multiple campuses and teaching sites, not a multi-college system. All employees, especially those with management responsibility, shall act to support the unity of the College by aligning their activities with the directives of the College's chief officers, by seeking what is best for the whole College rather than exclusively for a particular sector, and by fostering cooperation. College officers shall be supportive of each other and shall act in support of Board and Presidential directives.

               In the implementation of this policy, the administration shall ensure that students can receive services and have instructional issues settled and decided without being required to leave the campus they are attending. In addition, faculty and staff shall receive appropriate services and exercise delegated responsibilities at the campus level as provided by the organizational structure outlined in section C.

B. Presidential Leadership

               The President shall build a capable, unified, and diverse leadership group. As Chief Executive Officer, the President is responsible for determining and specifying in writing the staffing and scope of individual managerial positions, of institutional units, and of College-wide councils or committees. The President shall keep the other College officers well informed about Board and presidential issues, activities, and plans.

C. Organization of Academic and Workforce Programs

               The President shall establish a stable organizational structure of the instructional area to implement the one-college principle. In the interest of organizational stability, major organizational changes shall be made as infrequently as possible, consistent with meeting the needs of the college following consultation with affected groups.  Collaboration shall occur early in the formative stages of any proposed organizational change.  However, not withstanding this process, the President shall make the final decision on the organization.

The structure shall be based on college-wide groupings by discipline or related disciplines or by specific workforce programs.  Academic disciplines that have a significant number of faculty (both full-time and adjunct) shall have a separate organizational unit.  The President may also appoint other college-wide administrators to supervise these college-wide instructional units.

[1] All college-wide instructional units and their subcommittees shall operate on the principle of shared governance, providing for participation in decision-making relevant to the instructional unit by both full-time and adjunct members.  Exceptions to participation should apply to decisions in which there might be a conflict of interest.

[2] The President shall ensure diversity in decision-making participation by adjuncts.  This may include adjuncts who have received multiple-semester appointments under Board Policy D-6[5]-c and adjuncts who have given long service to ACC and have received a satisfactory annual evaluation.

[3] The organizational structure of academic and workforce programs must provide for:

(a) appropriate campus-based delegation of responsibilities including campus-based points of contact that the administration determines will maintain the one-college principle,

(b) uniform, college-wide standards of instructional administration, and

(c) consistent decision-making throughout the campuses.

The President shall develop rules that provide for such delegation, but both full-time and adjunct faculty shall be eligible to serve in such delegated capacities.

The Austin Community College Board of Trustees adopted this policy on November 4, 1996 and amended it on March 3, 1997, May 1, 2000, July 9, 2001, and July 7, 2008.

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