University of Victoria
PA-3: Inclusive and Participatory Governance

The University of Victoria has two high-level governing bodies: the Board of Governors and the Senate. The Board of Governors (BOG) is responsible for the management, administration and control of the property, revenue, business and affairs of the university. The BOG meets on campus six times a year. Of the fifteen members serving on the BOG, there is an undergraduate student representative elected from the University of Victoria Student Society (UVSS), a graduate student representative elected from the Graduate Student Society (GSS), two elected faculty member representatives, and an elected staff representative. The Senate is responsible for the academic governance of the university, including matters related to libraries, faculties, departments, courses of instruction, awards, exhibitions, admissions, student appeals, and the granting of degrees (including honorary degrees, diplomas and certificates). While both of these governing bodies have equal standing and include stakeholder participants from across the university, the numbers reported below reflect only the Board of Governors for the purpose of reporting simplicity.

The Board of Directors for the University of Victoria Student Society (UVSS) is UVic’s undergraduate student governing body, and is made up by a total of 20 student directors. Each student is elected to serve on the UVSS Board of Directors by their student peers. The UVSS exists to provide advocacy, representation, services, and events for all undergraduate students at UVic. They work on issues affecting students such as post-secondary funding, public transit, anti-sexualized violence, campus sustainability, student employment, and affordable housing. The undergraduate student representative on UVic’s BOG will have often served previously on the UVSS Board of Directors, and provides a point of contact for the UVSS Board and the BOG.

The Executive Board of the UVic Graduate Students Society (GSS) is UVic’s graduate student governing body. Graduate students are able to serve on the Executive Board through student peer-election. The Board is responsible for developing the society’s annual plan, advocating on behalf of graduate students, representing the GSS to the university and other bodies, coordinating graduate student representation on committees and negotiating contracts for the society. The graduate student representative on UVic’s BOG will often have served previously within GSS governance, providing a point of contact for the GSS Executive Board and the BOG.

The UVic Faculty Association (FA) is the exclusive bargaining agent for Faculty and Librarians at UVic and is the governing body for Faculty. It is governed by an elected Executive Committee, nine standing committees, and a representative Council. The main purpose of the FA is to provide membership services to all UVic Faculty and Librarians for work-related concerns, inform FA members on University policy updates, advocate with the University in areas important to FA Members including support for research activities and academic freedom, and carry out the collective bargaining for Faculty and Librarians at UVic . The FA interacts with University senior governance (BOG and Senate) through formal correspondence, which is also supported by its union collective agreement.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) 917, CUPE 951, CUPE 4163, and the Professional Employees Association (PEA) represent the interests of approximately 3,700 non-academic employees at UVic. Employees have the opportunity to participate in governance of their union through electing union board representatives and attending regularly scheduled general meetings. At union meetings, relevant university news or policy changes that may effect employees are discussed and employees are given the opportunity to share any concerns they may have. Each union has the ability to express their concerns regarding news and policy changes with the Board of Governors through written correspondence. In addition, each union completes the collective bargaining process with the university every few years. The 2020 round of collective bargaining was negotiated under the provincial 2019 “Sustainable Services Negotiating Mandate.”

The UVic Community Liaison Committee (CALC) is in place to develop mutually supportive relationships between the university and surrounding communities, as represented by incorporated Resident and Community Association organizations, particularly those which border or are near to the Gordon Head campus of the university.

The goals of the committee are to:
1.Exchange information, discuss initiatives, and seek advice on matters of mutual interest.
2.Fulfill the roles noted for the committee in the “Engaging with Our Neighbours: A Community Engagement Framework for Campus Land Use Planning and Development Projects.” In particular, the committee will provide advice to ensure that Engagement Plans benefit from broad input and support.

The role of the committee members is to bring forward the views of their organization based upon their knowledge and experience, without being required to bring a formal position or vote on discussion items. Committee members also serve as a conduit to their organizations with the general expectation that they will keep their representative organization up-to-date on the workings of the committee.

The Committee holds four regular meetings per year, with the options to call additional meetings through agreement of the Co-hairs as required.

See Terms of Reference at: https://www.uvic.ca/external/community/uvic-in-the-community/calc/index.php

There are many additional opportunities for UVic staff, faculty and students to be involved in the governance of the university aside from directly sitting on the Board of Governors. The Senate, UVic’s other primary governing body includes both students (16) and faculty members (32) in its composition. The Senate also has several standing committees that meet to consider matters within their Terms of Reference, and subsequently bring them to the attention of the Senate. Most of these committees require student and faculty member representatives in their composition as well.

Additionally, the Campus Planning Committee acts as an advisory body to the President and provides recommendations on the physical development of the campus. This includes amendments to the approved Campus Plan as well as general matters relating to campus planning and sustainability. Membership of this committee includes three faculty members, two staff members, one undergraduate student and one graduate student.

Students, staff and faculty can also participate in the Sustainability Advisory Committee which assists the Office of Campus Planning and Sustainability by advising on policies, projects, engagement processes, and strategy brought forward by the Office of Campus Planning and Sustainability.

These are just some of the ways that staff, students and faculty can participate in governance of the university. There is an extensive number of additional committees and councils that exist within various departments and at varying levels, all of which contribute to shaping they way in which the university runs. Participation of staff, students and faculty within these various governing bodies, committees and councils exemplify UVic’s commitment to inclusive and participatory governance throughout the institution as a whole.

Campus Planning Committee: https://www.uvic.ca/vpfo/committees/campusplanningcommittee/index.php

Sustainability Advisory Committee: https://www.uvic.ca/campusplanning/about/committees/sustainabilityadvisorycommittee/index.php

University of Victoria Students’ Society: https://uvss.ca/about/yoursociety/

UVic Graduate Students’ Society: https://gss.uvic.ca/about-gss/governance/structure/

UVic Faculty Association: https://www.uvicfa.ca/about/