Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 61.98
Liaison Michael Amadori
Submission Date March 2, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Hobart and William Smith Colleges
PA-3: Participatory Governance

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 3.00 Michael Amadori
Sustainability Manager
Office of Sustainability
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Part 1

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

If yes to either of the above, provide:

A brief description of the bodies and mechanisms through which students are engaged in governance, including information to support each affirmative response above:
The William Smith Congress (WSC) and the Hobart Student Government (HSG) are the voice for the student body. WSC and HSG act as liaisons between students and the administration, provide funding for student organizations, and represent students on committees across the campus. Students are elected by their peers to serve on these two representative bodies, as well as junior trustees on the Board of Trustees. William Smith Congress and Hobart Student Government meet weekly.

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?:
No

If yes to either of the above, provide:

A brief description of the bodies and mechanisms through which staff are engaged in governance, including information to support each affirmative response above:
Senior staff meet at least monthly to discuss institutional considerations. Community forums are provided during all planning and decision-making processes for all staff to engage. Additionally, there is ad-hoc staff representation on faculty governing committees, such as FacIT and AdminIT.

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? :
No

If yes to either of the above, provide:

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:
All faculty, adjunct to full professors, have the right/ability to participate and vote in Faculty Meetings where major policies and Bylaw (faculty governance) decisions are made. Elections for membership on major committees, as the Presiding Officer of the Faculty, and as the Secretary of the Faculty, are made formally through the Faculty Meetings. All faculty who are “regularly appointed in tenure-track and ongoing positions are eligible for service as officers of the faculty.” The Parliamentarian is the only officer of the faculty appointed by a committee and, while the Ombudspersons (also officers of the faculty) are elected through Faculty Meetings, only tenured faculty can hold that position. While no teaching or research faculty sit on the HWS Board of Trustees, there are five major faculty governance committees that do meet with the Board of Trustees regularly during Board meetings. Those five major committees are (1) the Committee on the Faculty—CoFac, (2) the Committee on Academic Affairs—CoAA, (3) Committee on Tenure and Promotion—CoTaP, (4) Committee on Standards (CoS), and (5) the Committee on Committees (CoC). There is also faculty representation on many of the Board of Trustees committees, including: financial affairs, compensation, honors, and academic affairs.

Part 2

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

If yes to one or more of the above, provide:

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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Optional Fields 

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:
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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.