Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 69.14
Liaison Olivia Wiebe
Submission Date Dec. 28, 2023

STARS v2.2

University of Idaho
PA-3: Inclusive and Participatory Governance

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.25 / 3.00 Olivia Wiebe
Sustainability Manager
Office of the President
"---" 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:
Associated Students University of Idaho (ASUI): Associated Students University of Idaho is the student governing body that represents interests of all students at the university. It is made up of executive and legislative branches under leadership of the president and vice president.

President
The president is the liaison between ASUI, students and the State Board of Education/Board of Regents. The position is a representative for ASUI and the entire student body.

Vice President
The vice president is the leader of the Senate. The position ensures students living on and off campus are adequately represented and enforces rules and regulations within ASUI.

Executive Branch
The executive branch is composed of boards to oversee funding, entertainment, communication, recreation, the Idaho Student Union Building and the Bruce M. Pitman Center. It consists of a Presidential Cabinet, which includes directors of policy, diversity affairs, health and wellness, safety and violence prevention, sustainability, athletics and finance.

Legislative Branch
The legislative branch is composed of 14 senators under the senate pro-tempore. Each senator represents two to three living groups and attends relevant fraternity, sorority and residence hall meetings each month. They inform others of upcoming events and gather topics concerning the student body. They use this information to bring forth legislation representing the interests of all undergraduate students. Senate bills allocate student fees and resolutions represent the opinions of the student body.
https://www.uidaho.edu/current-students/student-involvement/asui

Graduate & Professional Student Association (GPSA): The Graduate & Professional Student Association (GPSA) supports and promotes graduate student education, campus sustainability and graduate student life at the University of Idaho, which includes funding awards related to professional travel, publication and workshops. This includes creating programs and assisting graduate students during their transition from student to professional life. The GPSA is committed to providing a collective voice for graduate students to the University and the State.

The GPSA body is composed of an executive branch, judicial branch and legislative branch with senators that represent academic departments having graduate programs.
https://www.uidaho.edu/cogs/resources/student-resources/gpsa

Faculty Senate: The senate is empowered to act for the university faculty in all matters pertaining to the immediate government of the university. The senate is responsible to and reports to the university faculty and, through the president, to the regents.

Chair
The chair presides at senate meetings; appoints special or ad hoc committees (in consultation with the senate); maintains lines of communication between the senate and the president, university faculty and Staff Council; serves as a member ex officio without vote on all committees and similar bodies; and performs all other duties pertaining to the office of chair.

Vice Chair
The vice chair assumes the duties and responsibilities of the chair in the temporary absence or disability of the chair, serves as the chair of the Committee on Committees and performs such other duties as assigned by the chair or by the senate.

Secretary
The secretary supports the Faculty Senate, Faculty Senate standing committees and Committee on Committees. The position also ensures faculty participate in the development of university policies and procedures. See FSH 1570 for more information on the role of the Secretary of the University Faculty. Meeting records for Faculty Senate, General Faculty Meetings and Faculty Senate standing committees are kept in the secretary's archives and are accessible upon request.
https://www.uidaho.edu/governance/faculty-senate

Staff Council: Staff members are an integral part of the University of Idaho community. Staff Council is dedicated to studying the issues, problems, welfare and working conditions of staff. The committee represents all board-appointed employees from all campuses and centers of the University of Idaho community.
https://www.uidaho.edu/governance/staff-council

Part 2. Campus stakeholder representation in governance

Total number of individuals on the institution’s highest governing body:
8

Number of students representing their peers as official members of the institution’s highest governing body:
0

Number of academic staff representing their peers as official members of the institution’s highest governing body:
0

Number of non-academic staff representing their peers as official members of the institution’s highest governing body:
0

Part 3. Gender equity in governance

Number of women serving as official members of the institution’s highest governing body:
5

Percentage of official members of the highest governing body that are women:
62.50

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?:
Yes

A brief description of the campus-community council or equivalent body that gives external stakeholders a regular voice in institutional decisions that affect them:
There are several opportunities where community members can provide feedback on decisions that affect them.

1.) The university hosts monthly meetings between university officials, such as the Director of Facilities and the Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer, and county commissioners, city council members, city and county administrators, the mayor of Moscow, police, fire, sheriff and others to discuss issues of common importance. Community feedback is often raised and addressed in this forum.

2.) The Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer serves as an ex-oficio board member of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce. Chamber members are able to voice concerns at various forums organized by the Chamber.

3.) There is an annual State of the University address and Q&A that while geared towards university employees and students it has traditionally been open.

There are also multiple email addresses available to community members to raise concerns, share suggestions or get feedback.

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:
Part 1 Supplemental information about the institution's highest governing body:

The University of Idaho is governed by a Board of Regents of the University of Idaho. The same people who make up the Board of Regents also make up the Idaho State Board of Education, which has governing authority over Idaho’s other public educational institutions. The group as a whole is often referred to as the State Board of Education (SBOE).

Many employees and entities across campus have direct and indirect contact with the Board of Regents and SBOE staff.

https://www.uidaho.edu/president/sboe


Part 4: Dan Ewart, Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer

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.