Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 67.93
Liaison Emily Zabanah
Submission Date Feb. 1, 2024

STARS v2.2

Seneca Polytechnic
PA-3: Inclusive and Participatory Governance

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.25 / 3.00 Paula Echeveste
Sustainability Specialist - Engagement & Outreach
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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:
BOARD OF GOVERNORS https://www.senecapolytechnic.ca/about/governance/supporting/documents/Election-of-Internal-Members-to-BOG-Policy.pdf

Seneca Polytechnic is overseen by a Board of Governors comprised of members from the community, elected employees and a student representative elected by the student body. The Board is supported by the administration of Seneca.
Seneca’s Board has 17 members: 12 representing the community, four members elected by the administration, faculty, support staff, students and the President. One-third of the external members are nominated by the Board and appointed by the Cabinet of the Ontario Government, officially titled the Lieutenant Governor in Council. Two-thirds are nominated and elected by the Board.

Collectively, the external members bring a wide range of skills and experience in education, finance, public affairs, governance, legal affairs, community relations and management to help Seneca achieve its strategic objectives.

The Board of Governors is responsible for:
1. Establishing appropriate governance structures to oversee the operations of Seneca through delegation to the President the accountability for its performance and operation.
2. Approving Seneca's strategic directions and outcomes within the context of the appropriate laws, public policy and needs of the labour market and community.
3. Hiring the President and evaluating the President’s performance.
4. Approving Seneca's annual business plan, budget and annual report.
5. Assessing the effectiveness of the board.

STUDENTS' UNION: https://ssfinc.ca/about
Seneca Student Federation is the official student government of Seneca Polytechnic. The President, coordinator and other members are voted in yearly by students.

EMPLOYEES' UNION: https://opseu.org/employers/seneca-college-support/
The Union is recognized as the exclusive collective bargaining agency for all academic employees engaged as teachers, counsellors and Librarians. Also, there’s a collective agreement for all the support staff.

Part 2. Campus stakeholder representation in governance

Total number of individuals on the institution’s highest governing body:
14

Number of students representing their peers as official members of the institution’s highest governing body:
1

Number of academic staff representing their peers as official members of the institution’s highest governing body:
1

Number of non-academic staff representing their peers as official members of the institution’s highest governing body:
2

Part 3. Gender equity in governance

Number of women serving as official members of the institution’s highest governing body:
7

Percentage of official members of the highest governing body that are women:
50

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?:
No

A brief description of the campus-community council or equivalent body that gives external stakeholders a regular voice in institutional decisions that affect them:
---

Optional Fields 

Number of people from underrepresented groups serving as official members of the institution’s highest governing body.:
---

Website URL where information about the institution’s governance structure is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Currently, there are 14 members as we have two open Lieutenant Governor in Council appointments and 1 vacancy.

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.