By Heather Fabritze
News Co-Editor
At the beginning of April, the Shared Governance Council opened conversation on the Middle States Commission on Higher Education’s report regarding Washington College’s institutionalperformance.
Community members gathered in the Hynson Lounge on Wednesday, April 3 at 3 p.m. to review primary observations from the report, which revealed continuing concerns about transparency. Members of the Council — composed of the Faculty Council co-chairs, the SGA president, the Staff Council chair, and Chief of Staff and VP for Planning and Policy Dr. Victor Sensenig— facilitated the conversation.
According to previous Elm coverage, Middle States, an evaluator of higher education organizations, requires schools to perform a self-study every eight years, followed by visitations from peer institutions. President of Juniata College Dr. Jim Troha visited WC’s campus in the fall of 2023, with the full evaluation team coming earlier this semester.
The College prepared for the visit, which determines the credibility of its degree programs, for 30 months. To the relief of Dr. Sensenig, who helped organize the process, WC passed with “flying colors.”
Their conversation revealed that staff and faculty’s primary concerns from the report were a lack of general honesty and collegiality.
“While there were differing perspectives on how to define them and what needs to be done first to strengthen them, there was general agreement around the importance of showing respect despite disagreement, understanding that people have unequal degrees of power and security, assuming good intentions, improving transparency, and developing shared vision,” Dr. Sensenig said.
In his team’s report, Dr. Troha commended the College’s self-evaluation for balancing its challenges and what makes it unique. He noted that he also appreciated the candidness of the meetings he shared with community members.
While WC is certainly facing challenges, including a widespread fracturing of trust and morale, he acknowledges that peer institutions are facing similar issues.
“The last 10 years have been really hard for you,” Dr. Troha said. “We read that, we saw that, we heard that. We heard you about the toll it has taken on this community. And guess what? You have persevered. Yes, it certainly hasn’t been easy…We understand that but you need to know you are not alone.”
Overcoming challenges will require strong collaboration within the community. Thankfully, WC’s “extraordinary campus” and deeply caring and driven population, according to Dr. Troha, will act as a substantial foundation for growth.
His highest priority recommendations were to pour energy into human partnerships rather thanfinancial resources. His team also found that while the strategic map covers a lot of ground, it lacks a clear vision.
The final report was split into seven standards, all of which the College met or exceeded. The first, Missions and Goals, recommended that WC develop a tracking system to guide the implementation of the five-year plan. Close monitoring of the DEI plan was also included.
However, the report also emphasizes that the heavy nature of these issues should not be detrimental to morale.
“The institution is encouraged to grapple with the current disconnect that while the past five years are acknowledged as being exceptionally difficult, even traumatizing in some ways, there is a strong belief that the past needs to be set aside and that the future of the student experience at Washington College is rooted in intentionality and optimism,” the report said.
The next two standards, Educational Effectiveness and Planning, Resources, and Institutional Improvement, outlined that administration should seek input on funding choices, routinely evaluate their marketing strategy, and more clearly outline general education requirements.
In the final section, Dr. Troha’s team addressed how delayed communication on decision-making from seniors leaders is contributing to low morale. Decisions made in the past without stakeholder input — like moving the payroll to Paycom — puts greater burdens on employees.
Relatively new senior leadership should also engage regularly with longer-serving faculty to gain greater insight into the College.
The distribution of power within the institution in general presented a few issues for the Middle States team, as well.
“Because of the considerable turnover in presidents over the past several years, the Board of Visitors and Governors had adopted a more hands-on role in their oversight of the College,” the report said. “It is crucial that the board return to its charge as a body with strategic and fiduciary oversight, leaving the day-to-day operations to the President and his senior leadership team. This is important if the campus community is to have greater trust in the President and the Board.”
In roughly May or June, the Middle States central office will either finalize the evaluation or make adjustments to the report.
According to Dr. Sensenig, seeing that there were no serious discrepancies in Dr. Troha’s recommendations, senior leaders are hopeful that the next stage will echo the sentiments of this report.