The
University Senate of Michigan Technological University
PROCEDURE TO ENHANCE CONFIDENTIALITY AND ANONYMITY IN ADMINISTRATORS REVIEW SURVEYS
(Proposal 16-14)
(Proposal
8-16)
(Proposal 28-16)
Senate
Procedures 507.1.1
I. Background
This
procedure formalizes the steps for conducting survey and reappointment ballots
during a department chair/school dean review. The procedure is designed to
enhance the security, confidentiality, and anonymity of the review process.
The
procedure requires the unit’s review committee to give its survey instruments
and its list of constituents (in electronic form) to the University Senate’s
administrative assistant, who will then use a secure, online tool to conduct
the constituent survey and an electronic ballot for the unit, and then deliver
the results back to the review committee.
Several
electronic survey and balloting tools are available. Because the intent of this
procedure is to improve the process, no particular tool is recommended. Hence,
the University Senate’s Administrative Policy Committee should select the best
available tool with the advice of experts in Michigan Tech’s information
services. All efforts should be made to ensure the anonymity of the
respondents. For example, the tool shall not record the computer identity
(name, MAC address, IP address, etc.) of the respondents.
II. Procedure for Survey Conducted with
Senate Assistance
1.
The unit chair/dean review committee will design the survey instrument and
prepare the unit constituents’ email address list in electronic form. If
faculty and staff are to be surveyed separately then two lists, one for the
faculty and another for the staff, must be submitted. The unit review committee
will also submit the email list of all the members of the unit review committee,
identifying its chair and the external member. The survey instruments for
faculty and staff can be different (Senate Procedure 506.1.1).
2.
The unit chair/dean review committee will submit the constituent email list and
survey instrument to the Senate administrative assistant at least ten working
days before the conduct of the survey.
3.
The Senate administrative assistant will prepare an electronic survey
instrument following the design intent of the unit’s review committee. Comments
for questions will be collected separately from likert-
scale responses.
4.
Within five working days from the submission date, the Senate administrative
assistant will send a copy of the survey instrument to all members of the
unit’s chair/dean review committee for final approval. The chair of the unit’s
review committee will inform the Senate administrative assistant of any changes
to the survey instrument and will specify the start date for the survey.
5.
On the specified start date, the Senate administrative assistant will send
eligible constituents an email message with a link to the online survey, and
the survey will remain open for seven calendar days.
6.
The Senate administrative assistant will send the results of the survey to the
chair of the unit’s chair/dean review committee and the external member of the
committee. These two members will acknowledge to the Senate administrative
assistant the receipt of the results, after which the administrative assistant
will purge all responses from the online survey tool within five working days.
The Senate administrative assistant will update the survey instrument posted on
the Senate website for future use by the Michigan Tech community.
III. Procedure for the Reappointment Ballot Conducted with Senate Assistance
1.
The chair of the unit’s chair/dean review committee will notify the Senate
administrative assistant to conduct the ballot for reappointment via an online
survey tool.
2.
The Senate administrative assistant will conduct the ballot within two working
days of the notification. The balloting will remain open for five working days.
3.
As per Senate Procedure 506.1.1, the ballot will read as follows:
(Name
of department chair/school dean) should be reappointed or continue as the chair
of the department/school:
Yes
— No — Abstain —
4.
The Senate administrative assistant will email the results to the chair of the
unit’s chair/dean review committee and the external member of the committee
within two working days of the conclusion of the survey. The chair of the chair/dean
review committee will acknowledge to the Senate administrative assistant receipt
of the results, after which the administrative assistant will purge all
responses from the online survey tool within five working days. The results
should record the number of electronic ballots sent out, the number of votes
received, and the breakdown of the number of votes received (Yes, No, and Abstain).
IV. Entry Page of Survey/Ballot
The
entry page for the survey/ballot should read as follows:
“This
survey/ballot is being conducted by the University Senate on behalf of
[department/school name] in review of [administrator name, administrator’s
title]. No identifying information (computer name, user name, computer IP or
MAC addresses, etc.) is stored. All comments are stored in a common bin; hence,
no pattern can be discerned from your responses. At the end of survey/ballot,
the results will be sent to the chair and external member of the [chair/dean] review
committee of your [department/school], and all survey records will be purged.”
[Insertion
of any additional information requested by the unit review committee may
follow.]
Proposal 16-14:
Introduced to Senate: 22 January 2014
Amended by Senate (in red): 05 February 2014
Approved by Senate with amendment: 05
February 2014
Approved by Administration with editorial change (in blue): 24 February 2014
Proposal 8-16:
Introduced to Senate: 4 November 2015
Approved by Senate:
18 November 2015
Disapproved by
Administration (offered editorial changes): 01 February
2016
Administration offered new recommendations: 21 March 2016
Motion submitted by Saeid
Nooshabadi: 23 March 2016
Revised Response from
Administration: 25 March 2016
Motion was tabled:
06 April 2016
New recommendations
offered by Administration was tabled: 06 April 2016
Senate approved new
recommendations: 20 April 2016
Proposal 28-16:
Introduced to Senate: 21 March 2016
Approved by Senate: 06 April 2016
Approved by Administration: 21 April
2016