Governance and Analysis - Research Paper Example

? Governance Research and Analysis Nova Southeastern The Nova Southeastern (NSU) is presently the seventh largest autonomous university in the USA. The main campus is located in Fort Lauderdale-Davie in Florida, while the University also has its presence in nine other countries of the world. The NSU has above 28,000 current students and 103,000 alumni members. The institution also offers distance-learning programs throughout the state of Florida, in 23 other states of the USA and also at certain international centers (Nova Southeastern University 2011). I. Introduction and Purpose History The Nova University was established in 1964 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It started as a small college with a small number of students. Initially, it offered graduate programs in physical sciences and social sciences. Gradually, the University also started offering programs in “law, business, education, computer science, psychology and oceanography”. In 1971, the Nova University was first recognized by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). In 1972, the institution started its first distance-learning program. Gradually, the Nova University grew into a reputed educational centre. Meanwhile, the Southeastern college of Osteopathic Medicine was founded in 1981 in the southeastern part of USA. During the period 1987-1991, this institution began offering courses on “pharmacy, allied heath, optometry, dental sciences and medical sciences” (Nova Southeastern University 2011). The College continued to expand and came to be known as the Southeastern University of the Health Sciences. In 1994, the Southeastern University of Health Sciences joined with the Nova University and the Nova Southeastern University was born. (Nova Southeastern University 2011) Mission Though the NSU is a private organization, it is not guided by profit making motives. It offers its students a diverse range of academic programs both on its campuses as well as through the distance learning mode. The University encourages its students to pursue academic excellence, research opportunities and engage in intellectual enquiries by way of fruitful interactions with the faculty members. The institution is devoted to serving the society by shaping its students to be future leaders of the community who are capable of shouldering diverse responsibilities. (Nova Southeastern University 2011) Vision The NSU is not under the regulation of the State University System, but has its own identity as an independent University. The Board of Trustees of the NSU has been very clear and categorical about maintaining the independent status of NSU. The administration, faculty and staff of the NSU provide its students with an independent opportunity to pursue academics of their choice. The educational courses offered by the University have been modified to meet student requirements. (Nova Southeastern University 2011) Values In its continuous pursuit of excellence, the NSU embodies the values of fostering collaboration, engaging in community service and engagement, encouraging diversity, providing educational access, promoting efficiency, encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation, maintaining its commitment towards integrity, ensuring the development of quality academic programs and encouraging active student engagement in scholarship and research. (Nova Southeastern University 2011) Other Relevant Information The NSU offers attractive facilities to its students which contribute significantly in making the University environment stimulating and conducive for the purpose of education. (Nova Southeastern University 2011) II. Institutional Leadership The NSU is headed by the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mr. George L. Hanbury II. NSU also has a Board of Trustees which has established the mission of the University. The Board consists of three types of members. The Board Members include eminent personalities who occupy important positions in the society. Ronald G. Assaf is the present Chairman of the Board Members. The Ex-Officio Members each occupy a position and serve the Board of Trustees during their respective tenures. These members do not enjoy the right to vote. There are also Honorary Members of the Board who are offered positions because of their previous associations with the University. They also do not exercise any voting power. The NSU Board of Trustees has entrusted the President with the authority of managing the overall administration and operations of the University. The President himself is a member of the Board of Trustees. He is assisted by the Provost, the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Deans of the respective departments, the Vice Presidents, the Associate Vice Presidents and the Executive Directors in carrying out his responsibilities. The President is also responsible for the financial management of the University. He prepares the University Budget along with the Vice President of Finance and also charts out the capital improvement plans with the Vice President of Institutional Effectiveness. The President also assists the Chancellor of NSU in achieving the objectives of the institution as laid down by the Board of Trustees. (Nova Southeastern University 2011) III. Organization & Management Practices that Recognize Success and Lead to Sustainable Changes The College of Allied Health and Nursing The College of Allied Health and Nursing trains students in the field of health care so that they are able to render health services to the society. The College offers both graduate and post graduate programs. There is an Administration Committee of the College consisting of ten members which supervises the administrative functions of this department. It is headed by Richard E. Davis, who is the Dean of the College. The other members of this Committee include the Deans and the Associate Deans of the various departments of the College. There are other members of this College who are also associated with its administration. In a broader perspective the responsibility of supervising the college administration is undertaken by a team of 37 members of this institution. This team includes eminent health care professionals who have been given the charge of leading the different departments. The administrative team ensures that the efforts of the College are directed towards achieving its multifaceted objectives: diagnosing, treating and preventing diseases among the community people, maintaining health and safety of the population, supervising the rehabilitation process of the patients and educating the society about health awareness measures. Among the faculty resources of the College of Allied Health and Nursing, there are several committees supervising different areas of functions. These include the Academic Honesty Committee, the College Evaluation Committee, the College-Wide Appeals Committee, the IRB Center Representative, the Research Committee and the Technology Committee. Among the resources, there is also the Faculty Policy Manual that enumerates the policies followed by the Faculty members of the College. (Nova Southeastern University 2010) There is a separate Student Affairs Committee which is responsible for managing matters related to the students. This Committee is lead by Wendy Burrion, the Program Coordinator for Student Affairs. The Office of the Student Affairs ensures that equal amount of educational, social and cultural opportunities are provided to the all students of the College of Allied Health and Nursing. This department is responsible for managing student governance, financial help, student counseling, providing career opportunities and in general supervising all student related events. The Office of the Student Affairs makes sure that students are provided with ample opportunities to pursue academics in the College as well as work alongside established health care professionals when they complete their degrees. The College has separate policies for the promotion, suspension, dismissal and readmission of students in the institution, which are enumerated in the College of Allied Health and Nursing Student Handbook. A revised and updated version of this manual is distributed annually to all the students. (Nova Southeastern University 2010) The NSU College of Allied Health and Nursing has published its strategic plan for 2011-2015 in the form of a handbook: The Framework for Enhancing Academic Transformation (FEAT). This Strategic Plan document enumerates the goals and outcomes of the institutions keeping the future in mind. It lists the Faculty Outcomes, the Student Outcomes, the Academic Process Outcomes and the Infrastructure Support Outcomes. The Action Plan of the College for 2011-2015 has been divided into four goals. The document also enumerates the NSU Philosophy and the Objective of the Division of Health Division. It then describes the Strategic Plan of the NSU maintaining congruence with the Mission, Vision and Values of the University. The Manual also sums up the Essential Planning Priorities of the NSU in the coming years. (Nova Southeastern University 2010) The Strategic Plan of The College of Health and Nursing (CAHN) 2011 declares that the College would implement a comprehensive program to attract and retain high quality faculty in the College. For this purpose, CAHN proposes to undertake a number of faculty outcomes. CAHN Programs’ Best Practices will be published in reports, posters, newsletters and HPERS. The Best Practices would also be presented at the faculty meeting presentations and seminars of the CAHN. The Plan also states that a council of professors comprising of the faculty of the CAHN will be established to function as an Advisory Board to assist the Dean in the evaluation procedure of the college. The Strategic Plan 2011 also declares that the achievements of the faculty members in fields of teaching, service and scholarships will be evaluated through a peer review system. Then they would be declared through public proclamations, letters and displays. The College would also allow at least 20% of the weekly faculty workload hours for undertaking faculty scholarships. (Nova Southeastern University 2010) The Strategic Plan of CAHN 2011 enumerates that it would also undertake a comprehensive program to attract, retain and educate highly qualified students. For this, the College would implement a number of Student Outcomes. The Strategic Plan also declares that to ensure preeminent programming in CAHN, the College will implement an academic review process. For this purpose, it will engage in continuing pursuits of various academic process outcomes. For example, the Student Handbook Policies would be subject to annual revision and updating according to their requirements. Similarly, the CAHN faculty policies would also be reviewed annually and updated when necessary (Nova Southeastern University 2010). IV. Internal/External Influences Internal Administration The College of Allied Health and Nursing has an administrative team of ten members who are responsible for the different operations of the College. The team is led by Mr. Richard E. Davis, the Dean of the College. The other members include the Deans of the different departments. There is also a larger team of 37 administrative professionals who supervise the overall functioning of the College. Apart from this, there is a Student Committee comprising of three representatives from among the students. The Committee is led by Wendy Burrion, who is the Program Coordinator of Student Affairs. (Nova Southeastern University 2010) The College also has a Multicultural Affairs Committee (MAC) of ten members. It main aim is to support the students of the College who hail from diverse cultural backgrounds. The Committee collaborates with support services from the other academic departments of the College. The MAC includes members from almost all the departments of the College. The Committee also recognizes methods and programs to expand the educational opportunities provided to the existing students. The MAC directs its efforts towards gathering response to multicultural activities from the members of the College of Allied Health and Nursing as well as from the members of the NSU as a whole (Nova Southeastern University 2010). Accreditation The Nova Southeastern University is recognized by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The Commission awards “associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, educational, specialist and doctoral” degrees to students of the University. The College of Allied Health and Nursing (CAHN) offers its students health care programs on Audiology, Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy. In addition to this, it also offers various programs on Health Sciences and Nursing. The CAHN offers professional accreditation to each of these programs. The Master of Occupational Therapy Program is recognized by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE). Similarly, the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program is recognized by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education of the American Physical Therapy Association. The Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc (ARC-PA) awards the degrees to the students of the Physician Assistant Programs in Fort Lauderdale (main campus of the NSU), Fort Myers and Orlando. The ARC-PA also provisionally recognizes the Physician Assistant Program in Jacksonville. The Doctor of Audiology program is under the jurisdiction of the Council on Academic Accreditation of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association while the Vascular Sonography program is recognized by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs. In the nursing department, the ‘Bachelor of Science in Nursing’ and ‘Master of Science in Nursing’ programs are under the jurisdiction of the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. Apart from this, the Anesthesiologist Assistant program which is conducted in Tampa has applied through the commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs to be recognized under it (Nova Southeastern University 2010). The College of Allied Health and Nursing (CAHN) offers professional programs in “nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, audiology, health sciences, anesthesiologist assistant, physician assistant vascular sonography, and cardiovascular sonography” (News Blaze 2011). The Physician Assistant training program of the NSU is conducted at four locations in Florida: Fort Lauderdale, Southwest Florida, Orlando and Jacksonville. All the locations have new classrooms set with the newest expertise. The programs at the four places use a common online resource which facilitates the gathering, scheduling, reporting and evaluating data. The Physician Assistant training program at Jacksonville began in 2009 with 39 students. It was scheduled over a period of two years and three months. The CAHN has tie-ups with many local hospitals like Mayo Clinic, Wolfson’s Children Hospital, Baptist Health Care System, Nemours Children’s Clinic etc. The students of Jacksonville participated in various medical programs in these hospitals as a part of their curriculum. According to reports by Deborah A. Gerbert, Chairman and Program Director of NSU's Training Program in Jacksonville, many of these local hospitals have offered the students permanent positions in their respective organizations after the completion of their graduation course. The students of Jacksonville are also provided with opportunities to gather medical experience in large urban centers as well as the rural centers. The CAHN has a partnership with the Florida Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Network which provides housing facilities to the students in many areas where they are required to reside for such training purposes. The CAHN also has understandings with many social organizations where the Jacksonville students volunteer to provide community service. For example, the students have carried out vision and hearing tests on school children belonging to the St. John’s County. The students had also taken initiatives to assist the Clara White Mission of the Sulzbacher Clinic. In August 2011 the Jacksonville students were scheduled to help the Duval County Medical Society to implement athletic screening exams to middle and high school students. In the Strategic Plan 2009, the Nova Southeastern University has stated that in the coming days it will expand its partnerships with organizations in the public and private sectors to facilitate more educational endeavors of the University (News Blaze 2011). V. Strategic Planning/Goals and Objectives The Nova Southeastern University Strategic Plan In the NSU Strategic Plan 2009, The University declares that the students will remain the main centre of focus of the institution. The main objective of the NSU will remain to educate ethical and able students in various health care practices. The University has always advocated the idea that education should not be restricted by either time or place and thus it will continue to provide quality academic opportunities to students located on its campus as well as to distance students. NSU delivers its educational services to its students with the help of the latest devices of telecommunications and information technology. The University will continue to utilize new technologies and other educational resources like alternate sites, clusters, cohorts to deliver education to its students irrespective of their locations, time constraints and learning methods (Nova Southeastern University 2010). The NSU faculty’s teaching methods and the students’ methods of acquiring knowledge embody a multi-disciplinary approach. The University will continue to pursue these methods. The academic programs will be increasingly integrated vertically from the undergraduate to the graduate levels as well as horizontally among the different centers of the NSU. The institution will continue to address the problems of individual professionals and the society at large and endeavor to provide solutions to these problems. As before, NSU will encourage the free exchange of ideas between the students and the faculty so that the University is able to develop new programs that address the future needs of the society. NSU will prepare its students in such a manner so that they acquire traditional values like expertise, moral sensibilities and commitment, and are also equally comfortable in the modern fast paced technical environment (Nova Southeastern University 2010). In the Strategic Plan, NSU declares that it will continue to encourage research and development on its campuses. The University will remain committed to pursuing research activities and also rendering community service. This plan of action will help NSU to transcend the contents of the academic textbooks and develop innovative structures of education. The institution recognizes that involvement in community service should be an integral part of an educational curriculum. This helps the students to evolve into active and responsible members of the society (Nova Southeastern University 2010). The University will also aim at having a diverse student population. In 2009, students enrolled from the minority communities was 37% of the total student population and was expected to reach 40% by 2014. NSU declares that it will continue to provide educational opportunities and accesses to this diverse student population (Nova Southeastern University 2010). There have also been suggestions of designing an online course for the students of the College of Allied Health and Nursing of the NSU. The Department Authorities plan to formulate the course to facilitate the learning process of the students. The Course would be flexible and implemented according to the different global time zones since students from the world over would be interested in pursuing the course. The students would be able to maintain regular contacts with their respective instructors through the online infrastructure facilities. The framework would facilitate prompt exchanges of communication between the two parties. The online course would stipulate the office hours to be spent online and also allow the instructors to use question answer boards as their medium of instruction through the Internet. The online students accessing the CAHN course form different parts of the world would be able to interact with each other through the medium of “live chats, discussion boards and group work”. However, this online course would require adequate funding of the technology and the technical team needed to implement such a online medical course. The CAHN Authorities also plan to provide a fundamental online orientation for the online delivery platform. It will be a challenging task to implement an online course for the CAHN of the NSU but with the able administrators of the Department, this vision can be turned into a reality. (Johnston, Kilion, Oomen 2005) V. Budgeting and Planning The NSU has implemented a budgeting process based on performance. In the NSU Strategic Plan 2009, the institution has declared that it will extend this process to the cluster and the class level. The administrative and academic units are evaluated with the help of a benchmarking comparison process. The NSU plans to further refine this process. The University will also periodically evaluate the growth projections of the academic units in relation to program development, the needs of faculty and staff, student enrollment issues and space and facility requirements. The NSU plans to assess facility requirements separately with the help of the Capital Improvement Planning Process. The investment performance of all the University assets would also be evaluated by the NSU. The University would also continuously enhance its institutional bond ratings. Under the areas of scholarship and research, the NSU plans to expand the President’s Faculty Research and Development Grant Program and also the Quality of Life Awards Program. The University will also try to increase the total number of external grants, contracts and appropriations. The NSU has stated that it will expand its collaborations with the local governments and social organizations to gather funding to support the University’s educational endeavors. Some scientific research projects of the NSU are also funded by external sources. The University has a status as a Hispanic-Serving Institution, due to which many training and funding opportunities are available to it. NSU has plans to further pursue these opportunities in the future (Nova Southeastern University 2010). VII. Recommendations for Improving Management Practices and Organizational Quality In the Nova Southeastern University, the Board of Trustees has delegated the responsibility of management of the institution to the President and the CEO (the same person). The President is assisted by the Provost, the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Deans of the various departments, the Vice Presidents, the Associate Vice Presidents and the Executive Directors for carrying out the various functions. If there was a separate Administrative Committee to assist the President in matters relating to the administration and operations of the institution, this would have facilitated the overall functioning of the University. Presently, the NSU Administration comprises of the different departments of the University, where the leaders of the departments directly report to the President. The NSU has sixteen colleges, schools and centers offering various programs to the students. The University also houses twelve institutes. Apart from this, the institution also undertakes numerous educational initiatives. There needs to be a separate committee for the overall management of all these departments (Nova Southeastern University 2010). The College of Allied Health and Nursing is headed by the Dean of the College. He is included in the ten members Faculty Administration Committee. This Committee consists of different persons who occupy important positions in the CAHN. Apart from this, the CAHN administration also includes 37 important persons who are in charge of the different functions of the College. CAHN offers degree courses in health sciences, nursing, audiology, occupational therapy, physical therapy and physician assistantship. Each of these departments offer various graduate, postgraduate and professional degrees to the students. There are several leaders managing each of these departments. However, if the CAHN could designate a team of administrators to each of its departments, then the overall functioning of the College would improve significantly (Nova Southeastern University 2010). VIII. Conclusions, Reflections and Questions to Consider The Nova Southeastern University (NSU) is the seventh largest university of the USA. As desired by its Board of Trustees, the NSU maintains an independent identity and does not come under the jurisdiction of the State Review System. The President and Chief Executive Officer of the NSU: Mr. George L. Hanbury II is in charge of the overall management of the institution. He is assisted by a set of Executive Officers to carry out the administrative functions. The NSU offers degree courses in general subjects such as law, business, education, psychology, computer science, oceanography etc. and also in the field of health care like pharmacy, allied health, optometry, medical sciences, dental medicine etc. The University houses sixteen colleges, schools and centers and twelve institutes under it which offer undergraduate, graduate and professional degree courses in the various fields. The NSU Strategic Plan 2009 has laid down certain objectives for the institution on future. The College of Allied Health and Nursing (CAHN) is one of the Colleges under the NSU. It is headed by Richard E. Davis, the Dean of the College. There is a ten member faculty administrative team to assist the Dean, which comprises of senior members from the different departments. The CAHN offers various degree courses in health sciences, nursing, audiology, occupational therapy, physical therapy and physician assistantship. The CAHN Strategic Plan 2011-2015 enumerates the goals and outcomes of the College for the coming days. The action plan of the College is segregated into a set of goals thus making it easier for the institution to implement them. Similarly, the outcomes have been divided into Faculty Outcomes, Student Outcomes, Academic Process Outcomes and Infrastructure Support Outcomes. The success of the College of Allied Health and Sciences in particular and the Nova Southeastern University as a whole, will depend on the success of the implementation of the various objectives outlined in the respective Strategic Plans. References 1. Nova Southeastern University (2011) History of Nova Southeastern University retrieved on September 6, 2011 from http://www.nova.edu/overview/history.html 2. Nova Southeastern University (2011) Philosophy and Mission retrieved on September 6, 2011 from http://www.nova.edu/overview/mission.html 3. Nova Southeastern University (2011) Board of Trustees, retrieved on September 6, 2011 from http://www.nova.edu/overview/trustees.html 4. Nova Southeastern University (2011) Office of the President retrieved on September 6, 2011 from http://www.nova.edu/president/aboutus.html 5. Nova Southeastern University (2010) Allied Health and Nursing retrieved on September 6, 2011 from http://www.nova.edu/cah/faculty/index.html 6. Nova Southeastern University (2010) Allied Health and Nursing retrieved on September 6, 2011 from http://www.nova.edu/cah/accreditation.htm 7. Nova Southeastern University (2010), College of Allied Health and Nursing Strategic Plan 2011 retrieved on September 6, 2011 from http://www.nova.edu/publications/cahn_strategic_plan/index.html 8. News Blaze (2011), Jacksonville's First Graduating Class of Physician Assistants Will Receive Their Degrees from Nova Southeastern University retrieved on September 7, 2011 from http://newsblaze.com/story/2011081513301100001.wi/topstory.html 9. Nova Southeastern University (2010), NSU Administration retrieved on September 7, 2011 from http://www.nova.edu/president/administration.html 10. Nova Southeastern University (2010), Colleges, Schools and Centers retrieved on September 7, 2011 from http://www.nova.edu/academics/colleges_schools.html 11. Johnston J, Killon J, Oomen J (2005) (Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice 2005) retrieved on October 10, 2011 from http://ijahsp.nova.edu/articles/vol3num2/johnson.pdf Read More