Goal 6. Human Resources and Infrastructure
Maintain a quality work force and work environment.
Critical Success Factors (measures of the degree of success over the next 5 years):
- Move toward peer institution parity in compensation for faculty, staff and administrators.
- Participation in the university orientation and customer-service programs by all new employees.
- Annual performance review, including a professional development plan, for all employees.
- Documented, equitable, and consistent assessment procedures for annual reviews and merit increases.
- Reduce faculty and staff turnover rates.
- 100 new tenure-track faculty positions.
- Have an integrated University Facilities Master Plan that reflects strategic goals.
- Have at least 9,000 square feet per $1.2M in annual research funding.
- Teaching classroom utilization 1% higher than the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's State Standard for Classroom Use.
- Teaching lab utilization 2% higher than the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's State Standard for Class Laboratory Use.
Objectives:
Objective 6.1: Recruit and support excellent and diverse faculty, academic professionals, and staff.
Strategies:
- Assure that current and accurate job descriptions exist for all positions.
- Empower the appropriate area for the recruitment of new personnel.
- Provide competitive salaries and compensation packages at all levels.
- Expand employee benefits.
- Provide a clear and concise statement that affirms the significance of academic freedom and tenure within the university.
- Provide institutional resources to target diverse populations for position vacancies.
- Have an effective performance-evaluation system for all employees consistent with university priorities.
- Annually conduct performance evaluation and provide feedback, which includes a professional development plan.
- Expand campus resources for professional development and training.
- Provide administrative training and mentoring for new unit leaders.
- Evaluate systems for awarding merit to ensure they are fair and consistent.
- Develop and implement a plan to increase tenure-track faculty positions.
Assessments:
- Accurate job descriptions for all positions.
- Employee benefits.
- Number of diverse faculty and staff.
- New tenure-track faculty positions.
- Level of salary equity with peer institutions.
Objective 6.2: Reduce employee turnover and increase employee satisfaction.
Strategies:
- Implement an exit interview process for employees transferring from a department or departing the university.
- Incorporate exit interview results when addressing retention factors.
- Provide a program that allows for informal mediation/guidance in the resolution of complaints/concerns of staff and faculty.
- Analyze and create necessary support systems to enhance a diverse workforce and a spirit of inclusion.
- Ensure that faculty and staff are effectively integrated into their units.
- Have reward systems based on excellence in work performance.
Assessments:
- Employee turnover.
- Employee satisfaction survey.
Objective 6.3: Provide excellence in service to internal and external constituencies.
Strategies:
- Require all new staff to attend customer-service training within sixty days of employment.
- Include an assessment of customer service in annual staff performance appraisals.
- Use internal and external customer satisfaction feedback to improve quality of service provided.
- Recognize and reward units that offer excellent customer service.
- Include service excellence expectations in new faculty orientation.
Assessment:
- Customer service surveys.
Objective 6.4: Use a coordinated and effective process for implementing policies and procedures in a dynamic changing environment.
Strategies:
- Include faculty and staff input on development and revision of operating policies and procedures that impact their employment responsibilities.
- Provide training for policies/practices that are essential components of department operations.
- Develop an information system that alerts students, faculty, and staff to changes in university operating policies and procedures.
- Create a system of accountability for uniform policy implementation.
- Initiate an appropriate review process and ensure consistency among policies and procedures.
Assessments:
- Information system utilized.
- Annual review of policies and procedures.
Objective 6.5: Provide physical resources that effectively meet individual assignments and responsibilities.
Strategies:
- Conduct a campus-wide facilities and equipment needs assessment.
- Develop a facilities and equipment master plan based on needs assessment.
- Implement the deferred maintenance plan.
- Maintain a good physical working environment.
- Ensure appropriate access and accommodations for faculty and staff.
- Maximize the utilization of existing space resources, reassigning spaces consistent with priorities.
- Provide funding for the facilities and equipment master plan and the deferred maintenance plan.
- Ensure that the addition of new personnel provides for adequate facilities and equipment.
- Ensure appropriate levels of energy efficiency in renovations and new construction.
Assessments:
- Completed needs assessment.
- Facilities and equipment master plan.
- Deferred maintenance projects completed.
- Amount of funding.