April

How MSU Denver can ACE its future

American Council on Education shares recommendations to improve University; shared governance implementation team will address.

April 13, 2017

You might recall that American Council on Education fellows recently conducted a live case study of MSU Denver, examining four of the challenges from the University’s Shared Governance Report. The ACE fellows’ findings, which included a set of recommendations, were released on March 13.

The ACE recommendations will be added to the 22 put forward by the Shared Governance Task Force last year. Zsuzsa Balogh, project manager for the shared governance implementation team, called the report a great addition to the work that is already underway.

“We want to make sure we address as many recommendations as possible,” she said. “Right now, this is a work in progress, but we are making strides toward accomplishing our shared goal – serving students.”

Balogh reported that discussions on how to move forward have already begun with Faculty Senate. For example, the report recommends that the provost or president be included as a member of the senate, an item that will be discussed at an upcoming meeting. Another recommendation of note was that faculty being considered for promotion be evaluated only by people of an equivalent or higher rank.

“This is a comprehensive report that deserves our attention,” said President Jordan at a recent President’s Cabinet meeting. “The fellows had no preconceived notions. They were essentially 30 independent consultants working for our benefit. On behalf of the entire University, I’d like to thank them for their considerate and useful report.”