Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 60.39
Liaison Christina Olsen
Submission Date March 30, 2021

STARS v2.2

British Columbia Institute of Technology
PA-3: Inclusive and Participatory Governance

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.25 / 3.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have formal participatory or shared governance bodies through which the following stakeholders can regularly participate in the governance of the institution?:
Yes or No
Students Yes
Academic staff Yes
Non-academic staff Yes

A brief description of the institution’s formal participatory or shared governance bodies:

As the link between the Institute’s Senior Leadership and British Columbia’s government, the Board of Governors (highest governing body) interprets how BCIT implements provincial policies and priorities. The Board of Governors oversees the business interests, management, and long-term development of BCIT and is made up of a range of elected and appointed individuals, representing different interests in the institution, including students, academic staff and non-academic staff:
- one peer-elected academic staff member (3 year term)
- one peer-elected non-academic staff member (3 year term)
- two peer-elected students (1 year term)
- at least eight members appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council.
There are also several non-voting Board members, including the President of BCIT, the Chair of the Education Council, and the Chair of the Board of Governors. More information: https://www.bcit.ca/about/leadership-vision/governance/board/

BCIT’s Education Council (EdCo) focuses on academic matters, including policy setting, awards, academic standing and exams, and advises the Board of Governors on developing educational policies, programs or priorities. The Council consists of twenty members comprised of elected academic staff, non-academic staff and students, and appointed educational administrators all elected for terms of one or two years. More information: https://www.bcit.ca/about/leadership-vision/governance/education-council/

The British Columbia Institute of Technology Student Association (BCITSA) is a student service and advocacy organization at BCIT with a mandate to enhance student life. Their programs and services are designed to benefit and support all students. Students lead the organization and govern the affairs of the BCITSA. The Board of Directors is composed of 12 elected Student Executives and Student Councillors from each of the different Schools at BCIT and is responsible for overseeing the Student Association and advocating for students. Elected Student Executives represent and advocate for students on the Board of Governors and Education Council. More information: https://www.bcitsa.ca/

There are two unions representing the interests of academic and non-academic staff at BCIT:
1. The BCIT Faculty and Staff Association (FSA)
2. B.C. General Employees’ Union (BCGEU)
The FSA and BCGEU both work to advance the employment interests of academic and non-academic staff and improve working conditions at BCIT through representation on committees, negotiation with BCIT and advocacy for their members. FSA membership is made up people drawn from across the Institute’s academic schools and from the many Departments that provide academic support. The BCGEU membership is also made up of academic staff and non-academic support staff. Employees have the opportunity to participate in governance of their union through election of members to their unions Board of Directors. The core work of each union is to bargain for good collective agreements every few years, ensuring fair wages and benefits, and keeping employees safe at work. The contractual agreements between BCIT and the unions are contained in three collective agreements which can be found at: https://www.bcit.ca/human-resources/employee-resources/policies-collective-agreements/

More information:
https://www.bcitfsa.ca/
https://www.bcgeu.ca/


Total number of individuals on the institution’s highest governing body:
16

Number of students representing their peers as official members of the institution’s highest governing body:
2

Number of academic staff representing their peers as official members of the institution’s highest governing body:
1

Number of non-academic staff representing their peers as official members of the institution’s highest governing body:
1

Number of women serving as official members of the institution’s highest governing body:
8

Percentage of official members of the highest governing body that are women:
50

Website URL where information about the institution’s highest governing body may be found:
Does the institution host or support one or more formal bodies through which external stakeholders have a regular voice in institutional decisions that affect them?:
No

A brief description of the campus-community council or equivalent body that gives external stakeholders a regular voice in institutional decisions that affect them:
---

Number of people from underrepresented groups serving as official members of the institution’s highest governing body.:
---

Website URL where information about the institution’s governance structure is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
---

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.