Overall Rating	Gold - expired
Overall Score	67.16
Liaison	Mike Versteege
Submission Date	June 24, 2020
Executive Letter	Download

STARS v2.1

University of Alberta
PA-3: Participatory Governance

Status	Score	Responsible Party
	3.00 / 3.00	Robert J. Summers Academic Director Sustainability Council

"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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?:

Yes

A brief description of the bodies and mechanisms through which students are engaged in governance, including information to support each affirmative response above:

BOARD OF GOVERNORS
https://www.ualberta.ca/governance/what-we-do/board-of-governors/index.html

Three student representatives may be appointed to the Board of Governors, two nominated by the Students' Union and one nominated by the Graduate Students' Association.

The Board of Governors at the University of Alberta consists of a Chairman appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, the Chancellor, the President and eighteen other persons appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, representing alumni, students, staff, and the general public. The Board of Governors is guided by a government-approved mandate.

There are seven Standing Committees established by the Board of Governors pursuant to the Post-Secondary Learning Act:
Audit and Risk;
Finance and Property;
Governance;
Human Resources and Compensation;
Investment;
Learning, Research and Student Experience; and
Reputation and Public Affairs.

The Board has delegated to each Committee responsibility and authority to make decisions on behalf of the Board in the Committee's defined area of responsibility except to the extent that such authority has been specifically limited by the Board in the Terms of Reference for the Committee.

STUDENTS' COUNCIL
https://www.su.ualberta.ca/governance/council/

Students' Council is the ultimate authority in the Students' Union. It consists of 40 members:
The Speaker (non-voting)
The President of the Students' Union
The four Vice-Presidents of the Students' Union
The Undergraduate Board of Governors Representative
32 Faculty Councillors (distributed on a representation by population principle)
The General Manager of the Students' Union (non-voting)

Together, these individuals are responsible for fulfilling the mandate of the Students' Union, pursuant to the Post Secondary Learning Act.

There are also a number of faculty-affiliated student associations at the university.

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?:

Yes

A brief description of the bodies and mechanisms through which staff are engaged in governance, including information to support each affirmative response above:

BOARD OF GOVERNORS
https://www.ualberta.ca/governance/what-we-do/board-of-governors/index.html

Three staff representatives may be appointed to the Board of Governors. One staff member nominated by the Non-Academic Staff Association and two academic members nominated by the Association of Academic Staff University of Alberta (AASUA). The current membership listing is available on the Board of Governors website.

The Board of Governors at the University of Alberta consists of a Chair appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, the Chancellor, the President and eighteen other persons appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, representing alumni, students, staff, and the general public. The Board of Governors is guided by a government-approved mandate.

EMPLOYEE ASSOCIATIONS
https://www.ualberta.ca/faculty-and-staff/my-employment/collective-agreements-and-handbooks.html

Staff members can participate in either the Non-Academic Staff Association (NASA) or the Association of Academic Staff University of Alberta (AASUA).

WORKING GROUPS

Staff can serve on sustainability-related working groups addressing waste diversion, food join networks like the Sustainable Purchasing Network, the Faculty Affiliates Network, and the Green Labs Leaders Network.

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? :

Yes

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:

BOARD OF GOVENORS
https://www.ualberta.ca/governance/what-we-do/board-of-governors/index.html

Two members of the academic staff of the university, one of whom is nominated by the General Faculties Council and one of whom is nominated by the Association of Academic Staff of the University of Alberta (AASUA), serve on the Board of Governors. The current membership listing is available on the Board of Governors website.

GENERAL FACULTIES COUNCIL
https://www.ualberta.ca/governance/what-we-do/general-faculties-council.html

As set out in the Alberta Post-Secondary Learning Act, subject to the authority of the Board, General Faculties Council (GFC) is responsible for the academic and student affairs of the university. Specific powers of GFC include granting of degrees, approval of the university's Academic Plan, academic programs, academic policies, academic awards, and the University Calendar. GFC is chaired by the President and is composed of 159 members, including all university Vice-Presidents, all Faculty Deans, professors, students, librarians, academic, administrative and support staff. All told, GFC comprises approximately 1/3 students, 1/3 staff (faculty) and 1/3 ex-officio administrators. The President of the Association of Academic Staff of the University of Alberta (AASUA) is elected by academic staff and appointed to General Faculties Council as a voting member.

There are 9 Standing Committees established by GFC pursuant to the Post-Secondary Learning Act:
i. Executive Committee
ii. Academic Planning Committee.
iii. Academic Standards Committee
iv. Committee on the Learning Environment
v. Student Conduct Policy Committee
vi. Facilities Development Committee
vii. Nominating Committee
viii. Undergraduate Awards and Bursaries Committee
ix. University Teaching Awards Committee

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:

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The policies and procedures:

LONG RANGE DEVELOPMENT PLAN

The University of Alberta follows the Post-secondary Learning Act, which outlines the consultation process required for an amendment to the long range development plan. The university has been consulting with the North Campus communities of Windsor Park, Garneau and McKernan since 2001. Consultative and information-sharing opportunities have included: letter mailing, directed letters, community workshops, open houses, facilitated community dialogues and meetings.

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH SOUTH CAMPUS NEIGHBOURHOOD COALITION
https://www.ualberta.ca/university-relations/government-community-relations/index.html

UAlberta developed a memorandum of understanding between the executive officers of the university and representatives of the South Campus Neighbourhood Coalition (SCNC) to clarify and strengthen the public consultation processes and communications regarding the development of the university’s South Campus. It outlines the university's commitment to the sustainable development of the South Campus and meeting its growth needs in ways that are socially, economically and environmentally responsible. It also indicates that the university and SCNC wish South Campus developments to support teaching and research initiatives and creating a sense of place that can be enjoyed by students, faculty, staff and the residents of neighbouring communities. The university uses the LRDP’s Smart Growth and Planned Community Principles to guide the developments on South Campus. The MOU remains active between the university and the community.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CONSULTATION
https://uab.ca/cec

In addition to its campus planning work, Engagement is a core pillar in the University of Alberta Strategic Plan "For the Public Good." To this end, the university has a goal to develop an institutional community engagement plan that reflects the role of the University of Alberta (UAlberta) with its community partners. To take the first step towards this goal, the university embarked on a consultation process in 2018, with discussions that invited university stakeholders to have a meaningful conversation and share with the university their ideas, issues, or opportunities through an inclusive voice. This input is informing the community engagement plan and will guide how UAlberta delivers on the engagement goals of For the Public Good over the coming years. The data collections phase of the project is completed and the drafting their report and recommendations will take place in 2020.

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	Yes
Private sector organizations	Yes
Civil society (e.g. NGOs, NPOs)	Yes

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):

BOARD OF GOVERNORS

The Minister of Advanced Education seeks applications from individuals interested in serving as a public member on Alberta’s post-secondary institution boards of governors. The recruitment of public members to the Board of Governors is competency-based. The steps that are taken or intended to be taken in the recruitment process and any identified skills, knowledge, experience or attributes required of a member to be appointed will be made public either before or after the member is appointed. By nature of the competencies sought, the intention is that various community stakeholders representing the community, including local government, private sector and civil society are able to serve and support institutional governance.

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:

https://www.ualberta.ca/governance/index.html

Additional documentation to support the submission:

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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBLE PARTIES:

Ben Louie
University Architect
Office of the University Architect
Planning and Project Delivery
Facilities & Operations

Marion Haggarty-France
University Secretary
University Governance

Anastasia Lim
Executive Director, Community Relations
Government and Community Relations
University Relations

Data source(s) and notes about the submission