Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 74.94
Liaison Yumiko Jakobcic
Submission Date March 5, 2021

STARS v2.2

Grand Valley State University
PA-3: Inclusive and Participatory Governance

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.25 / 3.00 Yumiko Jakobcic
Campus Sustainability Coordinator
Office of Sustainability Practices
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Part 1. Shared governance bodies

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:
Student Senate: As the official student government at Grand Valley State University, Student Senate works to ensure that the voice of the students is continually heard by the University. Senate is comprised of 50 students who each serve on one of six different committees. These six committees work to enhance student life, academics, and the overall student experience at Grand Valley.

Faculty Governance: There are numerous faculty committees. Additional information can be found here: https://www.gvsu.edu/facultygov/

Administrative Professional Committee: The Administrative Professionals (AP) Committee is a representative body of AP staff that reviews and makes recommendations about Grand Valley State University personnel policies and other university decisions that affect AP staff.

Part 2. Campus stakeholder representation in governance

Total number of individuals on the institution’s highest governing body:
8

Number of students representing their peers as official members of the institution’s highest governing body:
0

Number of academic staff representing their peers as official members of the institution’s highest governing body:
0

Number of non-academic staff representing their peers as official members of the institution’s highest governing body:
0

Part 3. Gender equity in governance

Number of women serving as official members of the institution’s highest governing body:
6

Percentage of official members of the highest governing body that are women:
75

Website URL where information about the institution’s highest governing body may be found:

Part 4. Community engagement bodies

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the campus-community council or equivalent body that gives external stakeholders a regular voice in institutional decisions that affect them:
Grand Valley State University welcomes community input via "huddles." The first series of huddles led by GVSU's new President were called Grand Huddles. GVSU is now in the process of strategic planning led by the Reach Higher 2025 Steering Committee (https://www.gvsu.edu/reachhigher2025/). This process also includes huddles. Community reflections are an integral part of the planning process. Community members and external stakeholders are welcome to provide input in a variety of ways, including via a session meant specifically for alumni, community partners, and external stakeholders (https://www.gvsu.edu/gvnext/2021/community-members-offer-ideas-for-gvsus-future-creating-best-learning-atmosphere-as-part-of-reach-higher-2025-discussion.htm). In addition to the huddles, there are advisory boards that include community members for more specific areas and topics (one example is the Padnos/Sarosik Civil Discourse Program which has an advisory board including several community members: https://www.gvsu.edu/civildiscourse/board-members-5.htm).

Optional Fields 

Number of people from underrepresented groups serving as official members of the institution’s highest governing body.:
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Website URL where information about the institution’s governance structure is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.