Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 48.37
Liaison Calandra Lake
Submission Date Dec. 20, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

College of William & Mary
PA-3: Participatory Governance

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.50 / 3.00 Calandra Waters Lake
Director of Sustainability
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Do the institution’s students have a representative body through which they can participate in governance (e.g. a student council)? :
Yes

Do the institution’s students have an elected representative on the institution’s highest governing body?:
Yes

A brief description of the bodies and mechanisms through which students are engaged in governance, including information to support each affirmative response above:

The Student Assembly (SA) of William & Mary is the student government organization and student union of the university, representing every social class and graduate school. Whether it is allocating a roughly $700,000 budget to student organizations, ensuring that campus policies remain fair and student-friendly, advocating for student rights, or establishing a student presence in both the City of Williamsburg and William & Mary administration, the SA is here to serve the student body. Members are elected and the SA president is a member of the Board of Visitors.


Do the institution’s staff members have a representative body through which they can participate in governance (e.g. a staff council)?:
Yes

Do the institution’s non-supervisory staff members have an elected representative on the institution’s highest governing body?:
Yes

A brief description of the bodies and mechanisms through which staff are engaged in governance, including information to support each affirmative response above:

The Staff Assembly is an organization that represents the interests of all staff of William & Mary. With the support of the Provost and the Board of Visitors, the Staff Assembly relays staff concerns, interests and issues to the appropriate channels. The Staff Assembly is one of three organizations to represent the interests of all university employees; the others being the Professionals & Professional Faculty Assembly and the Faculty Assembly.

The Professionals and Professional Faculty Assembly (PPFA) is a 21-member elected board that represents PPFs, providing "a forum for the collection of opinions of professionals and professional faculty on issues, policies, and matters of relevance to professionals and professional faculty and those impacting the general welfare of the College."

The PPF and Staff Assembly alternate years as to whose president is a Board of Visitors member.


Do the institution’s teaching and research faculty have a representative body through which they can participate in governance (e.g. a faculty senate)?:
Yes

Do the institution’s teaching and research faculty have an elected representative on the institution’s highest governing body? :
Yes

A brief description of the bodies and mechanisms through which teaching and research faculty are engaged in governance, including information to support each affirmative response above:

The Faculty Assembly is an elected, representative body of the College that regularly advises the President and the Provost on matters affecting the welfare of the university. The Faculty Assembly is composed of 24 faculty members representing seven constituencies: Arts & Sciences -- (1) Humanities, (2) Social Sciences, (3) Natural Sciences and the professional schools -- (4) Business, (5) Education, (6) Law and (7) Marine Science.
All Faculty Assembly officers are elected from and by the 24 members, one of which is the Faculty Assembly president who is also a member of the Board of Visitors.


Does the institution have written policies and procedures to identify and engage external stakeholders (i.e. local residents) in land use planning, capital investment projects, and other institutional decisions that affect the community?:
No

A copy of the written policies and procedures:
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The policies and procedures:
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Does the institution have formal participatory or shared governance bodies through which community members representing the interests of the following stakeholder groups can regularly participate in institutional governance?:
Yes or No
Local government and/or educational organizations No
Private sector organizations No
Civil society (e.g. NGOs, NPOs) No

A brief description of the bodies and mechanisms through which external stakeholders are engaged in institutional governance (including information about each stakeholder group selected above):
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The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

As a public institution and engaged member of the Williamsburg community, William & Mary welcomes - and often receives - comments and suggestions from stakeholders and local public officials and citizens in the institution’s operations, planning and decision-making.
A recent example is the updating of the master plan which included public participation and incorporated public recommendations. Also, the President and senior staff meet monthly with the Mayor and City Manager of Williamsburg to ensure ongoing communications.


As a public institution and engaged member of the Williamsburg community, William & Mary welcomes - and often receives - comments and suggestions from stakeholders and local public officials and citizens in the institution’s operations, planning and decision-making.
A recent example is the updating of the master plan which included public participation and incorporated public recommendations. Also, the President and senior staff meet monthly with the Mayor and City Manager of Williamsburg to ensure ongoing communications.

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.