| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 54.08 |
| Liaison | Jamey Pavey |
| Submission Date | Feb. 26, 2016 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Earlham College
PA-3: Governance
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.00 / 3.00 |
Lisa
Butch Assistant Director of Sustainability Center for Integrated Learning |
Do all enrolled students, regardless of type or status, have an avenue to participate in one or more governance bodies (through direct participation or the election of representatives)?:
A brief description of the mechanisms through which students have an avenue to participate in one or more governance bodies:
All students are eligible to participate in Student Government through voting and seeking office and by applying to be representatives on all campus governance committees. Student government is made up of the following:
Earlham Student Senate (ESS), elected representatives who make up the Student Executive Council, a secretary of finance, a recording clerk and co-convenors and representatives from student committees. Appointed positions to the ESS include at-large student representatives, organization representatives and student members of the College's standing committees.
Student Organizations Council (SOC), the branch of the ESG that allocates funds (derived from student activity fees) to student organizations on campus. The SOC grants recognition to student organizations, determines the amount of funding each receives and oversees all activities financed through those funds.
Student Activities Board (SAB), the branch of the ESG that provides social and cultural activities for the student body and acts as a co-sponsor for organizations that wish to put on larger programs and supports organizations in these efforts.
Student Nominating Committee (SNC), the branch of the ESG that nominates members of the student body to participate in College governance by serving on standing committees, such as the Committee for Campus Life.
Is there at least one student representative on the institution’s governing body who was elected by peers or appointed by a representative student body or organization?:
A brief description of student representation on the governing body, including how the representatives are selected:
Do students have a formal role in decision-making in regard to the following?:
| Yes or No | |
| Establishing organizational mission, vision, and/or goals | Yes |
| Establishing new policies, programs, or initiatives | Yes |
| Strategic and long-term planning | Yes |
| Existing or prospective physical resources | Yes |
| Budgeting, staffing and financial planning | Yes |
| Communications processes and transparency practices | Yes |
| Prioritization of programs and projects | Yes |
A brief description of the formal student role in regard to each area indicated, including examples from the previous three years:
Governance of all community decision making at Earlham is run through committees and students are represented on committees. The committees related to the areas above are as follows:
Establishing organization mission, vision, and/or goals: This is met through several standing committees and occasional ad hoc committees.
Establishing new policies, programs, or initiatives: The Curricular Policy Committee guides the policies of the curriculum and has recently worked on policy related to research and immersion experience requirements across all programs.
Strategic planning: The college conducts strategic planning via the ad hoc strategic planning committee
Existing or prospective physical resources: this is covered under the purview of several stand and occasionally ad hoc committees such as the Runyan renovation ad hoc committee
Budgeting Staffing and Financial Planning: These occur through the Budget Advisory Committee
Communications processes and transparency practices: Students affect these processes via student government as well as through the Campus Life Advisory Committee
Do all staff, regardless of type or status, have an avenue to participate in one or more governance bodies (through direct participation or the election of representatives)?:
A brief description of the mechanisms through which all staff have an avenue to participate in one or more governance bodies:
All staff are eligible to participate on the Employee Council.
The primary role of Employee Council is to provide another communication link between staff employees and the College and to provide a discussion forum for matters of general concern to staff employees. Employee Council is not intended to replace any regular channels of direct communication between the College and employees nor is it a policy making body.
Representatives of Employee Council serve on campus committees such as Budget Committee and Earlham Welfare Committee, and attend Faculty Meetings.
The secondary roles of Employee Council are to serve as a staff nominating committee when needed and to allocate Staff Professional Development Funds in response to employee requests (see Staff Professional Development Fund section).
Seven Employee Council members are chosen by staff employees annually. The Assistant Vice President for Business Operations also attends all Employee Council meetings and is responsible for appointing a staff employee to Employee Council to serve as secretary, with minutes subject to the approval of Employee Council. Employees may serve on Employee Council for more than three years.
Employee Council normally meets on a monthly basis, but may schedule more frequent meetings if a matter requires special consideration.
Is there at least one non-supervisory staff representative on the institution’s governing body who was elected by peers or appointed by a representative staff body or organization?:
A brief description of non-supervisory staff representation on the governing body, including how the representatives are selected:
Do non-supervisory staff have a formal role in decision-making in regard to the following? :
| Yes or No | |
| Establishing organizational mission, vision, and/or goals | Yes |
| Establishing new policies, programs, or initiatives | No |
| Strategic and long-term planning | Yes |
| Existing or prospective physical resources | Yes |
| Budgeting, staffing and financial planning | Yes |
| Communications processes and transparency practices | Yes |
| Prioritization of programs and projects | Yes |
A brief description of the formal staff role in regard to each area indicated, including examples from the previous three years:
See descriptions of committees in the student section- staff serve on the corresponding committees referenced in that section.
Do all faculty, regardless of type or status, have an avenue to participate in one or more governance bodies (through direct participation or the election of representatives)?:
A brief description of the mechanisms through which all faculty (including adjunct faculty) have an avenue to participate in one or more governance bodies:
All faculty participate in faculty meeting- a bi-weekly consensus meeting of the faculty of the college. All faculty are also eligible to serve on a variety of governance committees.
Is there at least one teaching or research faculty representative on the institution’s governing body who was elected by peers or appointed by a representative faculty body or organization?:
A brief description of faculty representation on the governing body, including how the representatives are selected:
Faculty members serve as Board meeting observers, however they do not serve on the body.
Do faculty have a formal role in decision-making in regard to the following?:
| Yes or No | |
| Establishing organizational mission, vision, and/or goals | Yes |
| Establishing new policies, programs, or initiatives | Yes |
| Strategic and long-term planning | Yes |
| Existing or prospective physical resources | Yes |
| Budgeting, staffing and financial planning | Yes |
| Communications processes and transparency practices | Yes |
| Prioritization of programs and projects | Yes |
A brief description of the formal faculty role in regard to each area indicated, including examples from the previous three years:
In addition to the committee referenced for students and staff, faculty also serve on the following committees:
Curricular Steering Committee
The faculty authorizes CSC to plot curricular trajectories and make recommendations to the faculty about creating and laying down programs, majors, and departments in light of the curricular vision adopted by the faculty and the criteria for evaluating and initiating proposals listed above. The committee should have the College as a whole in mind whenever teaching faculty vacancies arise and recommend position allocation in the College’s best interest. Further, the Committee will receive copies of Department and Program five-year reviews and Assessment reports for its information. It bears repeating that in contemplating curricular changes, the Committee should take into consideration position vacancies that are likely to occur in the near future – a five or more year window – rather than making decisions about each vacancy in isolation. This Committee, unless the faculty reaches consensus otherwise, is also charged with initiating a review of the curriculum every ten years.
The website URL where information about the institution’s governance structure is available:
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.