Category Four explores commitment to the development of faculty, staff, and administrators, since the efforts of all are required for success. It examines processes and systems related to:

Work and job environment
Workforce needs
Training initiatives
Job competencies and characteristics
Recruitment, hiring, and retention practices
Work processes and activities
Training and development
Personnel evaluation
Recognition, reward, compensation, and benefits
Motivation factors
Satisfaction, health and safety, and well-being
Measures
Analysis of results
Improvement efforts

Answer the following questions about Category Four.

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Context for Analysis (C)

4C1
In what distinctive ways do you organize your work environment, work activities, and job classifications to strengthen your focus on student learning and development?

Category Four addresses your workforce, including faculty, staff, and administrators. As appropriate, address your student workforce throughout Category Four as well.

4C2
What key institutional and geographic factors determine how you address your work environment and job classification? In what ways do you use part-time employees?

4C3
What demographic trends do you analyze as you look at your workforce needs over the next decade?

Also discuss how the plans addressed in Category Eight, Planning Continuous Improvement, include these trends and needs.

4C4
What key faculty, staff, and administrative training initiatives are you currently undertaking or planning to implement in the near future?

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Processes (P)

4P1
How do you identify the specific credentials, skills, and values required for faculty, staff, and administrators? How do your hiring processes make certain that you employ people who possess these characteristics?

4P2
How do you recruit, hire, and retain employees? How do you orient all employees to your organization? How do you plan for changes in personnel?

4P3
How do your work processes and activities contribute to communications, cooperation, high performance, innovation, empowerment, organizational learning, and skill sharing? How do you ensure the ethical practices of all employees?

4P4
How do you train and develop all faculty, staff, and administrators to contribute fully and effectively throughout their careers with your institution? How do you reinforce this training?

Training and development might include, for example, leadership training at all organizational levels, the use of technology, safety issues, the collection and use of tools associated with measuring effectiveness, and the key issues associated with educational changes.

4P5
How do you determine training needs? How is your training aligned with the plans addressed in Category Eight, Planning Continuous Improvement, and how does it augment your focus on helping students learn and accomplishing other distinctive objectives?

Include how you prepare all personnel to contribute to a culture of continuous improvement and an understanding of how their roles and responsibilities contribute to the success of your organization.

4P6
How do you design and use your personnel evaluation system? How does this system align with your objectives in One, Helping Students Learn, and in Category Two, Accomplishing Other Distinctive Objectives?

Include how you provide feedback to employees.

4P7
How do you design your recognition, reward, and compensation systems to align with your objectives in One, Helping Students Learn, and in Category Two, Accomplishing Other Distinctive Objectives? How do you support employees through benefits and services?

4P8
How do you determine key issues related to the motivation of faculty, staff, and administrators? How are these issues analyzed, and how is a course of action selected?

4P9
How do you provide for and evaluate employee satisfaction, health and safety, and well-being?

Specify varying methods, if appropriate, for faculty, staff, and administrators.

4P10
What measures of valuing people do you collect and analyze regularly?

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Results (R)

4R1
What are your results in valuing people?

Include faculty, staff, and administrator satisfaction, health and safety, well-being, and your employees’ impact on institutional development.

4R2
What are your results in processes associated with valuing people?

Results might include, for example, processes in designing, modifying, and delivering new recruitment and selection procedures, orientation and/or training sessions, retention of employees, and employee evaluation systems.

4R3
What evidence indicates the productivity and effectiveness of your faculty, staff, and administrators in helping you achieve your goals?

4R4
Regarding 4R1 and 4R3, how do your results compare with the results of other higher education institutions and, if appropriate, organizations outside the education community?

For 4R1 through 4R4, address historical trends and patterns, as appropriate.

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Improvement (I)

4I1
How do you improve your current processes and systems for valuing people?

4I2
With regard to your current results for valuing people, how do you set targets for improvement? What specific improvement priorities are you targeting, and how will these be addressed? How do you communicate your current results and improvement priorities to students, faculty, staff, administrators, and appropriate stakeholders?