Readers State College: Mission, Values, and Governance Analysis

Introduction: Institutional Values, Mission, and Vision

Like any other academic institution, Readers State College is faced with a difficult task when asked to identify its goals. Baldridge et al. (2000) point out that while most organizations have specific, stated goals that help them form their decision-making processes, universities face a much more difficult task, as they must deal with "vague, ambiguous goals" (p. 128). Thus, specific goals are difficult to pinpoint when considering this institution, and values cannot be derived from goals in a linear fashion. Instead, the college's values are derived from its many characteristics, including client services, problem technology, professionalism, and environmental vulnerability (Baldridge et al., 2000, pp. 128–130). These characteristics give rise to the following institutional values: excellence, respect, integrity, diversity, and responsibility.

The values of excellence and responsibility derive from the college's characteristics of client services and professionalism. The college understands that its clients — the students — are its highest priority and that they have diverse needs. Accordingly, the college dedicates itself to giving these students the best experience and preparation possible. In addition, the college prides itself on hiring professionals both for the teaching of students and for the proper handling of other institutional issues (Baldridge et al., 2000, p. 129). The value of responsibility further derives from the college's high commitment to customer service and to keeping the promises it makes to its clients.

The college's values of respect, integrity, and diversity derive not only from the client services characteristic but also from the fact that the institution is environmentally vulnerable and has a problematic technology component. The college seeks to serve its clients by promoting an environment in which students feel comfortable both despite and because of their diverse backgrounds, while maintaining the integrity expected of a higher academic authority. Understanding that "the entire person must be considered" (Baldridge et al., 2000, p. 219), the college maintains these values to counteract both its inherent problematic technology and its environmental vulnerability.

Thus, Readers State College confronts the same difficulties that many colleges encounter, especially the issue of ambiguous goals. In response, it has formed values that counteract the negative effects common to universities. The college's values, as well as its vision and mission statements, are easily accessible to external communities. Community interaction between the college and its surrounding community base is quite positive. Similarly to Birnbaum's account of Heritage College, the campus environment is one in which students and professors interact informally, and community members feel welcome. From students to community members who use college facilities, the values are accessible and understandable. The college strives to be "all things to all people" (Baldridge et al., 2000, p. 129), though it does so with order and structure. These values are reflected in both the vision statement and the mission statement.

Readers State College will provide its diverse student population with a course of study that ensures a broad scope of knowledge and understanding deeply rooted in both respect and integrity. Through the integration of internal business processes, technology, and the teamwork of administrators, faculty, staff, and students, the college will be recognized statewide as a model of excellence in postsecondary education for the effective and responsible use of human, fiscal, and physical resources in its education process.

Vision and Mission Statements

At Readers State College, we value learning and we put the interests of our students and community first. By providing high-quality, affordable, and accessible learning opportunities, we enable students to meet their educational, career, and personal goals. By sharing our knowledge and resources, we support our community's educational, social, cultural, and economic vitality.

Administrative Practices and Alignment with Institutional Goals

Through the adoption of values and their incorporation into the mission and vision statements, the college has attempted both to preempt the challenges that universities face and to make its services available to all in a structured fashion. In order for these values to be applicable, evidence must exist that they are being put into administrative practice. Indeed, such evidence does exist: the college's current administrative practices are in line with its mission, vision, values, and goals. This alignment can be seen in the college's ability to outline clear goals, create new and innovative programs, and reach a broader client base.

First, the college has recently outlined the following goals: providing high-quality and affordable academic programs and support services for all students in order to grow attendance and retention rates; promoting regional economic and workforce development to strengthen community relationships; increasing external funding to help offset rising costs; promoting effective and efficient use of all resources; and enhancing the college's image both on and off campus. The very development of such streamlined goals suggests that administrative practices are in line with institutional values. Because the college's values were developed, in part, as a preemptive response to problems that colleges generally face — including the challenge of defining goals — the existence of these goals demonstrates that the value system is working. Furthermore, the outlined goals promote those values by appealing to the client base, addressing technology challenges, and welcoming new community members.

The goals also reflect a preemptive strategy regarding institutional growth. As colleges grow, add programs, become more diverse, and cater to broader client needs, they often lose their sense of community, making governance more difficult (Birnbaum, p. 130). The college seeks to preempt this problem through goals that encourage decision-making at the collegial level. For instance, by strengthening its relationship with the community, the college encourages an intermixing of local culture and academia. By controlling costs and offering affordable programs, the college fosters the kind of diversity that supports a well-functioning community. Allowing students from diverse backgrounds access to the college allows it to better address its challenges through the breadth of perspectives represented.

Second, more concrete evidence of value alignment can be found in the implementation of new programs. Recently, the college has undergone training to achieve a higher level of accreditation. As a result of administrative meetings geared toward this process, the college has decided to offer more rigorous courses of study in several areas, including women's studies, engineering, multicultural studies, and secondary education. Making these courses more rigorous involves hiring new professional faculty, increasing opportunities for departmental faculty meetings, and instituting a weekly mandated meeting in which department chairs share updates with chairs from other departments, faculty, and administrators in a discussion forum. This program will run as a trial in the aforementioned areas before being applied to the entire institution. Through this implementation, the college is upholding its commitment to excellence and responsibility — particularly the responsibility to ensure that students receive the highest possible quality of education. The program also serves to unite the college across departments.

Finally, the creation of goals and the implementation of new programs are supplemented by the college's outreach to a new client base. This effort satisfies economic and diversity goals while adhering to the values of excellence, diversity, and responsibility. The college has created the following programs to reach out to prospective and underserved students:

Through these initiatives, the college has not only developed a clear value system but has put that system into practice through concrete programs and strategies.

Conclusion

The problems within the college have been adequately anticipated and are in the process of being addressed through a variety of strategies focused on their root causes. By grounding institutional values in organizational theory, aligning administrative practices with those values, and deploying targeted programs to address persistent challenges, Readers State College demonstrates a coherent and proactive approach to institutional management and governance.