Purpose: As a scholar in the Emerging Educational Administration Institute, my project assessed current initiatives and procedures and implemented new initiatives that would better align the School of Nursing with the five Marianist principles. One of the strategic goals for the University is to provide an environment that exemplified these principles.
Methods: Project Activities: In May 2018, a presentation to the faculty about the project occurred. There were sessions during faculty meetings in early Fall 2018 where assessment of alignment of current procedures or initiatives with Marianist principles occurred. The foci of the assessment were faculty activities (e.g. hiring process, orientation of new faculty, mentoring of new faculty, etc.) and student activities (e.g. admission process, advising sessions, classroom management, shared governance with students, communication, etc.). Several initiatives and procedures were implemented in mid Fall 2018 to early Spring 2019.
Measures: Project Methods: A Likert scale survey was developed to assess effectiveness of selected initiatives and procedures that were implemented. Twelve faculty and eight student initiatives were evaluated. The faculty survey was conducted via email with the return of hardcopy via designated drop box. The student survey was conducted by respective faculty face to face in their classroom to all four cohorts. Faculty had three weeks to return survey. There were five of the eight faculty who completed the survey by deadline. Student surveys were completed in two weeks at the same time frame as the faculty. There were a total of 240 student surveys received.
Measures: Project Outcomes: The initiatives given the highest ratings for promoting Marianist principles among faculty were: 1. Solicitation of student feedback for student handbook, 2. Implementing a “Caught in the Act” so demonstrators of the mission can be recognized, 3. Establishing a group rules for the School of Nursing, 4. Using green or red face to vote during faculty meetings and allowing the red face to verbalize their opportunity. The highest rated initiatives among students were: 1. Fund nursing students to attend professional conference using student enrichment funds, 2. Creating and Initiating Just Culture, 3. Thank you letter to students from the Chief Nurse Administrator and a swag bag for volunteering. The leadership skills required for completion of the project included consistency, communication and adaptability. Based on the results of the project, it was important to have consistent avenues to communicate the information about the initiatives to students and faculty. Adaptability in making changes to an initiative based on feedback shows one’s openness to making improvements to excel.
Discussions: The implications of the project for the organization are as follows: 1. Assess current practices in exemplifying the Marianist principles, 2. Share the framework with other schools and divisions in the university to adapt, 3. As an emerging leader, it is important to understand the framework of excellence in relation to the Marianist principles. The value of using the Marianist leadership model with the foundation of creating a culture of trust and mutual respect shows a clear understanding of adaptability with the changing times. This project supported my leadership development by allowing me to explore the use of a synergy of leadership models such as servant leadership, transformational leadership and Marianist leadership models as my foundation to lead. This project allowed me to look from within the Marianist principles and our strategic plan to contribute to the school of nursing initiatives that is driven by our values.