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Field Observation: Administrative Meeting Faculty Meeting-Dean of Students

Brittanie Blunt 4/22/13 EDLD 7431 Dr. Jensen

Synopsis During my field observation, I observed a faculty meeting held by the Dean of Students office at Georgia Southern University. Attending this meeting were the Dean of Students, Patrice Buckner-Jackson, the Associate Dean of Students, Kerry Greenstein, the Administrative Secretary for the Dean of Students, Kimberly Brown and the Administrative Secretary for the Office of Student Conduct, Abriah Frasier. The purpose of this particular meeting was to discuss the changes that had recently occurred within the Dean of Students office, the Office of Student Conduct, as well as the Alcohol and Other Drugs office. The fact that I was observing was a catalyst for them to explain things in more detail than they usually would, so they proceeded to discuss the various changes that these offices had encountered and were continuing to deal with as the semester went on. They discussed the upcoming search for a new Associate Dean/Director of Student Conduct, as well as the fact that there were many staff members, graduate assistants and student workers who would be leaving/graduating in the next two or three months. During this meeting I was able to understand the intense demands on higher education administrators by observing that Dean Kerry Greenstein was preparing to inform himself of all of the duties of the Coordinator for the Alcohol and Other Drugs department, as the coordinator had recently announced that he was leaving his position and moving to Chicago to take on a new position. I was able to see Dean Greensteins dedication to the Dean of Students office as he prepared to become certified in various things that hed eventually have to teach to students. He spoke about becoming certified to give SASSI alcohol evaluations, becoming certified to teach

BASICS and CASICS drug and alcohol awareness classes, as well as other duties he was preparing to take on that were not a part of his job description. This administrative meeting also made me aware of the relevance of decision making and problem solving strategies that student affairs practitioners must face. The Dean of Students office has had to prepare for and deal with the shortage of staff within the Dean of Students, the Office of Student Conduct, as well as within the office of Alcohol and Other Drugs. As a result, each member has had to take on duties that are not in their job description, familiarize themselves with the obligation and perform it to the best of their ability. As is common in higher education administration, many staff members in the office have had to stay well past five oclock in order to cover the lack of student workers, the lack of people available to sit on judicial boards, as well as the lack of people to answer the phones and meet with students. They also discussed the possibility of having one of the graduate assistants in the Office of Student Conduct hear more cases with students, including second alcohol violations, theft, etc. Analysis In my research, Ive found information concerning the relevance of administrative meetings in higher education administration. In an article entitled Organizational Culture in Higher Education, William G. Tierney discusses:

Even the most seasoned college and university administrators often ask themselves, What holds this place together? Is it mission, values, bureaucratic procedures, or strong personalities? How does this place run and what does it expect from its leaders? These questions usually are asked in moments of frustration, when seemingly rational, well-laid plans have failed or have been met with unexpected resistance. Similar questions are also asked frequently members new to the organization, persons who want to know how things are done around here. Questions like these seem difficult to answer because there is no one-to-one correspondence between actions and results (Tierney 4).

I thought that this quote was poignant in its assessments because of the discussions held during the meeting between staff members of the Dean of Students office. There was discussion of intermingling one-one-one sessions between offices because there seemed to be a lack of shared information and some members of the staff were being either misinformed or uninformed of things they should be aware of. I think that it is also interesting to consider the place that administrative meetings have in holding a place together regarding higher education. Do strong personalities, bureaucracy control these meetings as well, thus controlling the culture of an entire office? It was also important to include this quote because it seemed as though some of the issues that were addressed during this meeting had only been addressed because of the recent disarray of the offices. I think that it brought up a salient point about the idea that administrative offices within higher education administration arent always quick to plan ahead regarding issues that may arise. I think that more often than not, offices face problems as they come and this was evident during the meeting that I observed. This meeting also addressed many of the issues in higher education that weve discussed this semester and allowed me to think about possible solutions for these issues. Budget issues within the office concerning the allocation of funds for graduate assistants in the summer and whether or not the office would receive enough money for graduate assistants in the summer were discussed. Accreditation and Assessment was also an important issue discussed in our class this semester and as the office prepared for their SACS accreditation and the preparation that comes along with it, it was mentioned that the process would be discussed in detail during the next staff meeting. The Office of Student Conduct also has its own set of standards they must adhere to by completing a process called Clery. This is a tedious report that must include all alcohol, drug, DUI etc. violations committed by Georgia Southern students

and must be comprised in one spreadsheet and sent to the chief of the University Police. The discussion included solutions for how to make the next round of accreditation easier for all of the staff members involved, as well as how to improve the budget, communication between staff as well as the allocation of duties within the office with the numerous changes being made.

References Tierney, William G. Organizational Culture in Higher Education: Defining the Essentials. The Journal of Higher Education. Vol 59, No. 1. pp. 2-21.