Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 61.51
Liaison Karen Eckert, Ph.D.
Submission Date March 5, 2021
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Principia College
PA-3: Participatory Governance

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.75 / 3.00 Karen Eckert, Ph.D.
Professor and Director
Center for Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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?:
No

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:
Students participate in democratic processes at all levels. They elect a Student Senate and Student Body President and Vice President (all campus), House Boards (residence halls), and Club officers (e.g., Sustainability Club) that promote and guide their peers in extra- and co-curricular activities. They participate in the Office of Student Life as, inter alia, Resident Assistants, event coordinators, and mediators; they participate in Justice Boards; they have elected membership in academic governance committees (e.g., College Curriculum Committee, Scholastic Committee). They do not, however, have elected representation on the Board of Trustees.

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:
All staff, regardless of rank, participate (weekly) in a Staff Senate with peer-elected officers. Formal privileges associated with harassment, misconduct, grievance, performance and appeal processes are published in the Employee Handbook. It is a formal policy of The Principia that "In all Departments of its work, both curricular and extracurricular, The Principia shall place emphasis upon devotion to the democratic way of life and upon dedication of the individual to its service. Emphasis shall be laid upon the priceless privileges of the democratic way of life expressed in: freedom of thought, freedom of speech, freedom of religious worship, and freedom of the press." Neither staff nor faculty have elected representation on the Board of Trustees.

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 ranked faculty participate (weekly) in a Faculty Senate with peer-elected officers. Rights associated with harassment, misconduct, grievance, performance and appeal processes are published in the Employee Handbook. The Faculty Leadership Team (FLT), co-chaired by the Faculty Senate President and the College President, is comprised of the Deans of Academics, Academic Unit Heads (peer-elected), and Faculty Council (see below) "To be an advisory group for the administration; To represent the faculty in curricular/program decisions, structure, and procedures; To represent the faculty in faculty welfare issues and concerns; and To engage in dialogues regarding the academic strategic plan and the vision of Principia College." Faculty Council (Chair: Faculty Senate President) is comprised of one representative from each of the college's four academic units, one member-at-large, and one athletic faculty and meets weekly "To promote faculty welfare, to be faculty leaders and represent the faculty voice on the Faculty Leadership Team, to monitor/maintain/manage the six primary responsibilities set forth in the Faculty Constitution; to build relationships with other stakeholders in the community; to increase communication among the faculty, administration, staff, and students." It is a formal policy of The Principia that "In all Departments of its work, both curricular and extracurricular, The Principia shall place emphasis upon devotion to the democratic way of life and upon dedication of the individual to its service. Emphasis shall be laid upon the priceless privileges of the democratic way of life expressed in: freedom of thought, freedom of speech, freedom of religious worship, and freedom of the press." Neither staff nor faculty have elected representation on the Board of Trustees.

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:
This credit has been revised in accordance with AASHE peer-review comments.

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.