70 ORGANIZING ACADEMIC COLLEGES: A GUIDE FOR DEANS director’s perspective, when she began reporting to the dean, she also had to start working closely with the foundation staff on fundraising efforts, which was a new responsibility. Similarly, when reassigned to the assistant dean, she was expected to support the marketing of online and travel courses. Although her responsibilities never changed on paper, each supervisor had a different expectation of what those responsibilities meant. With each new supervisor, the assumed responsibilities of the director grew. Just like reassigning specific responsibilities, moving a reporting line should be approached with the expectation that responsibilities also will change. Except for internal office concerns, reassigning the reporting lines of staff seems to incur little political risk to the dean. A few deans reported that some faculty members were agitated because they used to work with a specific person and they did not want this to change. But a brief visit from the dean who acknowledged their frustration— coupled with a) an explanation of how the adjustment could improve dean’s office services to them overall and b) a statement of appreciation for their support of this change as it was for the greater good of all faculty and/or students in the college—mit- igated their concerns. If you have not already drawn the following conclusion, remember—the final line of job descriptions for any staff member in the dean’s office should always read “and other responsibilities as assigned by the dean.” Changing Titles Despite the complexity of titles used in the academy (see Chapter 3), they do provide some insight into the person’s responsibilities in the office. The phrase “some insight” is used as position descriptions often include 15+ responsibilities, of which the top one to three should be captured in the title. Staff The titles of non-faculty positions often are controlled by the institution’s Human Re- source office, which maintains a list of general responsibilities for specific titles. Much to the vexation of deans, the allowable salary range is often specified. You might be familiar with situations where department heads and directors attempt to modify po- sition descriptions just so the dean can apply for a change in title for the staff member, which—oh yes—is associated with a pay increase for the staff member. For the most part, staff members are not concerned about their titles, except for how they relate to promotion and salary, and for some, how a title ranks them in terms of se- niority. A conversation with the staff member and the supervisor (if it isn’t you) is often enough to determine if there is interest in a title change and the potential for change in responsibilities and benefits. If there is an associated salary change, getting agreement with the provost in advance of the name change is advisable. One aspect of a title must be attended to: whether it confers ‘non-exempt’ or ‘exempt’ status on the employee. This difference legally implies a distinct suite of