Genesee Community College has been named one of the "Great Colleges to Work For" by The Chronicle of Higher Education, the leading higher education publication in the United States.
Genesee is one of only eight medium-sized, community colleges to be recognized for its workplace policies, and is the only State University of New York community college to receive the distinction in any category.
Specifically, Genesee was recognized in the category of Facilities, Security and Workspace among two-year colleges with enrollment of 3,000 - 9,999.
To participate in the program, institutions agreed to go through a free, two-part assessment process. It includes a survey administered to a randomly selected group of 400 to 600 administrators and members of the faculty and professional-support staff, and an institutional audit that collects demographics and workplace policies and practices from each institution.
The primary factor in deciding whether an institution received recognition was the employee feedback collected from faculty and staff members. Results from both of these surveys are used in the assessment process which includes analysis of demographic data and workplace policies at each of the participating institutions.
Genesee's recognition in the Facilities, Security and Workspace category was due to several factors:
- the appearance of the campus was pleasing;
- facilities adequately met needs;
- the institution proactively takes steps to provide a safe and secure environment.
Detailed information was also collected on Emergency Response Plans in the institutional questionnaire portion of the assessment. Genesee's proactive safety initiatives involve the College's large and active Safety Committee to continuously promote campus safety. Additionally, the introduction of a Student Safety Patrol broadened the safety and security of the campus by using students from the Genesee's Criminal Justice program to assist Public Safety Officers.
"The results of the survey further distinguish Genesee as a leader in community college employment," said Stuart Steiner, president of Genesee Community College. "I'm not surprised that we were recognized in the facilities category.
"We have a beautiful campus and well maintained facilities. We are also constantly updating various areas of the College, particularly in technology. This illustrates how the quality of the workplace matters to our employees."
The "Great Colleges to Work For" program is designed to help colleges improve as workplaces through the individual reports received. The unique comments and results of the employee survey can be reviewed by each college or university and used as a benchmark or guide for improvements and to set goals.
