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SACS Compliance - Assessment Plan

Office of General Counsel

March 2003

What are we trying to do? The overall goal of the department?

The Office of General Counsel (OGC) is responsible for all institutional legal advice and works with the Office of the Attorney General, which represents the university in litigation. OGC has three main functions:

1. Legal advice and counsel (includes but is not limited to contract drafting, negotiation and review; negotiating and drafting documents, interpretation of federal and state laws; handling internal and external administrative and regulatory matters and grievances; policy review and development; general legal education of the campus community); and
2. Litigation support (gathering factual information and assisting the Office of the Attorney General in the development and furtherance of the university's position in judicial and administrative forums).
3. Serve all units of the university through preventive counseling, i.e., the provision of timely and effective legal advice before legal problems arise in order to prevent or minimize legal liability.

Mission Statement

The Office of General Counsel provides, manages and coordinates all legal services for NC State University in a collegial, positive and professional manner. We are committed to rendering high quality and responsive legal advice to facilitate the achievement of NC State University's mission in teaching, research and extension.

Vision Statement

The Office of General Counsel is recognized as integral to the university's strategic operations and as a premier legal office that provides leadership to the university and facilitates the accomplishment of the university's goals.

How do we do this? What are our key activities?

OGC has identified the following major subject areas based on the business and academic practices of the university. These key activities are proactive and reactive initiatives, which fit within the overall strategic plan developed by the office. The major subject areas are:

1. Athletics
2. Business Transactions
3. Employment
4. Regulatory Compliance
5. Sponsored Research and Other Sponsored Programs
6. Student Affairs
7. Technology Transfer and Economic Development
8. Preventive Law/Professional Development

How well are we doing it? How do we know?

OGC continually reviews its activities and procedures to identify efficiencies and areas for improvement. This includes our strategic planning process and internal reviews. As our strategic planning process includes three annual reports (Performance Assessment, Compact Plan, Annual Report) that are our main product output, the process used to derive the reporting information is a key function to ensure this office is monitoring the quality and quantity of legal services provided to the campus community.

Assessment Plan

OGC is striving to achieve a level of service which would identify it as a premier legal office.It is difficult if not impossible to measure minimizing legal liabilities or to measure successful legal negotiations. OGC can measure, generally, the productivity of the office by the volume of work: number of contracts reviewed, number of internal grievances committees advised, number of civil rights cases defended, number of advice memoranda prepared, number of policies reviewed and drafted, number of training and education workshops conducted on various legal topics. However, the outcomes of those matters depend on numerous variables which are beyond our control.

To measure performance, OGC's Assessment Plan identifies the following key expected impacts:

1. NC State officials, deans, directors, department heads and faculty will have an enlightened understanding of the legal implications of their actions;
2. NC State employees will transact business consistent (whenever legally possible) with their stated objectives, with appropriate and reasonable allocation of business and legal risk and in compliance with federal, state and local laws and regulations;
3. NC State will be zealously and competently defended in legal proceedings;
4. NC State's legal liabilities will be reduced and minimized; NC State will have concise, clear and easily accessible policies and procedures.
5. NC State will have concise, clear and easily accessible policies and procedures.

The following performance areas have been identified as key indicators of measuring OGC's effectiveness and quality:

A. Annual Retreat

OGC conducts an annual retreat where a review is done of the previous year's activities, to include data on preventive law workshops, advice of counsel, case docket statistics, performance reviews, and weekly major issue reports. The review provides relevant data in the strategic planning process and identifying major subject areas and goals to focus on for the upcoming year. The focus of the annual retreat consists of a review of two main areas:

1) Workshops - The goal of the workshops is to educate the university community about the law, on the legal implications of proposed activities, enhance the ability to engage in appropriate risk management activities and lessen the potential for legal liability as well as inform on the changes in laws and regulations that affect higher education. Written handouts are provided on the topical discussions and institutional policies are highlighted where relevant. A question and answer session follows each workshop and in most instances the presenters will provide a scenario identifiable with a situation the target audience is likely to encounter. The workshops cover such topics as intellectual property, privacy/public records, liability and insurance, contracts, business transactions and employment law (concentrating on civil rights issues in particular). Workshop topics are selected, in part, on the basis of client interests expressed in responses to a campus-wide survey. Evaluation forms for feedback are provided to the workshop attendees and a database is maintained on the demographics of attendees. The workshops are an effective tool in minimizing litigation and legal liability. As a result of the workshops there is a heightened understanding of the legal implications of administration and management's actions and ability to engage in appropriate risk management. For instance, true-life harassment scenarios have been used in workshops to advise members of the university community on (1) the law on harassment and (2) how to handle these situations when they arise. Some specific examples of scenarios include: (1) hanging a Confederate flag inside or outside a residence hall room (2) pornography on the screen in a public computer lab (3) brickyard preacher calling women students "sluts" (4) white student telling black student "go back to Africa if you don't like it here" (5) Jewish students calling Arab students "camel jockeys" (6) student club bans gay and lesbians for religious reasons.

Effectiveness: A series of workshops were presented to the campus community during September 2001 to April 2002.The workshop evaluation forms provided guidance for the presenters to determine the format most beneficial to the attendees. For instance, with employment related workshops, more case studies and scenarios provide reality-based examples. The workshops have been well attended by both administrators and support personnel. Out of 166 university personnel attending the workshops, 70 were SPA employees and 96 were EPA employees. The demographics aid OGC in determining who is seeking more education based on actual performance. The demographics also aid in structuring the content of each workshop based on the audience. The overall response to the workshops was "excellent" and positive and informative feedback was provided to aid in assessing how the participants valued the information provided and desires for future workshops. More than 50% (out of 147 surveyed) of the workshop participants commented that: (1) the workshop presentations were helpful and informative to many aspects of their current job functions (2) provided new information for future more efficient operating procedures (3) the handouts were a clear and concise resource that could be shared with staff and (4) the presenters were very knowledgeable and did an excellent job of clarifying complex legal issues. Participants also commented that they learned more than expected in the workshops and it would be helpful to have the workshop repeated periodically to capture new employees. For further examination of the workshops' impact, see Section C below on results from OGC's campus wide survey.

2) Database Statistics - The database system set-up for OGC allows the monitoring and tracking of certain case activity, identifying problem areas, where improvements, or education or policy development/change is needed. The statistics gathered are used to measure the level of work product this office produces on an annual basis. The database is set up to monitor advice files, litigation cases, administrative action cases, faculty/student grievances and appeals to the board of trustees by college, department, date, subject matter, and status. In addition, litigation and other judicially processed type cases are set up for more detailed monitoring of case status, basis for action, final decisions, settlement negotiations, as well as identifying the demographics of the grievant(s) and respondent(s) involved.

Effectiveness: The database serves as a tool to identify which departments are serviced more by the attorneys and in what areas; such as employment, contract, governance, etc. This tool helps OGC to track changes in the unit/department environments, educate new personnel, track trends in management and business practices, and propose new policies/guidelines that will help to streamline the process or reduce legal liability.

B. Staff Meetings

OGC conducts weekly staff meetings to discuss complex legal issues and review legal advice and cases handled by each attorney, review litigation case strategy, status or resolution and identify major issues. Major issues for this office are identified as key legal issues that have a substantial affect on the university. For example, new legislation or changes in the law such as the "Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act" (HIPAA) have led to mandatory changes in the way the university handles health related information, and the USA PATRIOT Act passed by Congress in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist acts has changed the admissions and registration requirements for non-immigrants from certain foreign countries. The attorneys identify and discuss several major issues of relevant concern for the university's business and academic functions. More specifically the attorneys stay current on the university's legal issues, address legal advice matters from clients and establish consensus on responses that helps to avoid forum shopping by clients. During the staff meeting discussions the attorneys are able to identify areas for potential problems due to lack or clarity in the policies. For example the commission of substantive and procedural errors in grievances resulting in reversal or remand of decisions in several faculty grievance cases led to the development of a "A Guide for Grievance Committees and Grievance Committee Chairs" on conducting faculty/EPA grievance hearings. In addition training was conducted with the deans, associate deans and department heads of each college on personnel decisions, evaluations and grievances to present good employment practices that would prevent or prevail in employee grievances. The overall response to this workshop was "excellent" and more than 50% of the participants found the workshop to be informative, relevant to their work and a great learning tool. A training protocol was also developed for faculty hearing panels and committee chairs to be conducted in the Spring 2003 that would provide more knowledge and skills to committee chairs on effectively handling faculty and EPA grievances.

Effectiveness: This review process proves to be an effective tool in identifying problems and issues in the university community and the appropriate legal course of action. The need for specifically tailored workshops to enhance a unit's understanding of university policies and regulations are identified. In addition, the need for changes in the policy to clarify the legal issues and ramifications of certain business practices are also identified during the staff discussions.

C. Periodic Client Survey

1) Campus Wide Survey - OGC conducted a client satisfaction survey in 1998.This survey was distributed to all executive officers, deans, directors and department heads on campus. General Counsel' will conduct this survey every five years to ensure we are meeting the expectations of our campus clients. The campus wide survey is being conducted again in Spring 2003. The purpose of the survey is to determine and analyze who our clients are, the client's utilization of this office, the types of legal services requested, evaluation of attorneys' expertise and professionalism and client education sessions.

Effectiveness: This survey was an effective tool in identifying key areas of focus and concern for our clients and evaluating whether this office was adequately performing to the clients' desired outcome and identifying any measures that should be put in place to meet reasonable client-desired outcomes. The study was conducted among various colleges and units within the university. In 1998 a total of 255 surveys were distributed campus wide. The survey was in five parts: (1) who are our clients (2) utilization of the legal office (3) expertise and professionalism (4) client education sessions (5) recommendations and expectations. The effective response rate was 43% with a total of 110 responses. The survey revealed that 70% of our clients are directors and administrators, 25% department heads, 8% faculty and associate deans, and 5% deans. The majority of clients surveyed utilize this office for service in the areas of copyright, internal investigations, grievances, public records, personnel issues, liability, policy matters, purchasing and contracts and student affairs. The majority of survey participants indicated that accurate/timely information, availability, and a partnership attitude are the most important factors for them when dealing with this office. An overwhelming majority of survey participants "strongly agreed" that the expertise and professionalism of the attorneys meet their expectations. Survey responses on the client education sessions provided valuable feedback for this office in determining if all clients were being reached, how best to spread the word about upcoming workshops, desired topics and target audiences. The results of this survey led to (1) a series of law modules providing education sessions on many of the laws and regulations that affect higher education and the university's policies and procedural practices; (2) increased legal topic areas on the webpage to include more user-friendly information on frequently asked legal questions; (3) the general counsel and attorneys attending department head meetings and LEADS orientation to provide information on university policies and procedures; and (4) a "client assignment and subject matter area" list to facilitate the provision of legal services to the university community by assigning various administrative clients as well as subject matter areas to each university attorney.

2) Executive Officers' Review - In 2001, the Vice Chancellor and General Counsel was evaluated as part of the Chancellor's extensive five-year leadership review of Executive Officers. This evaluation instrument was distributed to various trustees, executive officers, deans, department heads, faculty, staff and administrators on campus. This evaluation served as a basis for analyzing OGC's overall effectiveness with various constituencies served by our office and identifying areas for improvement.

Effectiveness: Participant ratings were favorable in that the General Counsel maintained a high ethical behavior and provided timely and effective legal advice. In no case was a negative rating attained. The comments were valuable and helped to reinforce that OGC's preventive law efforts have a positive impact throughout campus and that our clients are encouraged to involve OGC in the early stages of management decisions that could have legal ramifications for the university.

D. OGC Webpage

OGC created a webpage to provide clear, concise, user-friendly access to university policies, academic and administrative regulations, contract review procedures, answers to frequently asked legal questions from the university community, information on relevant legal topics and changes in the law, and other documents that have been reviewed by OGC for legal form and sufficiency. Standardized forms and protocols have been developed and are on the webpage to expedite review of university business transactions.

Effectiveness: The webpage is an effective tool, enabling the campus community to easily access all current policies of the university as well as related University of North Carolina System policies. This is proven by the fact that approximately 50% of workshop participants registered through the website, an increase in the number of calls this office receives for interpretation of policies posted on the webpage, the number of other units that hyperlink to OGC's webpage for policy information, and a decrease in the number of calls received for general instructions about the privacy of student and employee records, procedures for dealing with subpoenas and general contract/purchasing matters because the webpage offers access to user-friendly documented information for general guidance. OGC has also acquired the ability to review usage patterns for our website. Preliminary review shows the most visited pages include the policies page (which links to the University's website of Policies, Regulations, and Rules and legal topic pages on student privacy, torts, contracts and criminal laws.February 2003 data shows an average of 187 hits per hour. These occurrences all indicate more frequent use of the website. The webpage provides users with the ability to cross-reference other policies, regulations and information that pertain to the subject matter addressed in a specific policy. The webpage serves as a preventive law tool, minimizes legal liability through education, expedites certain legal services and provides clear articulation of university policies to aid the university community in making adequate legal decisions.

How do we use the information to improve?

Based upon the feedback received from workshops, performance reviews and management legal advice OGC's processes are working well. The feedback aids in OGC's focus on increasing our delivery of legal services in an efficient and service-oriented manner by providing general information and forms on the General Counsel Website, by regularly reviewing and updating university policies and regulations, by practicing preventive law through presentation of workshops, by modifying the allocation of attorney work loads and assignments, and by developing shared research materials and legal expertise to address various legal topics. An evaluation of key activities aid OGC in identifying specific needs in an effort to continue to provide effective legal services to the university community. For instance, the development of Centennial Campus indicated the need for an additional attorney to work in specialized areas of the law. These projects support university-wide goals but also arise from unit issues and priorities.

Does that work?

The performance measures used by OGC continue to be an effective tool in evaluating the quality and quantity of legal services provided to the university community. The feedback received is also effective in analyzing that the delivery of legal services is efficient and service-oriented. The overall effectiveness of preventive counseling proves that timely and effective legal advice can prevent or minimize legal liability. This office continues to receive numerous requests, daily, for legal interpretation or advice of federal and state law and university policies from administrative executives and unit managers which proves there is an enlightened understanding of the legal implications of their actions and will be able to engage in appropriate risk management with the goal of minimizing legal risks while achieving identified institutional goals.