College policies and frameworks inform planning, programmatic, staff development, cultural events, resource allocation requirements, and other needs that are addressed by number of practices. Laney continues to prioritize the support of cultural events (i.e., Black History Month, La Raza and Asian Pacific Islander celebrations, the Day of the Dead, Women’s Herstory Month, the Native American Pow Wow, and the gay and lesbian film series), and professional development activities for individuals and groups of individuals (i.e., leadership succession program, managers’ college, classified programs, UMOJA conference series, Asian, Black and Latino regional conferences, California Postsecondary Educators in Disabilities Conference, Technology for People with Disabilities Conference, training on assisted technology), including release time to develop cultural centers at the college and special programs (i.e., the African American Learning Community, Puente, and Project Bridge). In addition, Laney promotes faculty and staff support of a diverse range of student clubs that include the African Club, BSU, MECHA, La Raza, the Asian-Pacific Islander Club, and the Gay-Straight Alliance. As important, Laney has personnel practices that are fair, equitable, and encourage increasing the diversity of its personnel in age, ethnicity, gender, education, and professional interests/expertise. As a result, the college has witnessed some increase in its personnel’s diversity, especially among administrators, when compared with fall 2001. The effectiveness of each of these (and other practices) is determined by the participants who provide a range of responses, some in written form and others through participation behaviors as they return in increasing numbers to use these resources. Evaluation The college meets this standard. Planning Agenda None. III.A.4.a The institution creates and maintains appropriate programs, practices, and services that support its diverse personnel.
Description Leveraging district and external resources, Laney ensures that programs, practices, and services are provided to address the diverse needs of its faculty, staff, and administrators in all areas of the college, namely instruction, student services, and administrative and business services. Program, Practices, and Services •
Professional development programs made available to personnel include leadership succession training, a managers’ college, a classified academy, a professional development day series on effective teaching, and a conference on faculty inquiry. They are complemented by free enrollment for classified staff and faculty in district classes for personal improvement and professional development.
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Employees receive benefits packages, including health and wellness services and the employee assistance program.
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Other supports in the form of incentives are provided. Extra compensation, release time, and the “classified of the year” award to encourage staff to engage in projects of their interest that also meet one or more of the strategic priorities of the college, such as developing student learning outcome rubrics and faculty reflective inquiry groups (IIIA4a-1).
Each effort has been designed based on needs identified through a variety of processes including collective bargaining, shared governance, staff development, performance feedback and evaluation. In each of these areas, periodic assessments are carried out using findings from many meetings, negotiations, and strategic, educational, and operational planning sessions. For example, leadership discussions among the strategic management team members that were informed by the District-wide Strategic Planning and Policy Advisory Committee led to the creation of the coveted Peralta Leadership Succession program. The staff development committee works with individual members and constituent groups of the college to establish staff development priorities and shape professional development efforts accordingly. This
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