Section 3: Compliance Standard 3.8.3
The institution provides a sufficient number of qualified staff – with appropriate education or experiences in library and/or other learning/information resources – to accomplish the mission of the institution. 

Statement of Compliance: Dyersburg State Community College is in compliance with Compliance Standard 3.8.3.

Rationale for Judgment of Compliance:

Dyersburg State Community College (DSCC) provides a sufficient number of qualified staff with appropriate education or experiences both in library or other learning/information resources to accomplish the mission of the institution.  

The Vice President for the College is the DSCC administrator primarily responsible for Comprehensive Standards-Educational Programs 3.8.3 [Ref 1]. The Dean of the Learning Resource Center is the instructional administrative staff member reporting to the Vice President for the College who also has responsibilities for this principle. The Learning Resource Center (LRC) staff is an effective and efficient team with a customer service orientation. There is a staff member on duty at all hours of normal operations, typically 60 hours per week. The Dyersburg LRC serves about 60,000 plus patrons in a year, The Jimmy Naifeh Center at Tipton County 14,000 and the Gibson County Center 9,000 [Ref 2].

Currently, the DSCC Dyersburg Campus LRC is staffed with one administrator, one professional staff member, two technicians and one and one-half support staff for a total of 5.5 FTE staff members. This is supported by 15 student assistants for approximately 265 hours per week or the equivalent of 7 FTE library assistants. The Help Desk uses six student assistants for 120 hours per week or 3.2 FTE Help Desk assistants for the two help desks. This brings the LRC team to 15.7 FTE. The Jimmy Naifeh Center at Tipton County LRC is staffed with one professional librarian [Ref 3], one support staff (Currently vacant) and four student assistants for 80 hours per week or 2.1 FTE library assistants for a total staff of 4.1 full-time equivalent (FTE). The Gibson County Center (GCC) receives professional assistance from the main campus via live video-conferencing from the Help Desk that includes access to the Instructional Librarian [Ref 4]. The Instructional Librarian travels to the Center to provide information skills instruction. Additional support is provided by the GCC staff who have been trained in all of the LRC learning and operational services. Online students have access to the Instructional Librarian via the Help Desk email and phone. Using student assistants on the Help Desk correlates with DSCC’s commitment to provide employment for its students, 65 percent of whom are receiving financial aid.

The DSCC Dean of the Learning Resource Center has a master's degree in Library Science from an ALA-accredited program and 25 years of LRC experience [Ref 5].   

The Dean is assisted by one full-time Instructional Librarian who will complete a master's degree in Library Science in July 2007 from an ALA-accredited program. She has 34 years of library experience [Ref 6]. The Library Assistant II who provides support for information technology has an associate degree in Communication and Information Technology [Ref 7]. The part time Library Assistant I has had a total of 12 years of experience in providing clerical support for customer service organizations [Ref 8].

The Instructional Technology Center (ITC) services are facilitated by the Media Specialist with an extensive background in graphics and video production [Ref 9]. The Distance Education Coordinator/Instructional Design Specialist coordinates the Instructional Development Center (IDC) and its services [Ref 10]. In addition he coordinates the Distance Education Program and provides support for adjunct faculty members.

Results from the Spring 2006 LRC Satisfaction Survey indicates that 90-95 percent of DSCC students and faculty find the LRC staff to be helpful and approachable [Ref 11]. The DSCC LRC team helps to accomplish the vision of DSCC, which is to “enhance the quality of life in West Tennessee by elevating the region’s educational attainment” [Ref 12].

Authored by Mr. Bob Lhota in coordination with the SACS Leadership Team

Documentation: