Overall Rating Bronze - expired
Overall Score 38.83
Liaison Emma Parsley
Submission Date Dec. 16, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Texas State University, San Marcos
PA-3: Participatory Governance

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.50 / 3.00 James Vollrath
Director
Office of Sustainability
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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:
Student Government is the primary recognized forum for student opinion and their focus is to represent the student interests and concerns to administration, while providing activities and services they deem useful to students. Student Government exists to represent the student voice to the faculty and administration. https://studentgovernment.dos.txstate.edu/ Direct quote from https://www.tsus.edu/about-tsus/employment.html: "In 2005, the Texas Legislature created the position of Student Regent. Each year, the governor appoints 10 student regents to serve as non-voting participants on the governing boards of Texas' university systems and independent institutions. The governor also appoints a Student Representative to serve on the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Qualified students who are interested in applying for these positions must complete the applications below and submit them to the Office of the President of their institution." Students have to submit their applications to the office of Texas State's president, then it will be forwarded on to the governor's office.

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:
Texas State's Staff Council is a collective voice for administrative, professional, technical/paraprofessional, secretarial/clerical, skilled and service staff on campus. We support a variety of activities and initiatives to improve the quality of life and effectiveness of the university’s dedicated and valuable staff. https://www.staffcouncil.txstate.edu/

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:
Since 1959, the Faculty Senate has represented members of the Texas State faculty in the formulation of university policy on a broad range of academic and governance issues. The Senate is made up of approximately 15 faculty members, representing proportionally each of the academic colleges across campus, with one member serving as chair, another as vice-chair, and a third as secretary. Each department/school not represented by a senator is represented by a Faculty Senate Liaison who is charged with communicating individual faculty and departmental concerns to the Faculty Senate. https://www.txstate.edu/facultysenate

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?:
Yes

A copy of the written policies and procedures:
construction-procedures1.html

The policies and procedures:
See referenced link. All campus masterplanning efforts shall include input from members of the local community.

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:
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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.