Berklee2005: Build on Our Strengths 1.6

1.6 Encourage commitment to professional development

Focus on continued learning and development. Encourage commitment to training college-wide.

(progress as of August 2004, August 2003, August 2002, August 2001)

Progress as of August 2005

The Berklee Recognition and Acknowledgement of Staff Support (BRASS) Day now represents a revised approach to staff recognition and development.
Participation in the Boston Consortium commenced in 2001 and created access to new materials for training and support, including the ElementK online training program. On-campus programs have included mandatory sexual harassment training.
Competency models have been developed and proposed for various levels of staff. The Situational Leadership II program was adapted to organize professional development appropriate to a variety of leadership styles.
Faculty development efforts have included the Berklee Teachers on Teaching (BTOT) program, developmental workshops offered during the year, the Laptop Loan Program, augmentation of the Faculty Development Grant Program for 2004, the Faculty Development Fellowship Program, the Faculty Initiatives Project (FIP), and the biannual FAB Newsletter.

Progress as of August 2004
Staff Development

BRASS Day was held on May 13, 2004, and by all accounts was a great success. The program was planned and led by the Staff Personnel Committee acting as the BRASS Development Task Force. In addition to the annual staff recognition awards, an additional highlight was the new community volunteer award named in honor of retiring president Lee Berk.
Mandatory sexual harassment training was provided to all employees with supervisory responsibilities. Enrollment of approximately 200 people in nine sessions was handled by the Learning Management System of Element K. Online sexual harassment training for faculty and staff has been developed through New Media Learning and will be launched soon.
The Hay Group and the Office of Human Resources developed a draft of a “Success Factors” or competency model for directors and chairs. This competency model would provide the framework for all personnel-related activities such as hiring, performance management, training, and development. The model would align training initiatives with the strategic needs and directions of the college.
The college has also adopted the Situational Leadership II Program as the common framework for organizing training and development offerings with content-specific applications. The Situational Leadership Forum now meets monthly. A companion course—Situational Self Leadership—will soon be available to staff members. Courses deal with a variety of topics including customer service, interviewing skills, and performance management. New course libraries have been added in Element K with more interaction and story-based cases. A pilot program to use Element K courses in a blended solution with in-house follow-up led to the creation of the Project Manager’s Forum, which meets monthly.
Also, the Boston Consortium’s Professional Development program has been expanded to include classes from Harvard’s Training and Development program (as well as courses at MIT and Babson). Berklee employees have taken courses on assertive communication, business and technical writing, giving presentations, and career options. Training and Development now pays 50% of the cost of consortium classes.
Berklee hosted a special presentation in April 2004 by Harvard professor Robert Kegen on “How the Way We Talk Can Change the Way We Work.” This program was given in early April. Discussions are underway with Kegan and associates about ongoing training on developing a culture of dialogue.

Faculty Development
During FY 2004, faculty development opportunities at Berklee continued to grow. In addition to the development of a new faculty development mission statement and a lengthened Berklee Teachers on Teaching (BTOT) program, the amount of grant monies awarded to faculty doubled this past year. Additionally, faculty development workshops continued to be offered on a wide range of topics throughout the year. Two key themes for the year were how best to integrate technology in faculty teaching and exploring world music.

The new mission statement for faculty development at Berklee guides all development programs emerging from Academic Affairs:
The Faculty Development program at Berklee engages our community of faculty by inspiring the student within each teacher. Our goal in these efforts is to foster pride in learning throughout our community. We believe that curiosity and creativity are healthy responses to change. We recognize dissonance as a source of beauty in art, learning, and life. We invest in the growth of all our faculty members with the belief that an opportunity for one benefits all. Our programs are based on active learning and listening to promote respect and understanding.
The Faculty Development Laptop Loan Program was developed to support the development of integrating technology into the classroom. In collaboration with Information Technology and Training and Support, Academic Affairs is developing an administrative system to support this program. An initial pilot group is scheduled for early August, and the official roll out is scheduled for September 2004.
The Office of Academic Affairs and the Center for Technology in Music Instruction (CTMI) strengthened a collaborative relationship, promoting a number of faculty development opportunities during the year.
BTOT 2004 continued the tradition of showcasing the teaching talents, breakthroughs, and innovations of faculty at Berklee. The conference is planned, hosted, and attended by Berklee faculty. This year the program grew from a single day event to a day and a half program.
The Faculty Development Grant program grew from $15,000 in FY 2003 to $30,000 in FY 2004. This program is available to all Berklee faculty members, is administered by a faculty advisory committee, and has supported projects such as faculty research, concerts, and private lessons.
The Faculty Development Fellowship Program was readied for implementation. Intended to support faculty development, the planned rollout is scheduled for September 2004.
Support for integration of technology in teaching was strengthening by a meeting project entitled “Rise of the Machines” developed by the Faculty Initiatives Project (FIP). A faculty think tank group was formed to discuss the same topic, and meets monthly. The FIP continues to grow in other areas of inquiry and development, including meetings and workshops in career enhancement through writing, feasibility of a faculty senate, student evaluations, and musical diversity.
In collaboration with the Women’s Network, the Office of Academic Affairs also sponsored events in support of Women’s History Month in March 2004. The Office of Academic Affairs also sponsored five faculty member’s attendance at the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education (NCORE) to further individual and institutional knowledge in various areas of diversity.
The biannual faculty development publication/FAB Newsletter features spotlight articles on faculty development opportunities, current projects being conducted by faculty, interviews with various faculty members, and listings of national and international fellowships, grants, residencies, and other development opportunities.

Connected offices include Information Technology; Administration/Finance, for Human Resources; Academic Affairs, for faculty and chair development; Student Affairs, for staff development implications and impact on students.

Closely related initiatives include Provide the Finest Educational Experience, and Provide Web-based Support Services.

Professional Development Leadership Oversight Group
John Eldert Associate Vice President for Administration and Finance, Chair
Gary Burton Executive Vice President (retiring 10/04)
David S. Mash Vice President for Information Technology
Frank Medlar Director for Professional Development, Human Resources
Nancy Eagen Assistant Vice President for Human Resources
Karen Zorn Associate Provost

Chair and Faculty Task Force
Karen Zorn Associate Provost, Chair
Anthony Marvuglio Director, IT Training and Support Services
James Odgren Academic Advising Coordinator, Professional Performance Division
Philip Ruokis Training and Support Coordinator, Center for Technology in Music Instruction
Gerald Smith Technical Coordinator, Professional Writing Division

Director and Staff Task Force
Nancy Eagen Assistant Vice President for Human Resources
William D’Agostino IT Training and Support Coordinator
Frank Medlar Director for Professional Development, Human Resources
Stefanie Sullivan Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs/Student Development

BRASS Development Task Force (Staff Personnel Committee)
Margaret Dennis Director of Employee Relations, Facilitator (resigned 6/04)
Alicia Donnelly International Education Program Coordinator
Kelly DuBois Auxiliary Services Supervisor
Linda Embardo IT Training Specialist
Rosie Huntress Assistant to the Vice President for External Affairs
Renese King Administrative Associate for Student Affairs/Student Development
Todd Krohne Administrative Associate for Student Affairs/Student Development (resigned 9/04)
Jackie Murray Senior Cashier, Comptroller's Office
Christopher Marsella Human Resources Assistant
Rob Ruffin Office Manager, Guitar Department
Catherine Zerlin Administrative Assistant, Film Scoring

Progress as of August 2003
The very successful Spring 2002 BRASS Day, which included presentations on the college’s image/branding initiative and other information vital to staff, was followed by the 2003 event held on May 14, which included sessions of interest to staff as well as a stimulating keynote address discussing www.berkleemusic.com. The BRASS Day event is led by the director of employee relations and the BRASS Development Task Force.

A new director-level position for professional development was hired in Summer 2002 to work with the Offices of Information Technology, Human Resources, and the Provost, as well as various committees, to develop and implement college-wide training programs. This position, together with the newly created associate vice president of administration and finance position, will provide more concerted leadership to these initiatives in the years ahead.

The new director of professional development’s first priority has been to research and draft an initial competency model for review, as the basis for aligning subsequent training initiatives with the strategic needs and directions of the college. This model will guide immediate development offerings as well as evolve in response to individual capabilities and emerging best practices, and has identified sexual harassment and employment interviewing as currently appropriate training needs.

The director has proposed that the Situational Leadership II Program be adopted as the common framework for organizing professional development offerings appropriate to a variety of leadership styles and content-specific applications. The next step is the preparation of a pilot presentation for all vice presidents, associate vice presidents, and assistant vice presidents who are managers of directors about Situational Leadership as the context for staff performance evaluation college-wide.

Course materials are being developed to increase background awareness of legally mandated or organizationally desirable topics such as sexual harassment, non-discrimination, and other areas of institutional ethics. These will be followed by related topics such as coaching/mentoring and conducting staff evaluations.

An important component of the professional development program is being offered though the college’s participation in The Boston Consortium, comprised of 13 prominent local colleges. The consortium offers a comprehensive and respected series of on-campus and online training programs. A Training Initiatives Task Force has been established and is working with the Offices of Information Technology and Human Resources to take advantage of these programs. Berklee managers have completed the Supervisor’s Certificate Program and taken other courses on budgeting, supervising student employees, and project management.

The Element K online training program, implemented last year, has seen over 120 Berklee users so far. Nearly 30 staff, directors, and chairs have taken leadership courses. In early 2003, Berklee migrated to their new learning management system, KnowledgeHub, with access to the Harvard Interactive Manager Series. Plans for coming months include wider dissemination of these and other online training providers, such as Communication Fitness, using the newly developed Human Resources Office training web site and presentations to groups including the administrative directors.

The Human Resources Office has drafted additional components to enhance Berklee’s new orientation program, Sound Beginnings, with planned follow-up in succeeding months of complementary professional development materials.

Progress as of August 2002
The Leadership Oversight Group met regularly to discuss the overall approach to this initiative. The BRASS Awards day was selected as a pilot activity for a revised approach to staff recognition and development, and this was implemented in the spring of 2001. Two committees then planned the very successful Spring 2002 BRASS Day that, in addition to annual staff awards, included presentations on the college's image/branding initiative, the new retirement benefit program, and a number of other topics.

The creation of a longer-range plan for faculty, chair, and staff professional development is being led by the Leadership Oversight Group. A new director-level position for professional development was established and filled in Summer 2002 to work with the Offices of Information Technology, Human Resources, and the Provost, as well as various committees, to develop and implement college-wide training programs.

An important component of the professional development program is being offered though the college's participation in the Boston Consortium, comprised of 13 prominent local colleges (including Berklee) and offering a comprehensive and respected series of on campus and online training programs. A Training Initiatives Task Force has been established and is working with the Offices of Information Technology and Human Resources to take advantage of training materials and resources available through the Boston Consortium. The ÒElementKÓ online training program has been implemented, with over 120 Berklee users so far. Nearly 30 staff, directors, and chairs have taken leadership courses. In Spring 2002 all members of the President's Council participated in one or more online courses through Element K and completed assessment reports. A consortium committee continues to modify and improve courses.

Progress as of August 2001
A working committee has met to discuss the overall approach to this initiative. The BRASS Awards day was selected as a pilot activity for a revised approach to staff recognition and development, and this was implemented in the spring of 2001. Two committees will be formed to plan the 2002 BRASS Day event: one from the President's Council chaired by the Assistant VP for Human Resources and one from the staff ranks. Development of a longer-range plan for faculty, chair, and staff professional development will follow utilizing the chair/faculty and staff task forces. Other structural ideas being considered include full days for developmental activities, and half-day convocations for each staff area.

An important component of a professional development program will be offered though the college's participation in the Boston Consortium. Berklee is now a member of this group, comprised of prominent local colleges and offering a comprehensive and respected series of online training programs.

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