Saturday, May 17, 2014

Further comments on the IVC employee satisfaction survey

Go to: The survey

Q34. You have now completed the survey. Thank you!
Do you have any other comments or suggestions regarding the survey in particular?


1. Overall, this is a wonderful college to teach at. It's unfortunate that a few bullies can have so much power. 98% of the people here are kind, dedicated, and well-intended.

2. I have taken part for years on many committees and in the end administration gets their way. I have been on hiring committees, where the chair/hiring manager has pushed to get his way and selected a female with the right looks, rather than the right skills. The second level interview for Classified that was not in place until ***** at IVC implemented it is a tool to undermine the hiring committee and the 2nd level management gets their way. I truly believe that there is no interest by the BOT or administration to understand the challenges that classified face on a daily basis. If they do, then change should occur. But the atmosphere remains very difficult. This is a harsh response, but one that is voiced by many classified, however, they may not respond because there is still a fear that somehow this is not an anonymous survey.

3. Too long

4. There should be comment boxes after each question. Some available responses do not provide for exceptions, caveats or recommendations. Thank you for inquiring.

5. No

6. Very comprehensive. I'm impressed.

7. It is really long, which is going to suppress completion. I’d suggest doing 2 surveys: this long version, but also a 'short' one that will get many more responses that gets at the bare-bones questions. Having a survey this long is going to bias the results, as only people who are really interested will complete it (selection effect). I'm really interested and on the first page when I saw that it was 33 pages i almost shut it.

8. No.

Plus we're a "bully pulpit"
9. The questions are so general that the somewhat responses are too vague. It is hard to see where any real conclusions leading to action could be drawn. It is almost as if the survey is designed to not get to any issues that matter. 1. There are too many meetings of repetitive information or information irrelevant to the audience required to attend.2. Volume of meetings prevents deans from doing their job effectively3. Micromanagement is absurd e.g. President's signature needed on a volunteer form, seven Escape approvals required for a $35 purchase 4. Speed of processes is glacial because of multiple signature requirements compounded by the signators taking a week or more to sign the paperwork.5. Total lack of awareness that every process held up has a domino effect. These are the kind of processes and issues this survey should be addressing as opposed to asking about the effectiveness of some institutional report. It goes to the failure of management to manage in a responsive as opposed to a reactive way. There are many meetings but little active follow-up. When was the last time the Pres. and Vice Pres. of IVC actually got out, walked the campus, shook hands with students and engaged in any meaningful conversation with them? Maybe this regular practice would be far more informative and effective than the next meeting they have scheduled. Why don't our trustees do the same?

10. This survey is bit lengthy for those who actually are required to perform work while on the job.

11. I am very unhappy with the way that things are being run at Irvine Valley College these days. There needs to be more communication and collaboration when decisions are going to be made.

There are many classified employees that have voiced their dis-satisfaction and that are working out of class and not being compensated for their work, or appreciated. Some managers have no or little respect for the work that their employees are doing and tend to make things more difficult than they need to be. There are a lot of unfair decisions that are being made throughout the administration that affect many people. I am aware of many classified staff that are leaving this establishment and we are gaining some that are not qualified to fill the shoes of those leaving us. There needs to be a lot more changes before I see a change in the climate. Is this survey going to even make a difference and will there be changes made because of the responses?

12. I do this survey every year but have not seen any changes.

13. This was way too long and self-serving

14. No

15. I have submitted a request for the classified hiring priority list, it has reached #3 for a few years, but was always downgraded because administration manipulates the list and hire who they want. So the general consensus is, why do we bother with the process? All the committees, meetings, processes to improve will not work unless the mindset and hearts of administration wants it to work. I guess the apathy is getting more intense. I am not a fan of the blog [Dissent the Blog?], in my opinion it is a bully pulpit, but they do point out leadership flaws at the top and I know the BOT reads it, yet they do nothing to at least research if some of the points are true. If the top administrators do not really care about change, nothing will ever change. This survey is one of the best yet to come out and I am hopefull that this will actually work to make change.
bully pulpit
a prominent public position (as a political office) that provides an opportunity for expounding one's view
—Merriam-Webster Dictionary
16. There are a bunch of asterisks in this survey and I couldn't figure out what they pertained to. There were some questions, for example regarding the President's area, that most people would have no idea how to answer. I guess if you're outside the president's area far enough to wonder what it is, then you should say you don't know (but perhaps an explanation of what the president's area is would alleviate the confusion). In what area do I work? If someone's faculty would that be Office of Instruction? I suppose....had to guess on that one. Again, it goes back to odd wording/categorizing. The questions that I though most useful pertained to technology services. Questions that I though least useful were my overall impression of how fair faculty are in the classroom. How on earth can I know that? I know how I teach. I think I know how a handful of colleagues teach. No single individual taking this survey is normally going to have the vantage point to effectively answer broad questions like that. Thus, the results are going to be meaningless.

17. Please check for typographical errors before publishing a survey for an educational institution!

18. Glenn R. is an excellent community college president.

19. The institution is rotting from the head down, contaminating virtually every issue covered by this survey. The top leadership is grossly incompetent, corrupt and vicious. It must be replaced.

20. I literally had to re-read the question regarding campus cleanliness. For years I've wanted to escort the president into all of the ladies restrooms on campus. They are filthy and are in desperate need of remodeling. Even the restrooms in BSTC are showing wear. OSHA needs to be called. Also, it would be nice if the custodians cleaned the classrooms (vacuum dust, clean white boards) on a weekly basis would be greatly appreciated.

21. Some individuals use their jobs to politick rather than serve. It always has to be them against someone. These types are constantly sniping and poop-dropping via overt condescending remark, innuendo, and gesture. Their charming, but phony personalities do not fool us anymore. Its time HR and management deal with this 'unhealthy competition' that only proves counterproductive to the mission of the College.

22. IVC is a great institution with great professors and classified staff. I am privileged and grateful for the opportunity to serve students and my colleagues and help people every day!

23. I wish there were more opportunities for comments. These are harder to compile than numerical options, I understand, but it seemed there were very few opportunities to voice specific concerns, and some of the questions felt like they forced me into painting a rosier picture because they weren't asking about aspects of the issue where people are actually dissatisfied (basically, more questions about the effectiveness of various areas, not just processes, seems important).

24. Yes, the Office of Instruction needs a comprehensive program review.

25. I'm betting that a lot of part-timers, who generally feel disenfranchised by the system, will not even respond to this survey. I think more of an effort should be made to make part-timers feel included so that they care about participating in surveys.

26. There is no trust and extraordinarily low moral at IVC. The damage done to this institution is very deep. It is damage caused by the long legacy of the previous Chancellor as well as by the current IVC administrative dysfunction. A dysfunction that the Chancellor, the VCs and The Board of trustees has allowed to fester and grow. The lack of the needed healthy change or any healthy working environment at IVC is not because people 'can't let things go' - that is a myth perpetuated by administration - in fact people yearn to let things go, but when they are harangued, verbally abused and treated so disrespectfully and poorly there is no chance for the college to begin to get healthy. The problem at IVC is that college administration and classified management has become worse in the three and a half years since Mathur left. IVC will not achieve any sort of resolution or have the ability to come out of this fog until there is completely different leadership. We need a 100% change at the senior administrative levels for starters, after that we can see how it goes. I am appalled at the level of apparent neglect and disregard with which the District Administration and Board of Trustees allows this situation to continue at IVC. What a disservice to our students. What a disservice to the potential of what IVC could become and frankly should have become by now. I hold the district administration and the Board of Trustees equally responsible for the continual dysfunction and unhealthy environment at IVC.

27. I'm glad to see IVC making an effort to gauge the feelings of its employees.

28. Yes, I find the ethnicity questions offensive and irrelevant.

29. Overwhelmed, want to cry just thinking about all the paperwork that needs attention.

30. No

31. The blog [Dissent the Blog?] is a barrier to civility and mutual respect. Yes, we are encouraged to be innovative and try and establish new programs. However, it is discouraging to put in the hard work to propose a new program, and wait and wait and wait and then receive approval for funding when it's too late to use it appropriately. The timeline for final approval for resource requests needs to be moved forward to no later than August prior to the beginning of fall semester so requestors have the budget necessary to create successful programs in a timely manner.

32. This is one of the better surveys and if taken seriously I believe change can occur at IVC if the survey is taken seriously. The thing that needs to change the most and immediately is to fill all the vacant classified positions. Example: The Career Ctr. position has been vacant for almost 12 months, the Sr. Admin in Student Activities has been vacant for 6 months, and other positions have been lowered in classification or made into a 10 month position. Work increases, but staff decrease.

33. n/a

34. It's a bit to long and detailed. Takes a bit of time to thoughtfully complete.

35. Next survey if you could direct some questions to performance/communication in Office of Instruction and some to performance/communication in Student Services, that would be helpful.

36. Communication by top administration at IVC is not characterized by openness; rather, it is characterized by contempt and distrust.

37. As we have new areas of emphasis going forward: College of the Future, Growth of the IVC Foundation, International Students, it would be in interesting to see some benchmark questions to measure our future success/awareness, etc. in new program areas... what these are could be determined by others, Research Office, IEC committee, etc.

38. Thank you.

39. We need more opportunities for part time faculty to become full time. The salary of temporary workers is too low.

40. Classified Senate has improved in sending information out to the Staff. I apprecaite what Vince has done so far. He has a good sense of leadership and integrity. I do feel that the College President's Office needs to be more responsible in sending out emails in regards to recent problems, Mold, Director of Financial Aid, Accreditation, etc. There have been changes in the shared governance committee structure and names and not one email has been sent to inform us. There is a lack of staff development funds in my department. A skilled person in my field cannot receive adequate training for fifty dollars. In addition to lack of monies, It is DIFFICULT TO HAVE TIME for STAFF DEVELOPMENT.The campus on the outside is clean and well taken care of. Question on the survey if I feel safe. ***** and his staff are super, however, inside the buildings are a mess. Air filters are not replaced on a regular basis as they should be. At ATEP the bathrooms and classrooms are FILTHY! The floors are not swept and cleaned! Who is responsible for this fiasco? Last year, we all went through the process of filling our Resource Request Forms and still no funding has been allocated. WTF? This process is not working at all. Has one dime of those funds been spent? There is a lack of respect on the IVC Campus. Not sure how to explain it but there is a semi-dark cloud over the college.


41. This is an excellent survey and I appreciate the opportunity to respond. This district has vastly improved over the last 5 years. The District and the colleges are working better together than ever before. The college president has brought national recognition to IVC by being selected to serve on the AACC President Academy Executive Committee. Faculty and staff accomplishments are widely lauded throughout the state. IVC has once again regained its reputation as a leading college in California.

42. There is a great deal of time consuming and wasteful bureaucratic hoops that need to be jumped through to do very simple things. An example would be the number of signatures (and their respective timelines) required to purchase something or to get something relatively simple approved. These bureaucratic processes normally take time away from more important things that need doing. That's why the processes should be streamlined as much as possible whenever possible, and maintained in their present form only when there is a clearly demonstrated necessity for them.

43. No.

44. I request that all faculty and staff be provided an opportunity to evaluate administrators on an annual basis.

45. Please stop hiring high pay Dean and directors. Hire more Faculty and Staff specially in the student services to take off some work pressure. Share information. Look at the position individually, there are some staff member that has too much to do and yet some other don't and yet get paid a lot more.

46. This form is like the committees on campus; they give us somewhere to voice are displeasures but overall ineffective. Until ***** is removed and a less manipulative and vindictive individual is put in place the college will continue to suffer the effects of working under a dictatorship. ***** is not interested in what's best for the college, ***** is only interested in getting what ***** wants; like 70 inch touch screen TVs for the Admin offices at a cost of $15000.00, his way or no way. ***** is guilty of allowing the heart to be turn out of our organization. There is little sense of community. Blah Blah Blah I can say anything I want here, it only really matters to me in the end anyway.

47. We need to make changes in the faculty. Hiring more full-time professors would lead to a better working environment. The students in this district are suffering because there are not enough classes being offered. I have up to 90 students petitioning for a spot in my class on the first day of every semester. This is not conducive to the learning environment of the students.

48. Thank you for this opportunity. Carry on!

49. If this is a real survey, where the intent to improve is genuine, then this must be published in its entirety. All comments, everything needs to be published. The BOT needs to read it unadulterated. The VP of each area needs to sit in a meeting and discuss the particular improvements that were made in this survey and listen to each one of the suggestions. If that doesn't happen, then this survey is really for naught.

50. Don't we even get a nice Laser mascot emblazoned item for completing this survey ;)

51. Twenty years ago, I.V.C. was a dynamic, enthusiastic, creative environment for students, faculty and staff. Today, not a single one of those adjectives apply.

52. This survey is only useful if results are used to Share and improve.

53. The communication, planning, and quality of service by our District HR services continues to fail us. HR has become too centralized and relies on watchers instead of well-trained empowered college employees to ensure procedures are followed. Layoffs of classified staff were triggered with no prior preparation or communication by the Director of HR. This failure damages credibility and morale.

54. No.

55. I hope that the administration uses the information from this survey to actually improve transparency and communication between the district and the colleges.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have seen Shak attack. He could never be president with his issues with females.

Anonymous said...

Can we see the results of the survey excluding the administrative responses?

Anonymous said...

But why is the Shak Attack behavior tolerated - enabled even - in a dean who must deal with female administrators, staff and students?

Anonymous said...

9:37 am, good question. Good ol' boy? They go after HL instead?

Anonymous said...

Only 47% of the classified respondents perceive the campus environment as good/excellent according to the survey. That should be at the top of everyone's to do list: Fix this.

Anonymous said...

I have been on the receiving end of Shak's disregard for women. He was openly bullying me in a meeting and was incredibly disrespectful.

Anonymous said...

On how do you report someone? You have to document the incident, get others who witnessed it to sign off on the validity of your report, and report it to HR. If you don't, and I know it is frightening, he'll keep doing it. There are protections in place to protect "whistleblowers."

Anonymous said...

The protections only work when the process is followed. I have little confidence in the integrity of the leaders - and colleagues - who have seen this happen and done nothing.

Roy's obituary in LA Times and Register: "we were lucky to have you while we did"

  This ran in the Sunday December 24, 2023 edition of the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register : July 14, 1955 - November 20, 2...