MATC Matters

Don’t Let Yourself be Silenced. Take Part in PACE!

Beginning in 1996, MATC has conducted an institutional climate survey, known as the Personal Assessment of the College Environment (PACE), of all permanent college employees once every three years. PACE was designed specifically for two-year colleges by George Baker, founder of the National Institute for Leadership and Institutional Excellence (NILIE). PACE is a nationally normed overall satisfaction check on the institutional climate at the College and it allows for comparison with a national benchmark.

PACE is based on a model identified by Lickert that places the prevailing organizational climate on the following continuum: coercive, competitive, consultative, and collaborative. The collaborative state is recognized as the highest level of college climate and is MATC’s goal. This state has been shown to result in high levels of employee satisfaction, high productivity, and high student focus. Periodically conducting PACE allows the College to measure progress achieved in improving College climate.

PACE is more than an academic exercise. Results have been used to sharpen College focus on student learning, improve College communications, identify the need for technology support of learning, and provide improved opportunities for staff development. Past surveys have documented the high degree of instructional quality students receive here. Past results have also identified other areas where opportunities for improvement exist. Initiatives such as CETL and the new AQIP Action Projects concerning College Culture and Communications will also benefit from the responses seen in the PACE.

PACE participation in the past was low due to concerns that the results could be used by the College to identify individual responses. Please be assured that PACE is 100% anonymous. The PACE is completed online and no MATC staff will see any raw data. MATC will only see survey information in summary form after the results have been compiled by NILIE. As a further measure of anonymity, NILIE will report only subgroups of responses that have at least five or more individuals. This will protect the anonymity of racial/ ethnic minority and other small groups of employees. It is with these assurances that we request all permanent employees respond candidly to the survey and demographic questions. This will allow the College to assess how institutional climate is experienced by diverse groups of employees.

The survey will become available to complete online beginning January 8, 2008. All permanent employees will receive the survey URL at the January 8 Convocation and the survey will remain open for your comments for a minimum of seven days (January 15). Please take this opportunity to make your voice heard and assess the College climate.

If you have questions or concerns about PACE or are have problems accessing/completing the survey after January 8, please contact Tom Heaney at (608) 246-6402. Thank you.