Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 65.89
Liaison Jonathan Rausseo
Submission Date Nov. 25, 2021

STARS v2.2

University of Ottawa
PA-3: Inclusive and Participatory Governance

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00 Annick Bergeron
Secretary General
Office of the Vice President Governance
"---" 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:
Pursuant to section 9 of the University of Ottawa Act, the Board shall be comprised of not more than thirty-two (32) Board Members as follows:

(a) the President;
(b) fifteen (15) individuals who shall be appointed by the Board as follows:
(i) eight (8) individuals shall be appointed based on nominations made by the Committee on Governance and Nominating;
(ii) two (2) regular full-time Students registered in an undergraduate program of studies shall be appointed based on nominations made by Students registered in an undergraduate degree program of studies. Such nominations shall be made in accordance with the University’s nominations and elections policy and procedures;
(iii) one (1) regular full-time Student registered in a graduate program of studies shall be appointed based on nominations made by Students registered in a degree program of graduate studies. Such nominations shall be made in accordance with the University’s nominations and elections policy and procedures;
(iv) two (2) individuals employed by the University as full-time Administrative Staff shall be appointed based on nominations made by full-time members of the Administrative Staff. Such nominations shall be made in accordance with the University’s nominations and elections policy and procedures; and
(v) two (2) individuals employed by the University as full-time Academic Staff shall be appointed based on nominations made by regular full-time members of the Academic Staff. Such nominations shall be made in accordance with the University’s nominations and elections policy and procedures.
(c) four (4) individuals who shall be appointed by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario;
(d) two (2) individuals who shall be appointed by the Senate of the University from among those of its members elected under subparagraph 15(1)(d) of the University of Ottawa Act;
(e) two (2) individuals who shall be appointed by the Alumni Association of the University of Ottawa from among its own members; and
(f) eight (8) individuals who shall be appointed by the Council of Administration of Saint Paul University.

https://www.uottawa.ca/administration-and-governance/university-ottawa-law-no-1-approved-board-governors-february-25-2019#2.2



The University of Ottawa's Student Union (UOSU) is overseen by their Board of Directors, the governing body of the UOSU. It’s made up of 31 student representatives: the 7 elected Executives, 22 elected faculty directors, an Indigenous Director and a Director representing special students.
Elections for the Board are held in the spring and the Board meets monthly throughout the year.

https://www.seuo-uosu.com/board-of-directors/



Each Faculty at the University of Ottawa has a Faculty Council which oversees the relations between the Faculty and the Senate, as well as develop and approve faculty plans. The composition of each Faculty Council differs but is usually constituted with the Dean and the executive of the Faculty.
Education - https://education.uottawa.ca/en/about/governance/faculty-council
Arts - https://arts.uottawa.ca/en/about/administration-and-governance/faculty-council
Social Sciences - https://socialsciences.uottawa.ca/about-faculty/governance/faculty-council
Engineering - https://engineering.uottawa.ca/governance
...



There are several unions represented on campus who bargain for better working conditions for employees. Beyond negotiations for pay and working conditions, various unions hold standing on a hand full of committees. Union executive members are selected by voting within in group.
APUO - https://apuo.ca/
APTPUO - https://aptpuo.ca/
SSUO - https://hrdocrh.uottawa.ca/info/en-ca/ssuo/policies.html
GSAED - https://gsaed.ca/en/about-us/structure/



There are many smaller groups that also play an important role in the governance of the institution. The Ombudsperson's Advisory Committee is a composed of students appointed by the student unions.
https://www2.uottawa.ca/about-us/office-ombudsperson/about-us/advisory-committee

Part 2. Campus stakeholder representation in governance

Total number of individuals on the institution’s highest governing body:
32

Number of students representing their peers as official members of the institution’s highest governing body:
3

Number of academic staff representing their peers as official members of the institution’s highest governing body:
2

Number of non-academic staff representing their peers as official members of the institution’s highest governing body:
2

Part 3. Gender equity in governance

Number of women serving as official members of the institution’s highest governing body:
16

Percentage of official members of the highest governing body that are women:
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:
Three members are appointed by the Government of Ontario to the Board of Governors to represent local government interests in addition to eight individuals are appointed by Saint Paul University.
Four external members of the Board of Governance represent private and community interests (https://www.uottawa.ca/administration-and-governance/board-of-governors/members).

The University of Ottawa participates in a Town and Gown Committee with Sandy Hill, the community surrounding the University of Ottawa. The committee is made up of mostly community members and directs activities which overlap between the community and the University Campus.
https://ash-acs.ca/category/town-and-gown/

The University of Ottawa's Alumni Association Board helps inform the University on how to improve the students experience and build stronger links to the alumni community. It is composed almost entirely of alumni.
https://www2.uottawa.ca/alumni/alumni-association

Mental Health and Wellness Advisory Committee (MHAC) is open to and comprised of external community members that meet regularly to address issues related to the health and wellbeing of students. External community members require personal lived experience related to health and wellbeing.
https://www2.uottawa.ca/campus-life/health-wellness/institutional-priorities-committees/mental-health-wellness-advisory-committee

Optional Fields 

Number of people from underrepresented groups serving as official members of the institution’s highest governing body.:
6

Website URL where information about the institution’s governance structure is available:
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.