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Standard XII		Staff Standard

The current NEASC Standards for Accreditation do not include an explicit staff standard. Wellesley College's decision to include such a standard was based on a recommendation from the Reaccreditation Steering Committee, who thought it was important to incorporate the staff perspective and to provide some guidelines about the type of employer Wellesley College is and wants to be.

This the first time Wellesley College has included a staff standard in its reaccreditation process. We have modeled our staff standard on Standard V (faculty).

Staff Overview

The administrative staff is comprised of full-time and part-time exempt, non-exempt, and union employees. There are a total of 550 administrative staff and 271 union staff who work in various positions throughout the College, such as the academic departments, admissions, student services, development, alumnae relations, Center for Work and Service (formerly the Career Center), Wellesley Centers for Women, custodial services and grounds, residence life, bursary, cultural advising, special events, college publications, library, information and technology services, human resources, and the Davis Museum and Cultural Center.

Total Employees	Administrative	Union
(Head Count)	550	271
Full time	63%	63%
Part time	37%	37%
Exempt	58%
Non-exempt	42%
Women	88%	34%
Men	12%	66%
Minority	9%	41%
men women		40% 60%
Years at Wellesley (av.)	8.54	12.71

Wellesley College is fortunate to have a talented and dedicated staff committed to the mission of Wellesley as a liberal arts institution for women. Staff at all levels work to support an environment that empowers the students and places them first. Staff members operate the institutional systems that recruit, advise and support our students; they facilitate the students' (and in many cases, the faculty's) access to the wealth of academic and non-academic facilities provided by the College; they counsel students about opportunities outside and after Wellesley, and maintain the life-long connections between the College and its alumnae. In addition, they raise funds for the College, sustain its public profile, manage and maintain its physical, financial, technological, cultural and human resources.

Administrative Staffing Levels and Costs

A 1996 COFHE comparative study of non-faculty staffing at eighteen liberal arts colleges reveals that Wellesley's staffing levels in all divisions continue to be well above the median. At Wellesley and across all colleges, technology/ computing is the area experiencing highest growth. In terms of expenditures, Wellesley's total non-faculty staff salaries are the second highest among the comparison colleges. Controlling for the size of the student body, Wellesley's non-faculty staff salaries and fringe benefits per student FTE are the highest in the group. These findings are explained in part by the cost of living in the Boston area.

In 1992, the College initiated a voluntary retirement program known as the Voluntary Incentive Program/ Retirement Incentive Program (VIP/RIP). The maximum full time equivalent (FTE) reduction that was reached in the VIP/RIP program was 45 positions. However, some of the reductions came in areas that had to be refilled, so in the following years the program led to a net reduction of 33 FTE positions. Since that time there has been a gradual increase in staff that is not directly related to replacing VIP/RIP slots, but rather represents expanding needs in such areas as support for technology, multicultural affairs, etc.

Diversity

Administrative staff is considerably less diverse than either the faculty or the union employees. The Office of Equal Opportunity and Multicultural Policy, working with Human Resources and other divisions of the College, has recently produced an affirmative action plan that identifies long range goals for the hiring of faculty and staff. In addition, as described in Standard XI, the Offices of Equal Opportunity and Human Resources have revisited procedures for the hiring of exempt and non-exempt staff members. We have specific procedures for outreach and hiring to ensure a diverse pool of qualified applicants, including creating search committees that reflect gender and racial diversity.

Workload and Responsibilities

The nature of the work undertaken by much of the administrative staff has changed substantially over the last decade. In 1997, the College launched a series of discussion groups, facilitated by an outside consulting firm (Ampersand Associates), to hear the comments and concerns of faculty and staff. While the principal purpose of the initiative was to use community feedback to inform decisions about encouraging innovation and controlling costs, issues about the work environment arose frequently. Among the themes identified in the report were the following:

• The rapidly increasing use of technology in the workplace has had a profound impact on the staff. E-mail, voice mail, the Campus-Wide Information System and the use of a wide array of other web-based resources, word processing, spreadsheet applications and presentation software, in addition to the implementation of the Banner integrated database system, have changed the way work is done at Wellesley. Most staff have needed to acquire new skills in order to operate successfully in this technology-dependent environment and to embrace the constancy of change. The need for increased training opportunities emerges as a constant theme in these discussions.
• Staff have experienced an increase in workload within many offices in the last ten years. According to the Ampersand report, "...The concept of eliminating work runs counter to Wellesley's tradition of excellence. At Wellesley, when someone expects something of you, it is your challenge to provide them with what they need. And since it is so difficult to change people's expectations, it would be close to impossible to eliminate work."

Administrative Policies and Benefits

Wellesley's current administrative policies are fully explained in the Administrative Handbook, available to all staff on the Campus Wide Information System. Staff benefits compare favorably overall with those of institutions in Wellesley's labor market. Controlling for the size of the student body, Wellesley's expenditures for fringe benefits per student FTE (FY 1996 figures) are the highest among COFHE colleges. To enlarge understanding of these benefits and their costs, the Human Resources Office has designed individual employee benefits statements that were distributed for the first time in November 1998.

Governance

Administrative Council was established in 1984 under the auspices of the President's Office to solicit and invite voluntary employee involvement and provide Wellesley College administrative staff with a forum to discuss and make recommendations to the president and senior staff on policy issues. Membership is open to all full-time and part-time administrative staff. There are ordinarily eight meetings annually, chaired by the president of the College or her delegate.

There are currently 230 members of Administrative Council out of a total of 550 administrative staff (42% of those eligible). Committees include: Steering Committee, Nominating Committee, Committee for Diversity, Compensation/Personnel Policy Committee. In addition, Administrative Council elects representatives to Academic Council, the Committee Against Racial Discrimination, the Advisory Committee on Budgetary Affairs, the Standing Panel for College-Wide Grievance Committee, and the President's Advisory Council. Union members have a separate governing structure with an executive committee and governing officers (president, vice president, treasurer, business agent). Union members meet monthly to discuss issues related their working conditions and benefits.

Appraisal:

Along with an outstanding faculty and an excellent student body, the quality, experience and commitment of the administrative staff are indispensable to the strength of this institution. There are, however, several specific areas that require attention in order to enhance the administrative staff's ability to fulfill the significant role they play in carrying out the mission of Wellesley College.

Training

The College recognizes the importance of keeping training programs current and compatible with the specific skill enhancements staff need. The training that currently takes place falls into the area of skills development, management training, technology training, OSHA, sexual harassment, and diversity training. Because of the lack of centralized coordination, this has been done in a piecemeal fashion, and has been sometimes seemed more reactive than strategic.

Professional development opportunities such as conferences and professional meetings are also made available to many employees by individual departments. The College provides limited opportunities for training of mid-level managers through a management course at Babson College. In addition, in 1997, management training for senior and 60 selected mid-level managers was conducted through an intensive 12-day program designed by outside consultants. Staff at all levels of the College have expressed a strong interest in participating in similar programs.

There is a clear need to develop a schedule for coordinated, structured, and ongoing management and technology training as well as increased professional development opportunities for administrative staff at all levels of the organization, not just at the more senior levels. The Human Resources Office is making plans to follow up on the leadership training conducted in 1997, and is working with the Information Services division on technology orientation for new staff, and other projects. Training in all areas - management, technology, and diversity - is a high management priority of Wellesley College.

Relationship between faculty and staff, and among staff at different levels

Faculty and staff make different contributions to Wellesley College and play different roles in the educational experience of Wellesley students. These roles are reflected in the compensation programs for faculty and staff.

• The Task Force on Plans, Priorities, and Fiscal Policies established salary objectives for faculty and staff. The objective for faculty salaries is to be at 105% of 17 peer institutions across all 3 ranks. The salary objective for staff is to be at 100% of the labor market.
• The Task Force on Plans, Priorities, and Fiscal Policies recommended that in order to achieve the faculty and staff salary objectives, the budgeted salary pool increase be 2% real for faculty and 1% real for staff. This is reviewed annually.
• Staff salaries and faculty salaries are subject to different classification systems and salary ranges.
• Certain benefits are not available or are different for staff, e.g. tuition grants for dependent children, pension, and parental leave.

Benefits differences also exist across administrative levels - between exempt and non-exempt employees and between part-time and full-time employees. These differences have sometimes led to resentment within the administrative staff. The Ampersand report noted that the issue is not merely monetary, but is also one of respect. Some staff have expressed the view that their sometimes "behind-the-scenes" work is often under appreciated. One way in which the College has tried to address this problem is by making more use of a cross-constituency model in committees, meetings, ad hoc groups, etc., thereby integrating staff views into policy debates.

Diversity and multiculturalism

Wellesley College is located in an affluent white suburb and is often perceived by prospective employees to be an unmanageable distance from the metropolitan Boston area. This perception is one - but only one - of the factors that has impeded our ability to attract a diverse applicant pool. The College has had difficulty attracting diverse applicant pools across the board. Retention of minority staff is another issue that the College faces. Although some attrition is to be expected, we must constantly examine the climate of our work place for minority staff to determine if the level of attrition is related to negative experiences or other factors. This requires an aggressive recruitment effort, supported by an active effort to retain the minority staff who are hired.

Information technology

In 1993, the College purchased Banner, an integrated administrative information system, from SCT Corporation. The Banner implementation has required that staff learn new skills in order to use the system effectively. The integrated database has also called for staff to work across departmental lines in order to reach agreement about data entry standards. Because of the complexity of the data stored in the system, the production of reports has been time consuming and cumbersome, requiring specialized programming skills of some staff.

There continue to be significant issues associated with the full integration of Banner into the college's administrative operations. In many cases Banner functionality has simply been laid on top of existing procedures, rather than being integrated into procedures that have been analyzed to maximize the capabilities of the system. The president and senior administrative staff of the College have focused much time and attention on this problem, enlisting the expertise of people within and outside of Wellesley. A plan is now in place to begin the work processing and organizational analysis required to maximize the benefits of the integrated data system. The technology issues will continue to challenge the administrative staff as this process unfolds.

Projections

1. Wellesley's current classification system for administrative jobs has been in place for ten years. The compensation program will be updated to ensure that job classifications, benefits, and salary grades are consistent with today's marketplace and to ensure that we continue to recruit highly qualified staff while maintaining equity for long-term employees. This new system should be implemented by July 2000.
2. The Human Resources Office, under a newly appointed director, will be assuming a more strategic direction and role in the institution. In collaboration with outside consultants, this office will review the College's human resources information system and its administrative processes and organizational structures to enhance efficiencies and take greater advantage of the management benefits and information that an effectively managed integrated data system can provide. Their recommendations should be implemented by spring 1999.
3. The College will strategically review the development needs of its staff in order to create ongoing learning opportunities and skill development. The College will follow up on the leadership training in its efforts to have a supervisory development plan in place next year. In addition, Wellesley will continue to work with the Boston Consortium, a group of Boston area colleges and universities, to develop training resources for employees across member institutions. Strengthening the training approach at all levels will result in more mobility among staff both on and off campus. Priority areas for training include supervision and performance evaluation.
4. By spring 1999, the College will have in hand recommendations for comprehensive staff training in the use of Banner and other technology necessary for their jobs.
5. It has been suggested that a mentor system be instituted to help new employees or employees changing jobs become familiar with their new environs. The Human Resources Office is revising its current orientation program to develop a more expansive program that would not only help new employees understand the overall benefits of working at Wellesley, but also help them become familiar with facilities and resources available on campus. This program should be piloted by September 1999.
6. The College is making a concerted effort to expand its recruitment practices by attending job fairs in areas where there is a diverse pool of applicants. In addition, senior staff and managers are being held accountable to perform all appropriate and necessary outreach to attract a diverse pool of professional talent to the College.

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