Jon Mandrell

IDSL 865
Information Acquisition and Dissemination Plan

Sauk Valley Community College

Mission: An institution of higher education that provides quality learning
opportunities to meet the diverse needs of its students and community

Background/Situation Analysis: Overview of Organizational Chart at Sauk

Valley Community College
Sauk Valley Community College is governed by an 8-member board of trustees, who
is responsible for hiring the president, establishing the institutions policies and
procedures, as well as seeking input from the faculty, staff, and community in their
planning and direction. The president of the institution works jointly with the
colleges staff to effectively plan a budget and make recommendations to the board.
The organizational chart of the institution provides an overview of communication
processes and responsibilities of individuals and the department.
A restructuring of administration is currently underway with the Academic Vice
President position now merging with the Dean of Student Services to become the
Dean of Academics and Students Services. As a result, four supervisory
administrators currently report to the president, being the Dean of Academics and
Student Services (Academic VP), the Dean of Institutional Research, the Director of
Buildings and Grounds, and the Director of Business Services. The president also is
responsible for supervising the foundation manager and the director of human
resources. All of these members are also members of the presidents cabinet, which
holds weekly meetings on Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. Through each of these members,
the institutions mission, vision, and goals are directed to the other stakeholders
and employees of the college. Alignment to the strategic plan is critical in this
communication process.

Current Organizational Chart Prior to Proposed Academic VP and Dean of Student

Services Merger

Key Communication Messages and Goals/Gathering Input and the Use of

Formal Networks
This plan will focus on gathering input from all employee groups to inform them of
the colleges long-range plan for the 2015-2016 academic year. The plan also
addresses the dissemination of such information. A key component to success in
organizational communication is to ensure that everyone is part of the process and
is valued. This involves leadership from the top interacting effectively with all key
stakeholders, including supervisors, faculty, staff, students, and the community. To
reach such key individuals, an effective and detailed plan must be implemented.
The following formal networks will be utilized in this input gathering process:
College President: Will utilize four direct-report supervisors to lead discussions
and activities to gather input. The following activities and events are exclusively
utilized by the president in the input process:

Board of Trustees meetings (Monthly)

Presidents Cabinet meetings (held weekly)
Administrative Council meetings (held monthly)
One-on-one meetings with four direct-report administrators (Weekly)

Dean of Academics and Student Services (CAO): Will work closely with the
president to coordinate input events and activities to reach the full-time faculty,
along with assistant deans. This position will also work jointly with the Assistant
Dean of Instruction, the Assistant Dean of Student Services, and the Dean of Health
Professions. The Assistant Dean of Instruction is responsible for supervising the
adjunct faculty, while the Assistant Dean of Student Services oversees first-line
operations of Admissions, Academic Advising, Counseling, Records, and Athletics.
The Dean of Health Professions oversees faculty and staff within the Nursing and
Radiology programs.
The following activities and events will be utilized by the Dean of Academics and
Student Services in the input process:

Student services staff meetings (Weekly)

Full-time faculty meetings (Weekly)
Deans Council Meetings (Monthly)
Adjunct faculty meetings (First week of semester/Midterm)
Curriculum Committee Meetings (Bi-Weekly)
Development of surveys for students and employees

Dean of Institutional Research and Planning: Responsible for overseeing staff

in the areas of marketing, accreditation, reporting, and data processes. The
following activities and events will be utilized by the Dean of Institutional Research
and Planning in the input process:

OPIC (Organizational Planning and Improvement Committee) (Monthly)

Marketing Meetings (Weekly)
Program Review Committee Meetings (Weekly)
Weekly data reviews and dissemination of surveys to students and staff

Director of Buildings and Grounds: Responsible for overseeing the maintenance,

grounds, and security staff. The individual works closely with day-to-day operations,
as well as provides oversight to long and short-term structural improvements and
modifications to the campus building. The following event will be utilized by the
Director of Buildings and Grounds in the input process:

Building and Grounds Staff Meetings (Weekly)

Director of Business Services: Serves as the Chief Financial Officer and is

responsible for the business office, accounting processes, and budgetary control.
Supervises the staff within these given areas and establishes fiscal procedures. The
following events will be utilized by the Director of Business Services in the input
process:

Business Services Staff Meetings (Weekly)

Other Formal Networks

Outside of the presidents cabinet, who works closely with the operations of the
campus, other formal networks within the campus exist, despite some of these
stakeholders not being employees. The following networks will also assist in the
input process:

The Sauk Valley Faculty Association

The Sauk Valley Adjunct Faculty Association
Student Government Association
Area K-12 districts

Structure of Committee to be Formed

A new steering committee, the Communication Committee, will be formed to assist
in the input process and the collection of data.

Communication Committee: The four identified administrators will assist in

gathering the feedback from committees and reporting processes. The
information will be distributed back to the president within 48 hours of the
conclusion of each meeting.

Retreats and Events

Aside from the established committees and their input process, other events will be
hosted to generate discussion. Those events include:

Board of Trustees Retreat: August 2015

Administrative Retreat: August 2015
Academics and Student Service Retreat: August 2015
Student Focus Groups (midterm fall and spring)

Technology: Development of Surveys and Social Networking

The institution provides a variety of surveys for students, industry, and the
community. These surveys will be distributed via Survey Monkey through the
campus e-mail system. Faculty, staff, administration, students, and the community

can also complete such surveys on paper, if they choose to do so. The Dean of
Institutional Research will develop, administer, and house the data.

Timeline of Communication Strategies and Dissemination of Information

The following tables outline the communication strategies discussed above,
including the responsible parties.
1. Summer 2015: Host retreats (listed above) for the board of trustees,
administration, Academics and Student Services
2. Fall/Spring 2015-2016 Communication Plan for Weekly Events
Event
President's Cabinet
One-on-one meetings with Direct-Report
Administrators
Student Services Staff Meetings
Full-Time Faculty Meetings
Curriculum Committee Meetings
Marketing Meetings
Program Review Committee Meetings
Weekly data review updates to staff
Business Services Staff Meetings
Building and Grounds Staff Meetings

Chair
President
President
Dean of Academics and Student
Services
Dean of Academics and Student
Services
Dean of Academics and Student
Services
Dean of Institutional Research
Dean of Institutional Research
Dean of Institutional Research
Director of Business Services
Director of Buildings and Grounds

3. Fall/Spring 2015-2016 Communication Plan for Monthly Events

Event
Board of Trustees Meetings
Administrative Council Meetings
Adjunct Faculty Meetings
Organizational Planning and Improvement
Committee
Deans Council Meetings
Area Superintendent Meetings

Chair
President
President
Dean of Academics and Student
Services
Dean of Institutional Research
Dean of Academics and Student
Services
(External Event) President

Communication Updates hosted by the

President for all employees (Monthly)

Attending
President

4. 2015-2016 Execution of Processes and Communication Plan

Action
Develop Online and Paper Student Survey (Fall
2015)
Develop Online and Paper Employee Survey (Fall
2015)
Host Student Focus Groups (Midterm Fall 2015 and
Spring 2016
Communication Committee Reports Information
back to the President (Within 48 hours of hosted
event)
Communication Updates hosted by the President
(Monthly)
Barriers to the Communication Plan

Responsible
Dean of Institutional
Research
Dean of Institutional
Research
Dean of Institutional
Research
President

President

In assessing the communication plan, barriers do exist, which can be

overcome. One particular barrier is ensuring that all members of such committees
are able to attend scheduled meetings. With varying schedules, meeting times can
be difficult. Also, in using technology, ensuring it is operating properly is critical in
capturing the desired communication. Furthermore, each group must remain
committed to reporting their findings back to the communication committee in the
allowed 48 hours. This information must then be forwarded to the president.
Anticipated Outcome of the Communication
The anticipated outcome of the communication will be to collect input from
all employees of the college in a timely and effective manner. This information will
then be provided back to the president, who can then report the information
through forums, as well as to external stakeholders, such as the community and
industry.
Evaluation and Monitoring
Evaluating and interpreting the gathered information should be the first
priority. After the communication plan is fully executed and the data has been
communicated, the process should be reevaluated for continuous improvement.
Future use of the communication plan should be considered, particularly as its
processes are revised and improved. The addition or deletion or networks should be
considered to determine what is most effective in the flow of information.