Santa Rosa Junior College
PA-3: Participatory Governance

Students are represented by the Student Government Assembly. On the Student Government Assembly (SGA) there are twelve positions and six committees in order to represent the student's voice. These positions are as follows; Student Body President, Executive Vice President of legislation, VP of Finance, VP of Clubs - Santa Rosa, VP of Clubs - Petaluma, VP of Marketing - Santa Rosa, VP of Marketing - Petaluma, VP of Diversity, VP of Student Health, and VP of Sustainability. The following are SGA Committees; Student Live Committee (SLC), Sustainability Committee, Advocacy Committee, Petaluma Council, Student On Committees Council (SCC), and Finance & Benefits Committee. https://studentlife.santarosa.edu/student-government In addition to SGA there is student representation with a Student Trustee on the Board of Trustees. This Student Trustee is an elected or appointed position within the Student Government Assembly and has the right and responsibility to attend all public meetings of the Board of Trustees, and be recognized as a full member of the Board at public meetings and District events. https://trustees.santarosa.edu/board

Classified staff participates in the governance of the District and the development of policies, procedures and recommendations that will have a significant effect on staff through the Classified Senate and its recognized collective bargaining unit(s). The rights and responsibilities of bargaining agents are described in the contracts between the District and the recognized classified bargaining unit(s). The classified bargaining units maintains a process for assigning representation to College or District committees where designated. The rights and responsibilities of Classified Senate are enumerated in the California Education Code and Title 5 Regulations.

Faculty participates in the governance of the District through the Academic Senate and through its recognized bargaining unit(s). The rights and responsibilities of bargaining agents are described in the contracts between the District and the recognized facility bargaining units(s). The faculty bargaining units mains a process for assigning representation to College or District committees where designated. The rights and responsibilities of the Academic Senate are enumerated in the California Education Code and Title 5 Regulations. The Academic Senate advises the Board through the use of Academic Senate resolutions, bilateral agreements with the Board, Academic Senate committees, ad hoc task forces, Academic Senate Consultation committees, and other District-wide committees. When appropriate, the Academic Senate will ensure that students and staff effectively participate in the processes through which it develops its recommendations to the Board. The Board of Trustees or its designee will consult collegiality with the Academic Senate when adopting policies and procedures on academic and professional matters, relying primarily on the advice and judgement of the Academic Senate or reaching mutual agreement with the Academic Senate by written resolution, regulation, or policy. The Academic Senate designs and administers a process to appoint faculty to serve on College or District committees, task forces or other groups dealing with academic and professional matters.

The college holds open forums for all SRJC Neighborhood associations to update neighbors on projects and plan that might effect them. Additionally the college complies with all California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements when implementing major construction. Additionally for Student Housing Projects the student housing work group has a community member representative who is part of the over planning and design on the student housing project.

Being a Public Institution of the State of California, all meetings are available to the public to attend and participate in, except for the closed sessions of two meetings which are the Board Facilities Meeting and the Board of Trustees Meeting, which is mandated by the Brown Act. But, even these closed session meetings are followed by an open sessions for the public and external stakeholders to attend and participate in. Members of the public and other external stakeholders are allowed and encouraged to participate in all 72+ institutional committee meetings, including the monthly Board of Trustees meeting, which is a meeting of Santa Rosa Junior College's governing body. In addition to this, the College has a quarterly meeting with the Citizen Bond Oversight Committee (CBOC), which consists of College leadership and members of the community. The CBOC oversees the College's current Bond program to ensure that the bond's funds are being spent ethically and appropriately. All the information from the open session meetings are available to the public. In addition to our public monthly Bond Oversight and Board of Trustee meetings, Santa Rosa Junior College partners with local government through extensive transportation, safety, and facility development planning. SRJC representatives regularly attend local city and county meetings and have strong partnerships with leaders across Sonoma County. Examples include the recent bike bridge over the freeway, closing a through street for SRJC pedestrian traffic, and partnerships with our neighborhood High School, which is located adjacent to SRJC. These partnerships provides extensive opportunities for public participation, civic engagement, and partnerships across government agencies. Private sector is invited to be a part of our community in a variety of ways. We often have resource fairs as part of our events and nonprofit and private businesses attend regularly. We have local business owners that are elected board officials, and we often seek donations from local businesses. The Student Government Association provides student discounts to local businesses as part of their membership and the students are always exploring ways to expand upon public-private partnerships. Interships and work experience programs partner with large private sector corporations such as Kaiser Permenante, wineries, Amy's Food Distribution, and local engineering firms for capital projects and facilities. As an educational organization, SRJC frequently partners with nonprofits and educational organizations to support students with basic needs, financial assistance, and civic engagement / internships. Local NGOs often attend public meetings to promote their interests. Some examples are 10,000 Degrees nonprofit that supports first generation, low income students with extensive financial aid support, degree completion, and student success tools and strategies. Catholic Charities provides housing and homeless services to our most vulnerable students and regularly attends new student orientations and events. SRJC's sustainability committee regularly partners with local environmental organizations, such as Daily Acts, Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition, and Center for Climate protection to promote sustainability throughout Sonoma County.