Baldwin Wallace University
PA-3: Participatory Governance

The governing body for undergraduate students is called Student Government at Baldwin Wallace University and is comprised of three branches: (1) Executive Branch – The Executive Branch includes the Student Body President, Student Body Vice President, Student Body Treasurer and Assistant Student Body Treasurer. The Student Body President and Vice President serve as liaisons between the student body and the university administration. The Student Body Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer oversee the financial operations of Student Government, including the current budgets of all Student Government funded organizations. (2) Judicial Branch - The Judicial Branch is more commonly referred to as the Supreme Court of Students, or just Supreme Court. The power of the Supreme Court extends to all issues of student law, including, but not limited to, disputes between or within student organizations, disputes between members of Student Government, impeachment of student officials, and disputes and grievances among the students of Baldwin Wallace University that fall under the jurisdiction of Student Government. (3) Legislative Branch - The Legislative Branch is more commonly referred to as Student Senate, or just Senate. The Senate is made up of Student Senators who serve as the voice of the student body and represent the undergraduate student population at Baldwin Wallace. Student Senators must be full-time undergraduate students (of any class year and of any major) at BW, carry at least a 2.7 cumulative grade point average, and be in good judicial standing with the University. Also part of Student Government – but separate from the three branches – are the class officers. BW has Sophomore, Junior and Senior Class Officers – each of which has a President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. The Sophomore Class Officers are tasked with planning and executing several events associated with Homecoming. The Junior Class Officers are tasked with planning and executing the various contests of April Reign. The Senior Class Officers are tasked with planning and executing the end-of-year Senior Class Celebration and also participate in both the fall and spring commencement Baccalaureate services. The Student Body President and Vice President (who are elected by the undergraduate student body) are invited to the University President’s Leadership Council Meetings - but are not part of the President’s Cabinet. They also meet monthly with the University President and Vice President for Student Affairs to review and discuss current (and future) campus happenings and student concerns. Additionally, two years ago Student Government received permission to appoint two students to the Student Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees – but these student reps are not voting members of the committee and no other BOT committee has student representation. The student representatives are appointed to two year terms and are staggered. So one of the two representatives is currently in their second year of the role – so at the end of spring 2019 Student Government will appoint a new student representative who will serve as such for 2019-20 and 2020-21. The other student representative is currently in their first year of the role and will complete their term at the conclusion of the 2019-20 year.

"The 2017 Top Workplaces list was determined by employee nominations and surveys of businesses, government agencies and nonprofit organizations in an 11-county area. Hundreds of full and part-time members of the BW faculty and staff completed anonymous online questionnaires through Workplace Dynamics, which was tasked with compiling employee responses and ranking the top 100 places to work in Northeast Ohio." In the first year BW participated in the survey, the university ranked among the best. https://www.bw.edu/news/2017/summer/06-top-workplace-recognition https://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2017/06/20_percent_of_winners_are_firs_1.html

Please see Section 7: Faculty Governance Structures and Procedures of the BW Faculty Handbook. As it explains: The term “governing faculty” at Baldwin Wallace University refers to those faculty members who hold voting rights, are eligible to be elected to the Faculty Senate or other faculty committees, and can hold the position of President of the Faculty, Vice-President of the Faculty, or Secretary of the Faculty. They are the only faculty members who can be present when the faculty meets in executive session. Term faculty contracts vary in the proportion of time spent teaching, advising, and performing university service, and include directors who teach as well as hold administrative responsibilities. (Note: “term faculty” are not adjunct faculty, but are full-time employees rather than being employed on a course-by-course basis.) 7.A. Faculty Forum The President of the Senate may call for a faculty forum for informal consideration of any issue, the purpose of which will be to gain a sense of the faculty about the issue being discussed. No official votes will be taken at Faculty Forums. Any faculty member or governance unit may request that the Senate call a forum. Upon approval, the Senate must disseminate time, place and topic of the forum at least one week prior to the meeting date. 7.B The Faculty Senate 7.B.1 Function The Senate is the principal instrument through which the faculty of the University exercises its responsibilities in establishing all matters of educational policy at the University, in advising the President of the University and Administration as to faculty opinion in other matters, and in serving as liaison between faculty and officers of the University and its Trustees. 7.B.2 Authority Actions taken by the Senate are considered to be actions taken on behalf of and by the faculty, except when (1) the Senate refers a matter to the faculty for its decision, or (2) a Senate decision is overridden by the faculty. The Senate speaks for the faculty, unless the faculty determines that it will speak for itself. 7.B.3 Initiatives Proposals for Senate action may be initiated through Committee Chairs, or through action by individual Senators. Individual members of the faculty may petition Senators for Senate action, and requests may also be made by the President of the Faculty, the President of the University, or other Officers of the University. 58 7.B.4 Senate Composition 1. The Senate will be comprised of two senators from each School; one will serve and represent the School on the Executive Committee (the “Executive Senator”), the other represents the School. In addition, 7 at-large Senators will represent the faculty as a whole. The total number of Senators will be 23. 2. Senators will each serve two-year terms that are staggered (a new Senator is elected from each School annually). Senators may serve a second consecutive term, but must then take a two-year break from Senate service. 3. A quorum for the approval of Faculty Senate action is defined as 2/3 of the total number of Senators. 4. A Student Senate liaison will serve as an ex officio representative the Faculty Senate. The student representative will not be a voting member, but will be permitted to speak at Senate meetings. 5. One faculty senator will act as ex officio representative to the Student Senate and shall attend Student Senate meetings by invitation. 7.B.5 Senators 7.B.5.1 Procedures for Electing Senators 1. Executive Senators One Executive Senator from each School will be elected no later than the 10th week of classes of the semester preceding the Fall term during which that Senator will begin serving. The School Dean will notify the current Senate President of the election results. 2. School Senators One Senator from each School will be elected no later than the 10th week of classes of the semester preceding the term during which that Senator will begin serving. The School Dean will notify the current Senate President of the election results. 3. At-large Senators Persons desiring to run or nominate others (with consent) for at-large Senate seats should submit the nominee’s names by the end of the 10th week of classes of Spring semester to the Senate President. The Senate President is then responsible for submitting the nominees to the entire faculty for electronic vote to be completed by the end of the 12th week of Spring semester. The faculty will rank their top three or four choices (depending on number rotating off Senate) from among the nominees. 59 The three or four nominees receiving the most votes will be elected to the Senate. Any one School may have a maximum of three at-large Senators. The person receiving the next highest number of votes will serve as an alternate as specified under “Replacement of a Senator.” 7.B.5.2 Removal of a Senator Any Senator can be removed from his or her position because of absenteeism, or for just cause as determined by two-thirds of the Senators. In addition, elected Senators may also be removed by two-thirds vote of the electing School. 7.B.5.3 Replacement of a Senator 1. Senators The School is responsible for replacing an elected Senator who has resigned, been removed, or is on temporary leave (e.g., sabbatical) from the Senate. When a Senator resigns or is removed, a replacement Senator will complete the term. When a Senator is on temporary leave, the replacement Senator serves only for the duration of the leave. 2. At-large Senators If an at-large senator resigns, is on temporary leave, or is removed from the Senate, the candidate who received the next highest total number of votes in the previous election will become the replacement Senator, provided that person is not from a School already represented by three at-large Senators. If the replacement candidate is from a School already represented by three at-large Senators, the person with the next highest number of votes will fill the vacancy. A Senator on temporary leave will finish the elected term upon his or her return. 7.B.5.4 Senator Qualifications Full-time faculty members as defined in Section I.A. are eligible for election to the Senate after the completion of their first semester as voting faculty members. 7.B.5.5 Senator Responsibilities 1. Executive Senators represent the interests, needs, and concerns of their School to the Executive Committee and University Administrators. 2. Senators represent the interest, needs, and concerns of their School to the Senate as a whole, and thus are expected to communicate Senate proposals and actions to their Schools. 3. At-large Senators represent the interests, needs, and concerns of the faculty as a whole to the Senate, and thus are expected to communicate Senate proposals and actions to colleagues across Schools. 4. All Senators vote on matters brought to the Senate by committees, individual Senators, or administrators. 60 7.B.6 Quorum for a Senate Meeting Two-thirds of the full Senate is considered a quorum and must be present for the Senate to conduct business. 7.C Committee Structure The committee structure for faculty governance will include the Executive Committee of the Senate, Advisory Councils, and Review Boards. Subcommittees, task forces, university-wide search committees (including the present Personnel Committee), and short-term committees that require faculty participation will be appointed and approved by the Senate. The administration must request faculty participation on such committees through the Senate. Except in extraordinary circumstances, the work currently handled by faculty-wide task forces will be delegated to one of the seven advisory councils or an ad hoc committee of Senators. 7.C.1 Executive Committee The Executive Committee of the Senate will be composed of the officers of the Senate (one Executive Senator from each school, President and Secretary). Duties of Officers 1. President The President of the Senate chairs Senate meetings and Executive Committee meetings; sends the Senate meeting agenda to faculty, communicates new policies to faculty, and prepares the annual report for distribution to all faculty members. 2. Secretary • takes attendance at faculty Senate meetings • keeps records of attendance, records minutes of the faculty Senate • maintains a continuing agenda of committee actions • prepares and distributes the minutes of the faculty Senate within ten days of a meeting • sends--in digest form--minutes of Senate meetings to the faculty • maintains the Faculty Governance Blackboard site • distributes the Senate’s annual report to all faculty members by August • is responsible for all correspondence and of the Senate, including annual updates to the faculty handbook Role of the Executive Committee The Executive Committee determines the time and place for faculty Senate meetings, determines the agenda for those meetings, prepares a budget for any necessary faculty Senate functions, and serves as direct liaison to the administration. The officers may restrict attendance at Senate meetings if such a step is warranted by the agenda. In emergency situations, the Executive Committee may act on behalf of the Senate when requested by the President, the Provost, Academic Deans, or on its own initiative. 61 The Executive Committee’s primary responsibilities are:  to represent the faculty voice to administration, trustees, and the larger campus community. The Senate President attends the President’s Cabinet and Leadership Council.  to monitor the workflow of committee work, determining which items approved by committees shall become policy and which shall be sent to the Faculty Senate or the full faculty for approval  to determine to which committees, task forces, ad hoc working groups policy questions shall be sent for deliberation and discussion  to determine when additional task forces, ad hoc committees, and working groups shall be needed; and to populate these groups.  to monitor whether relevant stakeholders are included in policy discussions, and to ask that individuals or groups be included in such discussions when appropriate.  to communicate faculty legislative action to the appropriate administrative offices.  to monitor and approve faculty workload on committees, and to approve faculty participation on task forces, working groups, and committees.  to keep and report minutes of their meetings. Executive Committee membership:  School represented  Only full-time tenured faculty may serve The Executive Committee will appoint a secretary from its group who will record and post minutes on the Faculty Governance Blackboard site. 7.C.2 University Curriculum Committee i. Function: To make recommendations on all curricular issues particularly pertaining, but not limited to, course offerings, University core, majors, minors, and graduate studies. ii. Policies and Procedures: See “Curricular Policies and Principles”. Responsible for oversight and approval of new majors, minors, and courses proposed by departments and schools, including addition of courses to the University Catalogue recommended for approval by Honors, Explorations, Carmel, Service Learning, and Adult Education Advisory Councils. Responsible for designating “X” courses. UCC Committee membership: • School represented • Any tenure-track faculty may serve • University Registrar is a standing member of the UCC as ex officio • Ex officio student member (appointed by Student Senate) 7.C.3 Core Curriculum Committee Responsible for oversight of all elements of the Core curriculum. 62 CCC membership: • School represented • Any tenure-track faculty may serve • Ex officio student member (appointed by Student Senate) 7.C.4 Faculty Affairs Committee This committee is responsible for all affairs related to faculty development and concerns. The committee’s general responsibility is to oversee faculty development and welfare. The Faculty Affairs Committee • is responsible for matters related to faculty welfare, including policies that affect faculty development and professional life such as human resources, work load, and related issues • is responsible for overseeing the Extended Review of Tenure Faculty (ERTF) process FAC membership: • School represented • Only full-time tenured faculty may serve • Administrators will be invited as ex officio members as needed/appropriate • Members must take at least a two-year hiatus from the committee after serving a twoyear term 7.C.5 Faculty Development Committee The committee reviews applications and makes recommendations for sabbaticals, faculty development grants, and some student scholarship grants. FDC membership: • School represented • Any tenure-track faculty may serve • Ex officio administrative member required • Ex officio student member by invitation of the committee 7.C.6 Promotion and Tenure Committee This committee makes recommendations to the Academic Dean on all applications for promotion and tenure. This committee also makes recommendations to the faculty and to the Academic Dean on policy and procedural matters related to promotion and tenure. PTC membership: • School represented • Only full-time tenured faculty may serve • Members must take at least a two-year hiatus from the committee after serving a twoyear term Membership: One elected representative and one alternate from each School. The regular and alternate members for each School must be tenured and must not be 63 members of the same Department. The Conservatory of Music and the School of Education will elect alternates who have not served in a supervisory or evaluative capacity toward prospective candidates for tenure or promotion. Prospective candidates are those who would be expected to apply for tenure or promotion during the three years following the current election. It will be the responsibility of the Deans of the two mentioned Schools to provide his or her respective School with a list of likely tenure or promotion applicants for the subsequent three years so that elections will result in minimum disruptions to the normal deliberative process of the Review Committee. Function: Promotion and Tenure Review Committee advises and makes recommendations to the Academic Dean on all applications for promotion and tenure. The Review Committee also makes recommendations to the faculty and to the Provost on policy and procedural matters related to promotion and tenure. Specifically the functions of the Promotion and Tenure Review Committee are: a. To make all recommendations for promotion and tenure to the Provost. (When needed, consultations will take place with the Provost, the Review Committee, the School Dean, and the Department Chairperson). The Review Committee Chairperson shall submit all of the Committee recommendations to the Provost. b. To consider all proceedings and recommendations confidential. c. To establish and publish criteria upon which it will base its recommendations. d. To carry out prior to October 1, with input from the Provost, an annual workshop on the respective roles of Department Chairpersons, School Deans, the Provost, and the Promotion and Tenure Review Committee, and instructions for applying for promotion and tenure. Policies and Procedures: a. Recusal - Members of the Review Committee will excuse themselves from the Review Committee’s deliberations and actions on applications for promotion or tenure from members of their own Departments, or, in the cases of the Conservatory of Music and School of Education, from candidates for promotion or tenure for whom they have served in a supervisory or evaluative capacity. In those Schools, when both School representatives must recuse themselves, a qualified alternate will be chosen from that School for consideration of that one case. b. The School of Business will elect an alternate, when necessary, who has not served in a supervisory capacity toward prospective candidates for tenure and promotion within the three academic years preceding election to committee. Prospective candidates are those who would be expected to apply for tenure or promotion during three years following the previously mentioned election. c. See also the “Promotion Guidelines and Procedures” statement in Section II of this Handbook. 64 7.C.7 Salary and Budget Committee Salary and Budget Committee (SBC): The Salary and Budget Committee: • monitors and acts as the faculty’s voice in the decisions concerning the budget processes of the University • makes recommendations concerning faculty compensation • communicates its work to the Faculty Senate/full faculty • receives and acts upon requests for information and/or action related to salary and budget matters from the faculty and/or the Faculty Senate SBC membership: • School represented • Any tenure-track faculty may serve • Administrative representative required 7.C.8 Grievance Review Committee (GRC) This committee considers academic appeals, judicial cases, student-Faculty Affairs, and individual Faculty Affairs. GRC membership: • School represented • Only full-time tenured faculty may serve • Administrators will be invited as needed/appropriate • Students will be invited as needed/appropriate • Members must take at least a two-year hiatus from the committee after serving a twoyear term 7.C.9 Assessment Committee The committee implements, reviews, and makes recommendations regarding the plan for assessment of academic achievement at Baldwin Wallace University. The committee assists the University Assessment Director in analyzing assessment data and in implementing the assessment plan. This committee is school represented and the University Assessment Director serves as an ex officio member. 7.D Advisory Councils 7.D.1 General Procedures and Policies a. Advisory Councils will be made up of seven school elected members and one ex officio Senator, who will not be eligible to serve as chair of the committee. The ex-officio Senator will report on actionable items from advisory committees to the Senate on a regular basis. b. Each School will elect its members to the Advisory Councils after the elections of atlarge Senators have been completed and before the end of the spring term, so that the entire faculty governance structure will be in place before the next academic year. The elected council members’ names will be reported to the current President of the Senate. 65 c. Advisory Council members can only serve one two-year term. Faculty members may be re-elected to an Advisory Council after a two-year lapse from that council. Faculty members may be on no more than one Advisory Councils at any one time. Moreover, faculty members who serve on a review board may not be on an advisory committee. Appropriate administrators will also serve as ex officio members of each of the committees. There will be student representation on the following councils: Curriculum, Special Academic Programs, and Student Affairs. There will be two students on the Grievances Review Committee who will participate in student-faculty concerns only, and two students on Faculty Affairs who will only participate in assessing student related grants. Two student representatives for each of the above Advisory Councils and Review Committees will be elected by the Student Senate. With Senate approval, each Advisory Council may add additional ex officio members with specialized knowledge of the council work. The Senate has the jurisdiction with regard to formation of any additional councils in order to fulfill legal and/or contractual obligations of the university. d. The first council meeting of the year will be called by the ex officio Senator on that committee before the end of September. At that meeting, a Chairperson (who may not be a Senator) and a Secretary for the year should be elected, and the names of the officers sent to the office of the Academic Dean. Unless stated otherwise in the statement of purpose, Advisory Councils are expected to meet at least twice each semester. All Advisory Councils are expected to meet at times that do not conflict with teaching, coaching, or other contractual activities of their faculty membership. e. All matters for consideration by councils must be presented to the Senate, which will then charge the appropriate council(s) with the task. If a subcommittee is deemed necessary to perform certain tasks, Senate approval is required to form that subcommittee from an existing Advisory Councils. 7.D.3 Military and Veteran Advisory Council - 7.D.4 Carmel Living and Learning Center Program Advisory Council 7.D.5 Explorations/Study Abroad Program Advisory Council Mission - The mission of the Explorations/Study Abroad Advisory Council is to contribute to the internationalization of Baldwin Wallace University by reviewing and approving off-campus curricular offerings and exchange programs, as well as scholarships and funding for study abroad programs, and by supporting and creating policies that meet national best practices. Through representation across each academic school, the council ensures that BW’s off-campus programs maintain the academic integrity and rigor expectant of BW’s, and meet the holistic needs of BW’s students. Structure - Explorations/Study Abroad Advisory Council is comprised of one Faculty per each academic school. Voting will be the sole responsibility of the faculty members. The 66 Council will have a faculty chair, and the Program Director will serve as program chair. Members of the council are asked to commit to a 2-year term. The council meets monthly. Rationale - The council is charged with the following:  Coordinate and communicate study abroad best-practices to the campus community.  Process requests for off-campus study.  Support academic rigor as pertains to off-campus travel.  Review and evaluate outcomes of programs.  Gate-keepers for academic policy regarding risk and liability.  Review applications for funding as related to field trips and exploratory travel.  Diversify study abroad opportunities through exchange programs and faculty-led programs.  Provide campus with resources to increase knowledge and participation in Explorations programs.  Advocate for study abroad at BW and nationally (as warranted). 7.D.6 Center for Academic and Career Excellence Advisory Council 7.D.7 Faculty Information Technology Advisory Council (FITAC) This Council • serves as a forum for consideration of issues related to information technology, in particular those affecting the work and teaching of BW faculty and curriculum • communicates its work to the Faculty Senate  receives and acts upon requests for information and/or action related to information technology matters from the faculty and/or the Faculty Senate. 7.D.8 Student and Academic Services Advisory Council This council will concern itself with all the affairs related to student life at the University, including, but not limited to, athletics, student organizations, and extracurricular activities. The committee will make recommendations toward the establishment, revision, and review of policies relating to student life. In addition, the council will review constitutions of new student organizations. This committee shall develop and revise policy in matters related to instructional support services and those facilities involved in delivering direct educational experiences, acting as liaison between the faculty and directors of the library, academic advising, career services, admissions, Learning Center, bookstore, physical plant (on matters related to academic delivery), and informational technology. It shall review such issues as staffing patterns, funding, extent and type of services offered, hours of operation, and allocation of resources for each of these units. It shall conduct periodic formal evaluations of each unit to gauge its effectiveness in supporting the academic mission of the university and make recommendations for corrective action as necessary. It shall also provide students with an opportunity to express their views on matters regarding support services. 67 This council shall • develop and revise policy in matters related to instructional support services and those facilities involved in delivering direct educational experiences • act as liaison between the faculty and directors of the library, academic advising, career services, admissions, bookstore, and physical plant (on matters related to academic delivery) • review such issues as staffing patterns, funding, extent and type of services offered, hours of operation, and allocation of resources for each of these units • conduct periodic formal evaluations of each unit to gauge its effectiveness in supporting the academic mission of the University and make recommendations for corrective action as necessary • provide students with an opportunity to express their views on matters regarding support services • consult on affairs related to student life, such as athletics, student organizations, and extracurricular activities and make recommendations toward the establishment, revision, and review of policies relating to student life. 7.D.9 Service-Learning Program Advisory Council The Service-Learning Advisory Council is a core group of faculty members representing the academic schools who promote and advocate for service-learning on campus by providing advice and direction to the Director of Service-Learning.  School represented  Designates “S” courses  Oversees “Plus One” service learning option 7.D.10 Honors Program Advisory Council • Designates “H” courses 7.E Review Boards 7.E.1 Institutional Review Board (IRB) Membership: According to federal regulations IRBs shall consist of at least five members with distinctive backgrounds in order to ensure adequate review of the breadth of research projects conducted at the institution. The members of the IRB should be diverse in terms of race, gender, cultural backgrounds, and sensitivity to community attitudes. No IRB may consist entirely of one gender or profession. Each IRB must include a nonscientist and a person not otherwise affiliated with the institution. At its discretion, an IRB may invite individuals with expertise to assist in the review of proposed research, although these invited experts may not vote with the IRB. At Baldwin Wallace, the IRB is to be chaired by a tenure-track member of the faculty whose role it will be to ensure committee membership and operations comply with federal requirements. Function: The Institutional Review Board (IRB) is a committee mandated by federal law to protect the rights and welfare of human subjects participating in research activities. The law is specific to research conducted or supported by a federal department or agency. However, 68 a majority of research institutions, including Baldwin Wallace University, voluntarily apply this regulation (45 CFR 46) to all research conducted at their site, regardless of status or source of funding. The IRB achieves its primary function, protecting the rights and welfare of subjects participating in research including their rights to give informed consent and to have their safety protected from undue risk, by educating researchers. 7.E.2 Institutional Animal and Care Use Committee (IACUC) Function – The IACUC serves to safeguard the rights and welfare of animal subjects involved in the conduct of research by BW faculty, students, and staff. The IACUC is housed under the Office of Responsible Research. 7.E.3 Discrimination Investigators Function: The BW Discrimination Investigators have the responsibility to investigate complaints of sexual misconduct and other discrimination allegations which have allegedly occurred within the Baldwin Wallace University Community. Any person wishing to lodge a complaint, learn more about the process or seek additional training may contact the following. 7.F Ombudspersons  Serve as an advisor to faculty to assist them in determining the viability of their complaints and issues.  Direct faculty to appropriate offices, committees, and university rules and policies.  Serve when appropriate as an informal mediator of early-stage complaints, to mediate as an impartial party rather than as an advocate for faculty involved in comp

BW's Board of Trustees consists of 41 diverse members who contribute their expertise to the strategic direction of the University. For brief profiles of the current board members, please visit: https://www.bw.edu/about/trustees/.