Better service drives CSC reorganization

Dr. Randy Rhine, CSC vice president for enrollment management and student services, said the reorganization within the student affairs operation is designed to give students a better experience while doing business with CSC.

“In the past, people have been required to visit seven different people on campus in order to become a student at Chadron State,” Rhine said. “We expect this new system to reduce that number to as few as one.”

Now, students will be directed to one of a number of “generalists” on campus, each who will serve as a single point of contact to usher the enrollees through a variety of administrative hurdles. The generalist also will provide students with information on how to use the new self-service component available through the CSC website to access needed services. The changes will rely heavily on cross-training and the features of the newly implemented Nebraska Student Information System.

Although some job titles and reporting lines are being changed in the reorganization, Rhine said the plan does not require any additional funding.

Within Academic Affairs, each of CSC’s three academic deans is taking on a new title to reflect changes in job responsibilities. Dr. Lois Veath, CSC vice president for academic affairs, said the changes will support a number of important initiatives including the establishment of a new teaching and learning center for faculty and implementation of high impact learning experiences for students, encompassing efforts to enhance the general studies curriculum. The deans also will have specific duties regarding assessment and accreditation.

The changes will affect the college’s most recent hire -- Dr. Joel Hyer, the chairman of CSC’s communication and social sciences department, who accepted the new position of dean of curriculum and academic advancement this week.

Dr. Charles Snare has become the dean of teaching and learning and Dr. Margaret Crouse is now the dean of professional licensure. The three deans will function collectively as a single unit, the deans council, which will conduct all-faculty meetings each month instead of the individual school meetings of the past.

In another change, Steve Taylor, formerly the assistant vice president of extended campus programs, is now the associate vice president for market development and has begun reporting to the president instead of the vice president for academic affairs.

The reorganization also affects more than a dozen other employees who will have a change in supervisors. They include members of the Instructional Technology Center, two advisors in extended campus programs, the director of the Nelson Physical Activity Center, a student services counselor, the assistant for graduate studies, the college nurse and an office assistant for the registrar. Each will report to one of the three deans, the director of financial aid and student services team lead, or the student support services grant and retention team lead.

The reorganization, which derived from Chadron State’s strategic planning process, was approved during the June 2 meeting of the Nebraska State College System Board of Trustees.

Dr. Janie Park, CSC president, sent an email message to the employees Tuesday, June 14, to thank them for patience during the changes.

“These initiatives will better position CSC to continue to be a ‘step ahead’ as noted by the Higher Learning Commission in their review of our recent general studies assessment project,” she wrote. “Higher education is facing some tough times and CSC has chosen to use these circumstances to become exemplary rather than entrenching and hunkering down. This takes courage, and I thank you for that as well.”