ATTACHMENT 2

Resolution Regarding Commissioner's Responsibilities
to Direct OCHE Staff

 

Whereas; the Board of Regents of Higher Education is directed by the state Constitution to prescribe the duties for the Commissioner of Higher Education and the Regents have by policy and practice described such duties, and

Whereas; the Regents have authorized the Commissioner to employ a staff to assist him in carrying out the duties assigned to him by the Regents, and the Commissioner has assembled a staff for such purposes; and

Whereas; the staff authorized by the Regents for the OCHE is small, considering the breadth of responsibilities placed upon it and as a result staff time is a limited and precious commodity, and

Whereas; the Commissioner is the direct and immediate supervisor of professional staff within the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education (OCHE), and

Whereas; the Commissioner is responsible for organizing, assigning and prioritizing the work of OCHE staff, and

Whereas; sound management principles dictate that lines of authority and supervision in an organization should be clear and unambiguous, and

Whereas; the Regents desire to clearly and unambiguously define the lines of authority that run from the Regents to the Commissioner to OCHE staff;

Be It Therefore Resolved That:

All requests from whatever source, including from individual Regents, that OCHE staff undertake a project or conduct work that is likely to consume significant amounts of time shall be brought to the attention of the Commissioner by OCHE Staff who shall evaluate, prioritize and, if appropriate in the judgment of the Commissioner, assign the request to the appropriate OCHE staff member. If a question arises as to whether a request is likely to take "significant" time, that matter shall be resolved by the Commissioner after consultation with the Chair of the Board and ultimately, if necessary by the Board, and

Be It Further Resolved That:

Nothing herein shall be deemed to prohibit or discourage Regents, government officials or members of the public from making routine inquiries directly to OCHE staff with regard to a staff member's area of familiarity or expertise, nor should the staff member feel constrained from responding to such inquiries.

 

Adopted by the Board of Regents meeting at Havre, Montana on March 20, 2002