Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 52.65
Liaison Audrey McSain
Submission Date July 13, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Lehigh University
PA-3: Governance

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.70 / 3.00 Delicia Nahman
Sustainability Officer
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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)?:
Yes

A brief description of the mechanisms through which students have an avenue to participate in one or more governance bodies:

Lehigh has both a Graduate Student Senate and an Undergraduate Student Senate.

The Graduate Student Senate (GSS) is a body that was created in order to give a voice to graduate student concerns and feedback. Every graduate student enrolled at Lehigh is automatically a general member of the GSS. Students can also participate as the following: Unit Representatives, Club Representatives, Committee Representatives, and the Executive Board. The Executive Board is elected by the general members.

The function of the Undergraduate Student Senate shall be to provide an opportunity for its members to discuss and express their views upon any matter which they deem of general student interest and to make recommendations or pass resolutions with respect thereto. The Student Senate shall speak as the representative voice of the undergraduates on affairs of concern to the undergraduate community. The members of the senate are appointed and elected, but all students are welcome to attend and participate in senate meetings.


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?:
No

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 ---
Establishing new policies, programs, or initiatives Yes
Strategic and long-term planning ---
Existing or prospective physical resources Yes
Budgeting, staffing and financial planning ---
Communications processes and transparency practices ---
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:

Establishing new policies, programs or initiatives:

From the Student Senate progress report 2014-2015:
-Put forth diversity certificate proposal
-Organized pilot bus program for on-campus transportation on Sundays
-Worked with LTS to establish plans for an interactive bus board at the Packer
Avenue stop

Existing or prospective physical resources:
-We are aiming to improve the TRACS system in order to make it more accessible for students late at night. In addition, we are also trying to determine what the future of the bus system will be and how it can possibly be altered.
-The Safety Committee has been working on getting blue lights off campus. We met with Corporal Gallagher, who told us that there is the possibility we will be able to get a blue light system on East Fifth and other locations off campus that are owned by Lehigh.

Prioritization of programs and projects: Both student senates have the ability to vote on the approval of new clubs on campus.

Lehigh also has student representatives elected to the following committees and advisory groups:
1. Faculty Committee on Global Affairs Chair
2. Faculty Committee on Facilities Planning Chair
3. Bookstore Advisory Group Chair
4. Transportation Advisory Group Chair
5. Lehigh Environmental Advisory Group Chair


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)?:
No

A brief description of the mechanisms through which all staff have an avenue to participate in one or more governance bodies:
---

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?:
No

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 No
Establishing new policies, programs, or initiatives No
Strategic and long-term planning No
Existing or prospective physical resources No
Budgeting, staffing and financial planning No
Communications processes and transparency practices No
Prioritization of programs and projects No

A brief description of the formal staff role in regard to each area indicated, including examples from the previous three years:
---

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)?:
Yes

A brief description of the mechanisms through which all faculty (including adjunct faculty) have an avenue to participate in one or more governance bodies:

The voting faculty members of the faculty are those with the rank of assistant professor,
associate professor, or professor. Instructors with full-time academic appointments in teaching or research are also voting members of the faculty, provided that they are not candidates for a Lehigh degree. Also, included as voting faculty members are the president, provost, the deans of each the four colleges, and the vice provost for library and technology services. The university faculty is the legislative body in matters pertaining to the admission, registration, instruction, and discipline of students, and in matters related to academic procedures and educational policies.

Faculty also have avenues in participating in the multiple committees and advisory groups that exist on campus, which include elected representatives from each college such as:
faculty steering committee (1.2.2.1)
[subcommittee on rules and procedures] (1.2.2.1.1)
educational policy committee (1.2.2.2)
graduate and research committee (1.2.2.3)
faculty compensation committee (1.2.2.4)
faculty financial planning and operations committee (1.2.2.5)
faculty personnel committee (1.2.2.6)
faculty committee on student life (1.2.2.7)


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?:
No

A brief description of faculty representation on the governing body, including how the representatives are selected:
---

Do faculty have a formal role in decision-making in regard to the following?:
Yes or No
Establishing organizational mission, vision, and/or goals No
Establishing new policies, programs, or initiatives Yes
Strategic and long-term planning No
Existing or prospective physical resources Yes
Budgeting, staffing and financial planning Yes
Communications processes and transparency practices No
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:

From https://www.lehigh.edu/~policy/structure.html

The development of both new and amended Academic Personnel Policies for Trustee consideration is delegated jointly to the Faculty and the Academic Administration -President, Provost, and the Deans of Colleges. The Faculty review of proposed Academic Personnel Policy should occur within the faculty governance structure and must include a vote of the Faculty. The dissemination of Academic Personnel Policy is also the joint responsibility of the Faculty and Academic Administration.

The responsibility for maintaining effective university-wide educational policies, procedures and rules is delegated to the Faculty. The Board of Trustees expects the Faculty to maintain high standards and a nationally competitive educational environment for all Lehigh students.

Budgeting, staffing and financial planning: There is a faculty committee on financial planning and operations. The committee represents the concerns of the faculty in advising the president, provost, vice president for finance and administration regarding financial planning.

The committee on facilities planning represents the faculty in setting strategic priorities for campus planning for Lehigh University. The committee collaborates with the Facilities Services and Campus Planning Office with particular focus on:
• Updating the campus master plan as needed,
• Assessment of facilities needs for scholarly work,
• Modernizing instructional spaces, and
• Determining priorities for facilities projects that impact faculty scholarship and/or
teaching.
http://www.lehigh.edu/~inprv/faculty/rules.html
http://www.lehigh.edu/~inprv/pdfs/pdfs_2015-2016/UniversityStandingCommittees5015-2016_091015.pdf


The website URL where information about the institution’s governance structure is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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