Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 58.11
Liaison Elizabeth Drake
Submission Date April 19, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Swarthmore College
PA-3: Participatory Governance

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.75 / 3.00 Melissa Tier
Sustainability Program Manager
Office of 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:
The co-presidents of Swarthmore's SGO can occasionally sit in on particular College governance meetings, however, their is no elected student representative that consistently attends meetings.

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:
1. The Staff Advisory Council (SAC) is a group of representatives elected by the staff of Swarthmore College to advise the President of the College and the Vice President of Human Resources on matters of general staff interest and concern. SAC representatives are available to all staff members to help answer general questions or bring concerns anonymously to the monthly SAC meeting. SAC also helps coordinate staff membership on college committees and hosts the annual all-staff meetings. 2. The Administrative Advisory Council (AAC): A primary function is to facilitate the sharing of information with others in their areas of administrative responsibility, for the purpose of enhancing community members' general knowledge and understanding of college activities.

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 are allowed to vote for the Council on Educational Policy (curricular long range planning committee) and the committee on faculty procedures (governance committee) and may vote in all faculty meetings, which are convened using Robert's Rules procedures. In addition, there is a local chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) through which faculty members may address governance issues at Swarthmore College.

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:
http://www.swarthmore.edu/human-resources/communication-programs

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Melissa Tier and especially Jan Semler and Nancy Nicely for varying sorts of participatory governance with broader community. SGO of info about its involvement.

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.