Ii.Program/Unit Description/Mission & Goals

PROGRAM REVIEW

ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES

I.EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Following is a program review of the Administrative Services program at Kauai Community College, which was conducted by the program’s staff during the months of May through November 2004. The purpose of the review was to determine the program’s effectiveness in providing services that support student learning. The self-study focused on program review criteria that the Accreditation Task Force (ATF) and the program deemed appropriate for this initial review. Self-assessment and survey data were used to determine areas of strengths and weaknesses. Action Plans identify action items, strategies, resources, key personnel, timelines, and desired improvement outcomes.

II.PROGRAM/UNIT DESCRIPTION/MISSION & GOALS

The Administrative Services Program at Kauai Community College was established in 1965 under the authorization of Act 39 of the 1965 session of the state legislature. Personnel in the original program included a Director of Administrative Services, an Office Manager, a Bookstore Manager/Office Assistant, and a custodian. The program was established to provide support services for 22 full-time and 5 part-time faculty, 4 classified staff, 5 administrators, and approximately 1,000 students at the 10-acre Kauai High School site. When the college moved to its current 200-acre site in Puhi in 1977, the Administrative Services program added positions in janitorial services, grounds-keeping, building maintenance, human resources and fiscal management to provide support services for a growing faculty and staff on a larger campus. The Administrative Services program now has 28.00 FTE positions assigned to three functional units (Fiscal Services, Human Resources and Operations & Maintenance) tasked to provide support services for budget preparation, financial management, personnel administration, procurement, property and risk management, security, hazard material safety, physical facilities management for both repair and maintenance and capital improvement projects, and auxiliary services for 142.50 FTE general funded positions and 1,200 students.

The Administrative Services program supports learning by:

providing access to the campus via roadways, parking lots, walkways, signage, nightlights and landscaping.
providing classrooms, restrooms, dining rooms, learning centers and offices that are clean, comfortable and conducive to learning.
assisting callers and visitors with their informational needs about programs and services offered by the college.
helping students through the registration/tuition and fee payment process as well as the distribution of financial aid checks and tuition refunds.
assuring that the operating budget is properly developed, allocated and accounted for.
procuring goods and services for all programs.
preparing personnel action that result in payroll and employee benefits.
assisting programs in hiring student employees.
providing ATM and vending (soft drinks and snack) machines.
providing programs with vehicles for field trips and other business.
showing our allegiance to our Country and State by officially starting the school day with the raising of the American and Hawaiian flags.

The Administrative Services Program currently has the following 28.00 FTE positions (Attachment #1 – Position Organization Chart) and an operating budget of $2,065,562 (Attachment #2) to accomplish its mission and goals:

Office of the Director of Administrative Service

1.0 FTE - Director

1.0 FTE – Secretary II

Fiscal Services

1.0 FTE – Administrative (Fiscal) Officer

1.0 FTE – Fiscal Accounting Specialist

1.0 FTE – Account Clerk IV

1.0 FTE – Account Clerk II

1.0 FTE – Cashier I

Human Resources

1.0 FTE – Personnel Officer

1.0 FTE – Personnel Clerk V

Operations and Maintenance

1.0 FTE – Auxiliary and Facilities Manager

1.0 FTE – Clerk IV

1.0 FTE – Equipment Operator

1.0 FTE – Maintenance Mechanic

2.0 FTE – Building Maintenance Workers

4.0 FTE - Groundskeepers

9.0 FTE – Janitors

COLLEGE MISSION:

Kaua‘i Community College is an open access, post secondary institution that serves the community of Kaua‘i and Ni‛ihau and provides education/training in a caring, student-focused, and intellectually stimulating environment. The education contributes to the development of life-long learners who think critically, appreciate diversity, and lead successful, independent, socially responsible, and personally fulfilling lives.

ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES MISSION:

The Administrative Services program through its functional units (Fiscal & Budget, Human Resources and Operations & Maintenance) provides support services that promote the effective delivery of education and training services resulting in student learning at Kaua‘i Community College.

GOALS:

A. Enhance the educational experience for students, faculty, staff and the general public by creating a safe, clean, and well-maintained campus environment.

B. Provide faculty and staff with timely budget information and fiscal services that support programs in achieving desired student-learning outcomes.

C. Provide information to faculty, staff, and administration on recruitment efforts/opportunities, employee benefits, and staff development opportunities to develop a highly skilled, knowledgeable and productive workforce committed to the delivery of quality services.

D. Support student employment opportunities.

E. Actively collaborate with community groups in implementation of programs or projects.

F. Provide excellence in customer service.

III.PROGRAM REVIEW CRITERIA (Evaluation)

How does your program attract, retain, and support qualified personnel and provide opportunities to ensure continued professional growth? Indicate any immediate and projected staffing needs. Does the program have adequate professional, clerical, technical and maintenance staff? (2.61, 4.1.1, 2.8.1)

Description:

The Administrative Services program adheres to University of Hawaii and State of Hawaii policies and procedures in establishing and recruiting (EEO/AA) to fill positions allocated to the program. Newly hired employees receive training from college or system personnel while the program provides staff development opportunities to assure that each member of the program is trained and able to perform the duties of his or her position. Twenty-eight (28) FTE positions are currently allocated to the program to perform technical, clerical, facilities maintenance and managerial functions.

Evaluation/Analysis for Improvement:

The Administrative Services program strives to create a work environment where employees are treated fairly, have a sense of belonging/acceptance, and a belief that they are making a positive contribution to the success of the college.

During the past five (5) years the Administrative Services program accomplished the following:

Reviewed tasks/functions assigned to the program and updated position descriptions. (Attachment #1-A)

Screened applicants and selected the “best” qualified individuals for vacant positions focusing on the hiring of individuals who have the potential to develop and grow in their work.
Encouraged members of the unit to become team players who work toward the same goals. This is being encouraged by promoting communication with one another, treating everyone fairly, focusing on processes for improvements, and by forming work groups to handle large jobs such as stripping and waxing of floors.

Provided opportunities through workshops, and training sessions for continued professional growth.

Promoted employees to higher-level positions.

Since 1977 thirteen (13) employees left their positions in Administrative Services for promotional opportunities and eighteen (18) have retired. The Administrative Services program currently has twenty-six (26) of the twenty-eight (28) FTE positions filled.

The program has a staff that is adequately trained and motivated to carry out the program’s mission. Training for the Administrative Services staff is provided primarily by college and University of Hawaii personnel. Specialized training for new systems, such as the SCT Banner Student Registration program, are provided by training personnel from the companies selling the products.

Performance benchmarks have been developed for several major processes to measure the effectiveness of the services provided. The business office and maintenance operations staff have started recording information on the length of time it takes to process purchase orders, invoice payments, travel requests and completion reports, and maintenance work orders (Attachment #4). In addition the business office continues to work closely with project coordinators to assure that fiscal transactions are correct and thus, eliminating the need for adjusting journal vouchers entries. The business office reduced the number of journal vouchers processed from 436 in FY 2002 to 149 in FY 2004.

Changes made by the University of Hawaii system have created new challenges for the Administrative Services program. Human Resources is now tasked with classifying APT positions and handling personnel appraisals for APT and classified staff, and the business office has the added responsibility to approve purchases up to $25,000 from $4,000 and to implement SCT Banner’s student registration program.

The program is also working to eliminate work related injuries through training by the university’s insurance provider and safety officer. Workshops on ergonomics, hazardous material safety, and injury prevention appear to be effective in reducing the number of work related injuries. There were 26 injuries reported in 2003 and 3 in 2004.

The program has sufficient staffing to perform all of its current functions.

Plan of Action:

Collect data for benchmarks to measure effectiveness of services provided by the program. (Greg Enos, Fiscal Services and Jorae Baptiste, Human Resources)

Reduce work-related injuries by 33% (from 3 to 2) (Jorae Baptiste, Human Resources)

Implement standards and check lists and develop teamwork for maintenance services. (Ray Koshi, O&M)

Comment on how the program assures that the environment is accessible, clean, attractive, properly designed, well maintained, and comfortable with safety and security features. (1.4.1, 2.7.1)

Description:

The Operations and Maintenance unit of the Administrative Services program is responsible for assuring that the campus is accessible, clean, attractive, well maintained, safe/secure and properly designed to meet ADA standards. The Facilities Manager is responsible for assuring that the janitors, groundskeeper, and building maintenance workers are well trained and have the necessary equipment and tools to accomplish their work. The maintenance unit is responsible for maintaining 43 buildings totaling 238,800 square feet of building space.

Evaluation/Analysis for Improvement:

Past accreditation reviews have commended the College for its efforts in maintaining a clean and attractive campus environment. The facilities are in good operating condition as the College continues to receive funding for re-roofing buildings, retrofitting the central air conditioning system, replacing classroom exhaust hoods, and meeting ADA requirements. Walkways leading to classrooms and other campus facilities were made accessible in 1999 ($500,000) and work is ongoing to improve the college’s fire alarm system ($546,800) and access to restroom, classrooms and other areas within buildings ($202,264). Survey results support this assessment as faculty and staff (over 80%) indicated that they are satisfied with the cleanliness of the buildings and grounds and the attractiveness of their physical work environment. (Attachment #5)

The Administrative Services program is now working closely with the Faculty Senate’s Building and Grounds Committee to plan Facilities Improvement Projects (Attachment #3) for the College. The program also received input from leaders of the Associated Students of Kauai Community College during the past year regarding the issue of safety/security on campus. Although the campus has been free of violent crimes and relatively free of minor crimes such as vandalism and theft, student leaders noted that safety/security is still a concern for students enrolled in evening classes. Student leaders expressed their concerns over the College’s limited security service and the need for additional security lights on campus and collaborated with other student leaders in the University of Hawaii system to lobby the 2004 legislature for security lighting/equipment and services for each campus.

Budget cutbacks in the early 1990s forced the college to reduce its security guard service from twenty-four (24) to four (4) hours of evening coverage daily. At the time of thecutbacks, the college did not have reasons to be concerned about the lack of security during the daylight hours. However, since the attack on 9/11, some faculty, staff and students feel less secure and are concerned that harm from terrorist and unstable individuals could happen at anytime on campus. Survey results somewhat support this concern. Nearly every job classification rated campus safety and security lower (less than satisfied) than other areas surveyed. Seventy one percent (71%) of the respondents indicated that they were satisfied with the safety and security of the campus.

Plan of Action:

Improve campus security by replacing damaged light poles and by adding spotlights.

Request additional funding from the legislature to increase security coverage from four (4) hours to twenty-four (24) hours daily.

Comment on the adequacy of technology and equipment and suitability of facilities to carry out the college’s mission and goals. What are your short-range and long- range equipment needs? (2.7.1, 2.8.1, 1.4.1)

Description:

The Administrative Services program relies on computers, riding lawn mowers, power tools and motorized vehicles to perform the functions of the program. The maintenance unit operates from a 10,276 square feet building with workstations for table saws, drill presses, planers, small engine repairs and motor vehicle maintenance and repairs. The maintenance facility also houses the centralized air conditioning chiller plant and cooling tower. The maintenance unit uses limited technology (handwritten work orders, email, and verbal requests) in receiving and managing work orders from campus constituencies. The Business Office is located in the southern wing of the Learning Resource Center. This is a temporary location for the Business Office as plans are to locate the entire fiscal and human resources operations in a One Stop Center building that is currently being designed by the architectural firm, AM Partners, Inc. Construction of the One Stop Center should be completed in 2006.

Evaluation/Analysis for Improvement:

The program has adequate technology and equipment to perform most of its business (FMIS, SCT Banner, RCUH), human resources (Peoplesoft) and maintenance functions. However, the program can improve its maintenance operations by utilizing a computerized work order tracking system. The Facilities Manager currently receives written work orders, e-mails and verbal requests to initiate maintenance work orders from faculty and staff. The maintenance staff receives many work order requests, and tracking its status can be problematic. Requesters often do not know when a maintenance problem will be worked on and completed. A computerized work order system would enable faculty and staff to electronically notify maintenance services of facilities related problems. The system would help maintenance services to prioritize work to be done and provide information (feedback) to those affected by the problem on the progress of the corrective action.

This system, along with new riding lawn mowers, would improve the program’s ability to maintain the college’s 200-acre campus. The college’s John Deere mower is over twenty-five (25) years old and must undergo constant, costly repairs. In addition a flat screen computer monitor is needed for the personnel officer to improve the workstation’s ergonomics as recommended by the University safety officer and the worker compensation insurance provider.

The college is addressing its need for additional building space. Following the recommendation from a previous accreditation team on the need for additional space to more efficiently advise and register students, the college requested and received funding to design and construct a 30,000+ square feet One Stop Center building.

The move to the One Stop Center building, along with Admissions, Student Services and Financial Aid will enable students to conveniently register for classes, receive their financial aid checks, and handle other financial transactions.

Plan of Action:

Work with technology services to develop a computerized work order system. (Gary Nitta & Ray Koshi) and purchase needed computer equipment (JoRae Baptiste).

Review and update equipment (new/replacement) list. (Ray Koshi, Greg Enos, Jorae Baptiste)

Comment on efforts made to establish and maintain effective working relationships/dialogue with programs. (2.6.1, 2.8.1, 4.2.2, 5.1.1)

Description:

The Administrative Services program works closely with all programs on campus to provide them with necessary support services. These services include the procurement of goods and services, cashiering for student registration, financial aid payment to students, campus beautification and safety, budget development, project management, housekeeping, facilities repairs and maintenance and mail and delivery services.

Evaluation/Analysis for Improvement:

The processes and procedures currently being implemented are continuously being evaluated in terms of efficiency and effectiveness in meeting faculty, staff and student needs. The program follows established procedures and guidelines in providing services and is aware of the need to be customer friendly with everyone on campus, focusing on the ultimate goal of meeting student needs.

Survey results indicate that faculty, staff and students served by the program are generally satisfied with the services they are receiving.

Plan of Action:

Gather feedback on customer service by developing and placing survey (comment cards) at the reception counter in the business office to improve customer satisfaction rates. (Ray Koshi, Greg Enos, Jorae Baptiste)

How does the program promote effective working relationships with external agencies and community groups? (5.1.1)

Description:

The Administrative Services program works with other governmental agencies, for profit companies and community groups to support the various programs at the college. The program also works with non-profit organizations for funding to provide financial support for students.