American Samoa Community College

IV.A.6. The processes for decision-making and the resulting decisions are documented and widely communicated across the institution.

The following policies on communication at the College are:

Policy 3010 Communication and Counsel to the Board. President informs BHE of trends, media coverage or political consequences to the College or its interest. ¹
Policy 3014 Forms Management. Information vital to the success of ASCC that provides the basis for management decisions.²
Policy 3022 Communication Protocols. Approved organizational and department charts shall be used and implemented as a guide for communication protocols.³
Policy 3022.1 Communication with the Media. Press release to the media an official spoke person will be assigned during crisis situations and in matters concerning policy, procedures, students, and employees.⁴
Policy 3023-3024 Information, correspondences and filing. Detail about preparing and processing of internal and external official correspondences.⁵^, ⁶

The process of decision-making follows the organizational structure and communication protocols of the institution. ⁷^, ⁸^, ⁹ The PGSM identifies an overview of the framework of governance and decision-making. Governance Groups, Operational Groups, and Task Force Groups are all required to keep minutes of official meetings.

The Leadership Team (formerly Deans and Directors) meetings are held every month or more often as needed. Minutes of meetings are documented and distributed to the Leadership Team. The Deans, Directors, and Officers disseminate information from these meetings to all staff and faculty.

The College website provides updated information to all employees, students, and community with links to articles, Board of Higher Education actions, Fact Sheets, Fact Books and other updates on decisions and actions at all levels of protocol. The 411 Student Newsletter is the main venue for information dissemination to students.

Communication through correspondence is sent via email. In cases where employees do not have access to email, Supervisors print and place notices for their employees to access. Regularly scheduled meetings within divisions, departments, and sections are held and documented through minutes.

In situations where translation is needed for limited English, translation and/or interpretation is conducted by immediate supervisor or an employee. An example of this was in the translation of the Institutional Program Review and Divisional Assessment surveys and in the meetings held by several division heads to conduct surveys.