RVCC 2019 NECHE Self-Study

Institutional Organization
River Valley’s internal organizational structure has undergone a large number of transitions
in the past five years. The administrative structure has been fluid with the appointment of
each President or Interim President depending on their focus for the institution. In Fall of
2017, with the removal of another Interim President, and the promotion of the Interim
Vice-President, who was on a one-year temporary assignment through The Registry of
College and University Presidents, it became clear that a more permanent, stable model
was needed. For Academic Year 17-18, the Interim President acted in the role of President
as well as Vice President of Student and Academic Affairs. This was clearly not an ideal
situation, and the Chancellor appointed an Advisor to the President to assist in oversight of
RVCC. This Advisor to the President was a President of another CCSNH college and had
previously served as the President of River Valley. This President’s familiarity with RVCC
faculty, staff, and the culture of RVCC; in addition to the energy and expertise of the
Interim President/VPASA proved to be quite successful as the College undertook a search
for a full-time President.
The Presidential search throughout Spring 2018 resulted in the hiring of President Alfred
Williams who started July 1, 2018. Simultaneously, in Spring of 2018, the decision was
made to promote internally for the role of VPAA. The Department Chair of Liberal Arts
transitioned to Interim VPAA in June of 2018, and was made permanent in January of
2019. This new model provided an ideal balance of institutional knowledge with new,
outside energy, and the college community as a whole is pleased with the appointments to
both of these positions. With the return to a more traditional, stable model of internal
governance, the organizational chart is stabilizing.
The President of RVCC serves as the Institution’s Chief Executive Officer and before
appointment must be recommended by the Chancellor and approved by the CCSNH Board
of Trustees. The President reports directly to the Chancellor and is responsible for overall
management and operation of the College including preparation and control of the
Institution’s budget as well as overall administration of the faculty and staff at the College
via an organized structure of oversight. As mentioned in Standard Two, all locations are
treated as one college and therefore all locations have the same oversight. While all
administrators are located at the Claremont campus, each Academic Center has a
Supervisor that reports directly to the President and sits on the President’s Extended
Leadership Team. Additionally, administrators are in contact with the LAC and KAC Site
Directors on as needed basis. The utilization of Vice Presidents and other administrative
staff; including Academic Center Supervisors as well as Department Heads and
Department Chairs, assists in assuring that all employees at RVCC understand their role in
the success of the Institution. While there are clear supervisory lines that employees
should follow according to the organizational chart, in general, the College abides by an
“open door” communication policy. This works particularly well because of the small nature
of RVCC and in most instances, communication occurs directly between whatever parties
need to discuss individual concerns. In some instances, communication must follow a
more formal process and this is done through Staff Forum, Faculty Forum, Department
Meetings, and Department Chair Meetings.
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