Climate Assessment

Dear Oregon Tech Students, Staff, and Faculty:

At a special Oregon Tech Board of Trustees meeting held on Wednesday, we spent several hours discussing topics related to the climate assessment report completed by ModernThink. The report is available on the climate assessment landing page. The Board envisioned this assessment process as a tool to provide insight to help advise the entire University community, and particularly the Board and the University’s leadership team. Trustees spent considerable time reviewing and discussing the assessment, and ways we can take ownership as a Board and University leadership in improving the campus climate and focusing on our collective goals as envisioned in our Strategic Plan – our (i) Commitment to Student Success, (ii) Commitment to Innovation, (iii) Commitment to Community, and (iv) Commitment to Institutional Excellence. The Board takes the results of the climate assessment seriously, and we have already been taking action.

The climate assessment results speak to our collective challenges as we deal with the after-effects of the pandemic, contract negotiations, national employee recruitment and retention challenges, enrollment challenges at our feeder institutions, and in general, the changes to students’ and families’ higher education plans caused by COVID. The results also contained positive findings, including a strong sense of connection to our shared mission at Oregon Tech and high degrees of job fit and benefits satisfaction.

In response to the climate assessment, and the recently issued AGB Consulting report reviewing all Oregon Public University governance structures, the Board of Trustees discussed a number of topics and took a number of actions:

• Shared Governance.  Prior to receiving the assessment report, we knew Oregon Tech’s shared governance structure was not well understood by many stakeholders. A special Ad Hoc Workgroup of the Board spent hours prior to our full Board meeting reviewing the shared governance structure and policy at the University. As an entire Board we took the time to review this topic in detail at the full Board meeting and took action to revise shared governance Resolution 15-2. We are committed to shared governance; increasing awareness and knowledge of the governance roles and responsibilities at the University, including among trustees; and improving Board practices in outreach and feedback. The Board will be hosting a shared governance forum with University stakeholders and leadership in September during Convocation.
• Board Outreach. AGB Consulting recently completed a review of the governance structure and bylaws of Oregon’s seven public universities, commissioned by the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) at the request of the Oregon Senate Education Committee. The Board’s Ad Hoc Workgroup on the AGB Report also met for hours prior to our full Board meeting to review the report (in particular in light of the climate assessment) and provide recommendations to the Board. After two-plus years of a pandemic, remote meetings, and now an oncoming slate of new trustees joining the Board, we are committed as trustees to active engagement with the campus community, faculty, staff, and students. You will see more trustees, more of the time, at more meetings and additional opportunities for interaction.  We also plan on hosting one or more forums annually to cover the role of the Board of Trustees, and our values and mission.
   
• Leadership Outreach.  The Board also heard from the University leadership on steps the administration will be taking to respond to the climate assessment. These include: (i) additional campus-wide discussions about shared governance, (ii) additional and regular meetings between the administration and representatives of the Faculty Senate leadership, ASOIT, and other constituent groups, (iii) renewed focused on our Strategic Plan and Academic Master Plan, including forums on these topics at Convocation, (iv) regular campus-wide budget forums, at least twice a year, (v) establishment of a well-being committee of faculty, classified staff, unclassified staff, and members of the administration to help promote a healthier work environment, including work-life balance, morale, stress, and employee appreciation at all levels, (vi) Develop training workshops for skills and business literacy development, and (vii) To promote more direct communications with college-specific audiences, deans to have regularly scheduled meetings with chairs and faculty in their colleges and plan periodic engagement of student advisory councils In each college.
   

The last few years have been challenging – but we have so much to be proud of at Oregon Tech including what we as a university community have continued to accomplish during these challenging times. Our future is so bright. Our focus as a Board will remain our students’ success and faculty and staff professional development, which produce real-world results: 96 percent of our students are either employed or enrolled in graduate school within six months of graduation, with average starting salaries of $60,000 per year. These are figures to be proud of because they directly improve the lives of our graduates and the communities in which they serve. 

We also have work to do, and we take deep responsibility as a Board in our role. We are committed to doing our part to help keep Oregon Tech on a positive trajectory. Now we must focus on improvements and the opportunities ahead of us to re-engage and move forward together.

As you may have seen in a previous email, I was selected as Chair of the Oregon Tech Board of Trustees on August 24. My sincere thanks to Trustee Vince Jones, who served as acting Board chair and advanced the climate assessment discussion process through Wednesday’s meeting. I look forward to serving as Board Chair and to starting the new academic year with optimism and a renewed focus on our unity and mission as we begin our next 75 years of building community and supporting student success.

Sincerely,

John C. Davis, J.D.

Chair, Oregon Tech Board of Trustees

Dear Oregon Tech faculty, staff, and students:

On behalf of the Oregon Tech Board of Trustees, we sincerely appreciate your patience for results of the climate assessment to be released. This has been a productive endeavor, although a lengthy one. The assessment offers important insights into institutional culture and climate that we need to address to continue Oregon Tech’s trajectory of excellence as Oregon’s Polytechnic University.

Last week the Board of Trustees received the executive summary final report from ModernThink. The report is available on the climate assessment landing page. The Board is conducting its due diligence review, and has scheduled a special meeting for August 24, 2022 to address the assessment and next steps.

After ModernThink’s summary presentation at our April Board meeting, the Oregon Tech Board engaged Jill Goldsmith, Workplace Solutions Northwest, to assist in developing potential next steps to collaboratively address the recommendations in the climate assessment. Part of this process involved Ms. Goldsmith meeting with many Oregon Tech staff and faculty. The Board has received her recommendations, which are also available on the climate assessment landing page.

Oregon Tech is doing great things. As an Oregon Tech alumnus, and on behalf of the volunteers who make up the Board of Trustees, we want to thank everyone for their participation in these efforts to improve our community. We are all committed to ensuring that Oregon Tech continues to thrive, and we look forward to working together to help maintain a welcoming and supportive community for our faculty, staff, and students. 

Go Owls!

Sincerely,
Vince Jones 
Class of 1984
Acting Chair, Oregon Tech Board of Trustees
 

Dear faculty, staff, and students,

We greatly appreciate your participation in the recent climate assessment survey.

Last April, the Board directed President Naganathan to retain the services of an outside consultant to conduct a comprehensive climate assessment of the University. After due process, ModernThink, LLC was contracted to conduct the assessment.

At the April 2022 Board of Trustees meeting, ModernThink presented a preliminary assessment review. This review included Oregon Tech’s strengths as well as opportunities. The presentation is posted on our university climate assessment website.

You can find the history of the climate assessment process at https://www.oit.edu/climate-assessment. The Board will review additional results when they become available and share them with the university community. We will also take a comprehensive look at the information and identify constructive steps moving forward to ensure Oregon Tech’s continued success.

Go Owls!

Sincerely,
Jessica Gomez
Chair, Oregon Tech Board of Trustees

On behalf of John Harman, Chair of the Climate Assessment Project Advisory Team

Dear Oregon Tech Owl,

I am pleased to announce that the Organizational Climate Assessment Project Advisory Team has launched a landing page on the Oregon Tech website where you can find history about the Climate Assessment and learn about the project’s ongoing progress. Please visit https://www.oit.edu/climate-assessment to find the webpage. This page will be updated as additional information is made available from the firm, ModernThink LLC, and as we continue the process.

To update you on the current status, ModernThink released surveys to all students, full-time staff, and faculty on February 14th and concluded the survey period on February 28th. ModernThink is now reviewing the results and analyzing the data to develop a report by early April. ModernThink was very pleased with the participation rates and has informed me that the response rate for the faculty/staff survey was 70% and for the student survey was 15%. Your responses will be very important as ModernThink works through their analysis and begin compiling summary observations.

Additional communication will be sent when the Project Advisory Team has more information to share, and we will also continue to update the webpage.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the survey.

Sincerely,
John Harman
VPFA, Oregon Tech

ON BEHALF OF JOHN HARMAN

Dear Oregon Tech Owl:

As you may be aware, The Oregon Tech Board of Trustees requested that Dr. Nagi Naganathan conduct an organizational climate assessment. The intent of the climate assessment is to gather data and provide insight into how Oregon Tech can continue to serve our students, recognize our employees and fulfill our mission.

Oregon Tech contracted with ModernThink, a strategic organizational development and management consulting firm with particular expertise in workplace quality, organizational assessment and stakeholder engagement to perform the assessment. In partnership with The Chronicle of Higher Education, ModernThink co-founded The Great Colleges to Work For® program in 2008. As the survey, research, and analysis engine for that program, they have surveyed over 1,000 universities across the country. Through their work, they have accumulated an unparalleled database of benchmarks and best practices using their ModernThink Higher Education Insight Survey^©.

By partnering with ModernThink to conduct the comprehensive Organizational Climate Assessment, Oregon Tech will benefit from the expertise and objectivity of a recognized leader in understanding and assessing the complexities of higher education organizational climate dynamics. This gives employees the confidence to respond while maintaining their anonymity and ensures a high level of subject matter expertise and unbiased professionalism.

Recap:

WHY- The Oregon Tech Board of Trustees asked Dr. Nagi Naganathan to conduct an organizational climate assessment. This assessment will support Oregon Tech in our effort to provide the best possible service to our students. As a member of the Oregon Tech community your participation is needed.

WHAT- The Climate Assessment survey instrument was developed by taking the core of ModernThink's Higher Education Insight Survey and customizing it to fit the specific needs, important themes and nomenclature of Oregon Tech.  After meetings with the survey planning group and conducting stakeholder interviews, ModernThink consulted with the Oregon Tech Climate Assessment Advisory Group to craft the survey. Once the survey phase of the Climate Assessment has been completed, the results can be utilized as a baseline for comparison in future years.

WHEN- The Climate Assessment survey is scheduled to launch on Monday, February 14^th and will conclude on February 28, 2022. The estimated time to complete the faculty and staff survey is 20-25 minutes and for the student survey it will take approximately 10-15 minutes. If you are interrupted, you can return to where you left off to complete the survey without losing your prior responses.

WHERE- The survey will be administered entirely online. ModernThink will send each participant an email with the survey link, username and a unique password. The survey will be accessible 24/7 to log-in and complete. While the survey is live, the ModernThink Help Desk will be available for survey respondents who might have questions or experience difficulty accessing the survey. Typical Help Desk hours are 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM EST and may be contacted via phone or email.  During the live survey period, multiple email reminders will be sent to anyone who has not completed the survey. Data integrity is something the ModernThink technology and analytics team safeguard during both the collection and results delivery phases of the project.

WHO- Faculty, staff, and students are invited and encouraged to complete the survey.

Thanks for your participation in this important campus endeavor.

To: Faculty and Staff

Subject: Oregon Tech Launches Organizational Climate Assessment

As you may recall, the Board of Trustees asked President Naganathan to conduct a comprehensive organizational climate assessment to inform and support our actions moving forward. This project will get underway soon. In the meantime, I am writing to update you on the activities to date, introduce the consulting firm, and outline the next steps in this important endeavor. 

After a careful and thorough review and discussion process by the Organizational Climate Assessment RFP (request for proposals) Committee, ModernThink, LLC was selected to conduct the organizational climate assessment. The process will now be supported and guided by the Organizational Assessment Project Advisory team, which includes representatives from the faculty senate, student government, administrative council, classified staff, administration, Foundation, and the Board of Trustees to ensure that all stakeholders participate in the process. ModernThink will begin its work in the next few weeks.

ModernThink is an organizational development and management consulting firm with particular expertise in assessing and improving organizational culture, workplace quality, and stakeholder engagement. ModernThink specializes in the Higher Education sector and has conducted assessments at colleges and universities across the country. They have worked with over 1,300 colleges and universities, ranging from small independent colleges to entire state university systems. ModernThink not only helps organizations assess their culture and climate but then helps improve it.

ModernThink has proposed four phases to the Climate Assessment process: Phase 1- Discovery, Due Diligence, and Interviews; Phase 2- Survey Development and Communication Plan; Phase 3- Survey Deployment and Data Analysis; and finally, Phase 4- Survey Analysis and Reporting. Feedback on their findings will include:

• Summarizing and synthesizing key themes, patterns, and trends;
• Highlighting strengths and weaknesses;
• Uncovering potential risks; and
• Discussing what peers do when faced with similar challenges.

A key part of the assessment will be stakeholder interviews conducted by ModernThink consultants.  We kindly ask that anyone contacted by ModernThink make themselves available to speak with them as soon as possible. This will ensure the project stays on schedule as the content and findings from the interviews will inform subsequent project steps. 

The assessment is scheduled to be completed in early March, with the written summary report to follow. We will strive to keep everyone updated as the assessment proceeds. In the meantime, should you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me (or Adria Paschal) directly. 

Sincerely,

John Harman, chair, on behalf of the Organizational Assessment Project Advisory team
Vice President of Finance & Administration