Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 74.27
Liaison Konrad Schlarbaum
Submission Date Feb. 15, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of Colorado Colorado Springs
PA-3: Participatory Governance

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.25 / 3.00
"---" 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?:
No

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

The Student Government Association is the student body government for the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. The Student Government Association creates, implements, and oversees a $277,000 budget that is generated by student fees. The Student Government Association is not only the liaison between the students and the administration, but also between the University and the surrounding community.
The Student Government Association is made up of three separate branches, the Executive, the Legislative, and the Judicial. They are all bound by the same student adopted document: the Constitution.

Students can apply and run for a number of positions, including the Secretary of Sustainability, in the Student Government Association (SGA).


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

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

The Staff Association at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs believes valued and empowered staff who engage as their best self are successful personally and professionally. In everything we do, the UCCS Staff Association creates meaningful connections, recognition and self enhancement in a fun and supportive environment; so that members of the UCCS community stay and thrive.

The Staff Association (SA) is established to represent all members of the staff of the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS). The term UCCS staff is inclusive of individuals designated as University Staff and State Classified Staff. All UCCS Staff are automatically members of the SA. The SA has an elected Executive Board which meets to carry out day-to-day operations of the Association.

The purposes of the SA include:

Serve in advocacy for the interests of UCCS staff.
Initiate and provide means for the exchange of information among UCCS Staff relative to issues of concern.
Initiate and provide means for the professional development of UCCS Staff.
Foster a spirit of unity and cooperation among all UCCS Staff.
Study and make recommendations concerning problems and policies of concern relating to the UCCS Staff.
Provide representation to boards, councils, committees and to work collaboratively with these groups in such areas as strategic planning, fiscal matters, and the overall efficiency of the campus and the University.
Aid in the strategic planning goal of establishing an environment conducive to the recruitment, retention, development, and recognition of an excellent staff.
Be responsible for matters of concern as may be assigned by the Chancellor.

https://www.uccs.edu/~staff/
There are currently 3 seats filled on Executive Board with Classified Staff. 3 staff also serve on the system board UCSC.
https://www.uccs.edu/staff/leadership.html

There is also staff representation on the CU system level council named University of Colorado Staff Council, UCSC.


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

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 members are part of the Faculty Assembly. The Faculty Assembly as a whole usually meets 1-2 times per academic year. A representative group known as the Representative Assembly meets monthly during the academic year. The Representative Assembly consists of the elected officers of the Faculty Assembly, elected Faculty Council representatives, elected representatives from each of the colleges and the library, the chairs of all standing committees, and at-large members elected by the Faculty Assembly.

All members of the faculty are also part of the Faculty Senate which is a system-wide group. Meetings of the Faculty Senate are usually held twice during the academic year. The university wide Faculty Council is a representative group of the Senate group that meets monthly. This group is similar to our Representative Assembly. Our campus has three elected members to the Council. Our Assembly president also serves as a member of the Council. Basically the working groups are our own Representative Assembly and the system-wide Faculty Council. Our Assembly president is a member of the Deans’ Council. Opportunities to serve on campus and university wide committees are numerous.
https://www.uccs.edu/~facassembly/

There is also faculty representation on the CU system faculty governing bodies, Faculty Senate and Faculty Council.


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:
The policies and procedures:

There are a number of strategic planning processes that include community members, governmental representatives, and neighbors. Facilities Master Planning includes significant involvement of neighbors and outside stakeholders. Guiding document is from State of Colorado Architects Office.

STATE OF COLORADO
DEPARTMENT OF PERSONNEL AND ADMINISTRATION
OFFICE OF THE STATE ARCHITECT
STATEWIDE PLANNING PROGRAM
FACILITIES MASTER PLAN SUBMITTAL INSTRUCTIONS & GUIDELINES
FOR STATE AGENCIES
Part 1: Introduction or Executive Summary
ı The authors of the plan
ı The general process (methodology) used to develop the plan
ı How clients and staff were involved
ı How the surrounding community and local governments were involved
ı What other stakeholders were involved in developing the plan
ı How the information from stakeholders and other sources were
developed and assimilated into the final planning document.

Additionally, there are three committees of community members that advise on activities of the university. These are the UCCS Ambassadors, the Regional Connect, and the Regional Leadership Forum.


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):

Notes from Master Plan Forums including Local government, Private sector and non-profit (Trails and Open Space Coalition)
https://www.uccs.edu/Documents/facsrvs/Master%20Plan/c%20UCCSPrecincts_MeetingReports.pdf
Partnerships

The University of Colorado Colorado Springs campus exists because of its community's advocacy and in turn is committed to Colorado Springs and the southern Colorado region. Innovation and collaboration, two of our core values, reflect this commitment. The former speaks to our role as a catalyst for economic, social and cultural change in our communities and the latter to our search for opportunities to collaborate, to build partnerships and to engage with external organizations. Crucially, our goal is to "build mutually beneficial cultural, civic, economic and system-wide collaborations with external partners and organizations to advance UCCS and the southern Colorado region.


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:

Information about community committees provided by the chancellor's office.


Information about community committees provided by the chancellor's office.

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.