3.9.3                Qualified Personnel

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University employs qualified personnel employees to ensure the quality and effectiveness of the student affairs programs.

Responsible Unit: Division of Student Affairs

Compliance Judgment

Compliance

Narrative

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NC A&T) employs qualified personnel to ensure the quality and effectiveness of the student affairs programs. The Division of Student Affairs is administered by the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and includes the following units: [1] Housing and Residence Life, Sebastian Health Center, Memorial Student Union, Student Development, First Year Experience and Orientation, Career Services, Counseling Services, Veterans' and Disability Services, Dean of Students, University Police, University Scheduler, Intramurals, International Students, Multicultural Students, Upward Bound, Student Support Services, and McNair Scholars.  Each of these offices support the mission of NC A&T [2] as well as the mission of the Division of Student Affairs [3].  In Core Requirement 2.10 a description and functions of the units' programs and services are provided and broadly categorized by (1) Academic Support, (2) Personal Growth and Diversity, (3) Professional Development, and (4) Wellness.  The programs and services provided by these units are designed to enhance and support the overall development of students.  The units within the Division of Student Affairs follow the standards, guidelines, and principles of their respective professional associations.

North Carolina A&T State University is committed to equality of educational opportunity and does not discriminate against applicants, students, or employees based on race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age or disability. The University employs individuals Subject to the Personnel Act, as well as, Exempt from the State Personnel Act (EPA) [4]. The procedures for the selection of new employees subject to the State Personnel Act (SPA) are outlined in the North Carolina State Personnel Manual, Workforce Planning, Recruitment and Selection [5]. The procedures for the selection of new employees exempt from the State Personnel Act are outlined in the North Carolina State Personnel Manual, Employment Policies for EPA Non-Faculty Manual [6].  One hundred and sixty-three SPA, EPA and Non- Faculty employees are employed within the Division of Student Affairs as of spring 2009 [7].

The organizational chart for the Division of Student Affairs illustrates how the responsibilities are delegated within the division and reporting relationships.  Student Affairs Division has 163 employees of which 52 hold advanced degrees and 8 hold earned doctorates.

Professional Development opportunities are provided to staff members in the Division.  These opportunities include attendance at professional conferences, workshops, seminars and other meetings at the local, state, and national levels.  Approximately 98% of the staff members participated in at least one conference, workshop, or seminar during the 2007 fiscal year.

Required monthly staff development meetings are coordinated by the assistant vice chancellors and directors for all student life staff. Additional opportunities for professional development and team building are coordinated by the unit through retreats, seminars, and staff meetings. Many staff members within student affairs also take advantage of the various training workshops made available through the Human Resources, Budget and Finance, Information Technology, and other campus departments [8].

DIVISION OF STUDENT AFFAIRS:

Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs

Dean of Students

Career Services and Experiential Learning

Counseling Center

Student Development

Sebastian Health Center

Orientation & First Year Experience

Office of Greek Life

International Students and Scholars

TRIO Programs

Multicultural Student Center

Veteran & Disability Support Services

Memorial Student Union

Intramural Programs

Campus Ministries

Aggie Wellness Center

University Police

University Scheduler

Housing and Residence Life

University Police Department

The Division of Student Affairs follows the North Carolina State Personnel Performance Management Policy for SPA employees [9] and EPA non-faculty follow the EPA Non-Faculty Performance Evaluation Policy [10].  The University requires that a Performance Evaluation be conducted for every employee annually. These annual and other evaluation forms are housed and available for review in Human Resources.  In addition, an annual staff recognition program is held and staff members and supervisors have the opportunity to nominate individuals for various awards to acknowledge outstanding contributions and accomplishments.

Each unit in Student Affairs, under the guidance of the vice chancellor for student affairs and the unit managers, determine the objectives, outcomes, budget needs, and assessment procedures, instruments, and processes appropriate for their respective units.  The results of the assessments and improvements made prior to fiscal year 2009 are outlined in an assessment table [11]. A few of the significant milestones during this timeframe include:

• Career Center Statistical Data (C3M) - a specialized tracking software for career services to tract student attendance at workshops/seminars/career fairs [12],
• Pandemic Emergency - The Health Center was instrumental in completing its component of the Pandemic Emergency, State of Preparedness for the campus,
• Implementation of an on-line screening assessment for students by the Counseling Center [13],
• In the area of policy analysis and development, the Dean of Students continued the "Zero Tolerance Policies on Drugs and Aggressive Behavior," resulting in a significant drop in violations ,
• The expansion of the Sebastian Health Center to include a newly built records unit,
• Participation in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) [14] as an additional tool for assessing the student experience,
• The offering of career co-operative courses for credit [15],
• Student participation in service learning opportunities in the City of Greensboro generated to 1.5 million dollars of service to the community [16].

The Division of Student Affairs has utilized a wide range of assessment instruments, including surveys, focus groups, benchmarking activities, process analyses, event evaluation forms, and compliance and efficiency audits to collect data on programs and services.   As a result of these assessment activities the following actions have been implemented:

• implementation of SAFE ZONE programming in order to help create a safe place for persons of all races, ethnicities, nationalities, genders, sexual orientations, religions, ages, and abilities,
• installation of an "on-line Intake" system for improvement of services by Counseling Services,
• new technologies, such as ORGSync, to document new undergraduate student orientation, summer reading program for new students and service learning hours for all undergraduate students,
• expansion of the Multicultural Center with an additional counselor, managed by the Office of Counseling Services,
• expansion of the service learning program,
• the opening of the Aggie Fitness Center,
• recepient of funding from North Carolina General Administration for the hiring of additional personnel for Counseling Services and University Policy Department,
• creation and implementation of Honors Program students to serve as tutors in residence halls for students identified "at risk,"
• creation of a joint committee which includes the University Police, Greensboro Police, administrators, private housing unit managers, and members of the City Council of Greensboro to collaborate on crime and prevention in the communities surrounding the University.

Supporting Documents

[1]      Organizational Chart, Student Affairs

[2]      Mission Statement, University

[3]      Student Affairs, Mission Statement

[4]      UNC System, Employee Definition

[5]      Policies, SPA Selection Procedures

[6]      Policies, EPA Selection Procedures

[7]      Student Affairs, Staffing Profile Summary

[8]      Student Affairs, Staff Profiles

[9]      Policies, SPA Performance Evaluation

[10]    Policies, EPA Non-Faculty Performance Evaluation

[11]    Student Affairs, Assessment Table

[12]    Student Affairs, Career Center Services

[13]    Student Affairs, Counseling Center on-line screening assessment

[14]    NSSE Survey

[15]    Student Affairs, Career Services Co-op Courses

[16]    Student Affairs, Civic and Service Education participation statistics

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