Standard 11
Integrity
Team Members:
Marie Kilbride,
lead, Director of Learning Services
Eric Goldberg, Professor
Nan Hirst Assistant Professor
John McClellan, Professor
Description
Quinebaug
Valley Community College is an environment in which the ethical treatment of
students, faculty, staff, and the community at large is expected and
encouraged. In its students, the College is committed to developing concern for
the rights of individuals in a pluralistic society and to promoting
“understanding and appreciation of the diversity of human behavior and culture
as they relate to…age, class, disability, ethnicity, gender, race, religion,
and sexual orientation,” as articulated under General Education Goals in the QVCC catalog.
The College educates students in ethical decision-making, to foster responsible
citizenship and community service.
The
College articulates a number of policies and procedures on the rights and
responsibilities of students. QVCC’s Application for Enrollment clearly states
the College’s non-discriminatory stance, and other promotional documents, such
as the Willimantic
Center brochure, also carry non-discrimination statements. Several
of these documents are available in both English and Spanish. The College
provides to its students the opportunity to declare a disability and seek
appropriate accommodations. An Information and Self-Disclosure brochure is
among the documents provided in the new student information packet. Upon
self-disclosure, the student is provided with a copy of the College’s Policies for
Service to Students with Disabilities, which describes access
procedures and details the student’s and the College’s rights and
responsibilities.
Student
rights and responsibilities are a focal point in the Student Handbook. The Student
Handbook provides wide dissemination of information about student rights and
responsibilities. A condensed version of the Student Handbook is given to all
new students as part of the Academic Planner. The Academic Planner, a
combination of student handbook, college directory, and academic planning
calendar, is a tool new students find useful during their first year at the
College, and many students purchase it in later years, also. The full version
of the Student Handbook is available to all students in print and online at the
College’s web site. Both the abridged and full versions of the Student Handbook
detail the grievance procedure for students, which includes a graduated series
of steps, including discussion with the instructor, referral to the Dean of
Learning and Student Development, a hearing by an appeals committee, and an
appeal to the President if necessary. Included in the Rights of Students
section of the Student Handbook is entitlement to an atmosphere conducive to
learning. Students are free to take reasoned exception to the data or views
offered in any course of study. Students are explicitly required to examine
ethical issues and question assumptions through coursework such as Medical
Ethics and the Law (required for the Medical Assisting degree) and Computer
Ethics and Society (required for Computer Services degrees).
The
Connecticut Community-Technical College (CCTC) Board of Trustees authorizes the
administrative head of the College to award the Associate’s degree to students
who have completed the requirements of programs approved by the Board.
Graduating students must have been recommended for such degrees by the faculty
of the College. The Board of Trustees also designates for the CCTC system the
area of jurisdiction in which each State community college conducts its
activities.
QVCC
takes a proactive stance in adhering to affirmative action and
non-discrimination policies and procedures in recruitment and employment. A
yearly Affirmative
Action Plan presented to the Commission on Human Rights and
Opportunities details achievements, strengths and weaknesses, current status of
College efforts, and goals for the next year. New employees, including student
employees, are provided with CCTC Board of Trustees policy documents relating
to drug-free workplace, electronic monitoring in the workplace, professional
ethics, racism and acts of intolerance, sexual harassment, software copyright
agreements, workplace violence prevention and response, and work-related injury
or illness. All employees acknowledge receiving and reading these policies
relating to ethical standards, as employees sign copies that are placed in
their personnel files. Student employees read and sign confidentiality
statements. College management apprises employees of additions or changes in
human rights policies as these are passed by the Board of Trustees.
In
addition to ensuring that employees have information relating to affirmative
action and non-discrimination policies and procedures, QVCC provides training
in the identification and prevention of sexual harassment. While this training
is required by State law for supervisors, QVCC management ensures that all
employees receive it. Further, all State employees are required to receive
diversity training. QVCC is pursuing a “train the trainer” approach,
identifying three employees—broadly representative of the QVCC community—to be
trained, who then provide training for the rest of the faculty and staff.
The College follows
a number of policies and procedures articulated by the Board of Trustees and by
the collective bargaining agreements between the various unions and the Board
to ensure the rights and responsibilities of faculty and staff. For example,
the freedoms of research, publication, and teaching are contractually
stipulated in the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the
Congress of Connecticut Community Colleges (4C’s) union and the Board. Employee
evaluation and advancement happen in accordance with contractual guidelines
agreed to by the Board and the employee unions. The 4C’s agreement defines the
grievance process.
Policies
and practices governing faculty and staff rights and responsibilities are
described in the New Employee Packet, the Board of Trustees Policy Manual (available
in print and online at www.commnet.edu/co/bpm.pdf), the Learning and Student Development
Division Handbook, the Adjunct Faculty Handbook, the Employee
Quick Reference Guide, the Code of Ethics for Connecticut State Employees, and
employment contracts such as the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the
Board and the 4C’s.
College
policies contribute to the relatively open administration of the institution.
In addition, the President’s Cabinet meetings are summarized and distributed
throughout the College community by electronic mail. The minutes of staff
meetings are distributed and corrections to them are solicited and welcomed.
Oral reports on pertinent issues are presented to the staff at regular
college-wide and divisional meetings.
QVCC
has engaged periodically, according to NEASC-approved schedules, in
self-examination and assessment activities designed to highlight current
strengths and weaknesses and to form the basis for goal setting. QVCC closely
adheres to guidelines for accreditation set in place by the NEASC Commission on
Institutions of Higher Education. The College devotes significant time and
resources to the yearlong self-study needed to prepare for accreditation
review. QVCC attends to standards of institutional integrity in both academic
and administrative areas. The self-study is conducted by full participation of
faculty and professional staff, and cross-functional teams conduct research to
provide the evaluation process a broad-based perspective. The College has
received approval by the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education
beginning with its initial accreditation in 1979.
As
a member of the CCTC system and as a State of Connecticut agency, QVCC receives
mandates concerning policies and practices from the legislature, from agencies
having jurisdiction over activities of Connecticut public higher education, and
from the system’s Board of Trustees. That is, many of the mandates are
externally determined and developed but locally implemented. QVCC strives to
follow the spirit and intent of the guidelines prescribed in Federal and State
law, in the Board’s Policy Manual, and in the various collective bargaining
agreements. It is expected that the above will continue to hold true.
Furthermore, regularly scheduled contract negotiations adjust employment,
evaluation, and advancement criteria over time. As of this writing, the 4C’s
and the Board are negotiating a new contract.
While
there is a formal mechanism in place to address compliance with Federal and
State laws as well as State and CCTC system policies concerning ethics, sexual
harassment, workplace violence, and diversity, no such mechanism is in place to
address ethical issues that are not thus codified. The College sees a need for
an additional mechanism, perhaps an ad hoc ethics committee, to address such
questions. The College is fortunate to have a staff alert to ethical issues and
willing to engage in dialogue about them.
Reports
of goals and activities presented to the Commission on Human Rights and
Opportunities have been regularly approved as adequate. In February 2000, the
Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) conducted an extensive Compliance
Audit. After interviews with management, faculty, staff, and
students and after a facility inspection, the OCR issued a satisfactory audit
report. Several minor needed corrections were noted in the report, and the
College is now working to make those changes.
·
The establishment of an ad hoc
ethics committee will be explored.
·
QVCC will continue to adhere to
policies and procedures that foster respect, tolerance, and support for people
of diverse characteristics and backgrounds. The implementation of system-wide
human rights policies, affirmative action mandates, and the reporting to civil
rights organizations will continue to provide regular opportunities for
self-examination and corrective action. Self-assessment will help the College
ensure itself of respected standing in the higher education community.
·
QVCC will continue to focus on
enabling students to identify and evaluate ethical issues and conflicts.
Documents
Academic Planner
Adjunct Faculty Handbook
Affirmative Action Plan
Application for Enrollment
Board
of Trustees policy documents:
Drug-free workplace
Electronic monitoring in the
workplace
Professional ethics
Racism and acts of intolerance
Sexual harassment
Software copyright agreements
Workplace violence prevention
and response
Work-related illness or injury
Board of Trustees Policy Manual
Code of Ethics for
Connecticut State Employees
Collective Bargaining Agreement between the
Congress of Connecticut Community Colleges and the CCTC Board of Trustees
Compliance Audit, Office of Civil Rights
Employee Quick Reference Guide
Information and Self-Disclosure for Students
with Disabilities
Learning and Student Development Division Handbook
New Employee Packet
Policies for Service to Students with
Disabilities
QVCC catalog
QVCC web site: www.qvcc.commnet.edu
Student Handbook
Willimantic Center brochure