University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
PA-3: Governance

Whitewater Student Government's purpose is to enumerate the powers of the student government, to protect the rights of students, and to ensure that students at UW-Whitewater are guaranteed their statutory right of shared governance under State Statute 36.09(5). The Senate will consist of twenty-five Senators elected from and by the student body. Each elected Senator will represent one of four districts. The on-campus student community will be divided into two districts: “Esker” and “Drumlin.” The Esker district will consist of those students residing in the residence halls North of Starin Road and East of Warhawk Road. The Drumlin district will consist of those students residing in the residence halls South of Starin Road or West of Warhawk Road. The off-campus student community will compose the third district. The fourth district will be known as At-Large, and represents the entire student populace. The executive officers of the WSG will be the President and the Vice President. Elections will be held in accordance to the election rules, with their terms of office beginning the following July first and ending June thirtieth of the next year. No executive officer will be eligible to service the same office for more than two elected terms. No executive of the WSG may concurrently serve as a Senator. Any member of the student body will be eligible and qualified to seek the office of the President or Vice President. The members of the student body who are seeking the office of the President or Vice-President will be in good academic standing and maintain such standing throughout their term. Good academic standing is defined as “not on academic probation” (at least a 2.00 cum. G.P.A.). The President and Vice-President will serve a term of one year or until a successor is elected and assumes office. The Residence Hall Association is an organization established to promote interaction among residence halls. In order to achieve this purpose, RHA provides services and activities for the benefit of the residents. Also, RHA exists to formulate, review, recommend, and maintain all policies within the Office of Residence Life and the University of Wisconsin - Whitewater. The Dean's Advisory Council provides a forum for students to communicate their concerns and interests directly to the Dean of their undergraduate college. Members of the DAC also represent student perspectives on various College committees and have networking opportunities to meet with alumni.

The closest thing UW-Whitewater has to a governing body is the Chancellor's Administrative Staff is also a representation of decision-makers on campus. The WSG President and a Senate representative serve on this committee. The Strategic Planning and Budget Committee also helps decide the overall direction of the university. The WSG President and Vice President serve on this committee. http://www.uww.edu/university-committees/administrative-committees/strategic-planning

Several of the committees represented below cover more than one area and there are multiple committees focused on some of the areas, but a sampling has been provided below. For a full detail of all administrative campus committees, including mission and membership, please visit: http://www.uww.edu/university-committees/administrative-committees One representative of the Whitewater Student Government serves on the International Education Committee. The Committee will help discern the strategic focus of university international education endeavors and will make specific recommendations to internationalize the campus. One representative of the Whitewater Student Government serves on the Campus Safety Committee. The purpose of the Campus Safety Committee is to create and maintain an active interest in safety through a broad scope Risk Management, Safety and Loss Control program that encourages the participation of all personnel in initiating, maintaining and improving safe practices or conditions for the UW-W campus. Two representatives of the Whitewater Student Government serve on the Essential Learning and Assessment Review Commitee (ELARC). The committee is responsible for discussing assessment data and other indicators related to student achievement of the UW-Whitewater baccalaureate learning outcomes (essential learning outcomes) and make recommendations to improve teaching, learning, and assessment. A representative of the Whitewater Student Government served on the Master Plan Advisory Committee (WSG President). An additional undergraduate student was also included on this committee. One representative of the Whitewater Student Government serves on the University Technology Committee. The University Technology Committee (UTC) is the representative group which considers issues of campus-wide importance concerning information technology. Two representatives of the Whitewater Student Government serve on the Strategic Planning and Budgeting Committee (WSG President and Vice President). The committee is responsible for the strategic planning and budgeting process for the campus and is advisory to the Chancellor. This includes some discussion of priorities and projects. There is no clear indication of a committee that focuses on communications processes and transparency practices.

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater University Staff Council’s (USC) mission is to promote a positive environment for all (former classified, now called) University Staff employees and encourage active participation in the University decision-making process. The USC is dedicated to promoting professional development and ongoing educational opportunities as well as serving as a channel of respectful communication among all University Staff, and between University Staff and the broader University community. The USC serves in an advisory role to the Chancellor and University administration, and represents all non-teaching or academic permanent, limited term (LTE) and project appointment employees of the University. USC has authority to propose resolutions to the Chancellor for campus-wide policy implementation for concerns relating directly to classified staff as a whole. New resolutions will be reviewed by the USC and require the approval of 60% (6/10) of the voting members with final approval by the Chancellor. The Academic Staff Assembly is an elected body that represents UW-Whitewater instructional and non-instructional academic staff. The Assembly has primary responsibility for formulation and review of relevant policies and procedures and shall be represented in the development of all policies and procedures concerning academic staff members, including academic staff personnel matters. Ten representatives will be elected based on nominations. Interested individuals may be nominated by another campus employee or self-nominate. If fewer than twelve individuals are nominated, Deans, Directors and the Chancellor may be asked for additional nominations. A maximum of two representatives from any unit/department will be allowed; however, if there are no accepted nominations from other units/departments then the maximum may be exceeded.

The closest thing UW-Whitewater has to a governing body is the Chancellor's Administrative Staff is also a representation of decision-makers on campus. There are no staff members representing their respective governance groups on this committee. The Strategic Planning and Budget Committee also helps decide the overall direction of the university. There is one University Staff Council representative on the committee and two Academic Staff Assembly members (one Instructional and one Non-Instructional). http://www.uww.edu/university-committees/administrative-committees/strategic-planning

Several of the committees represented below cover more than one area and there are multiple committees focused on some of the areas, but a sampling has been provided below. For a full detail of all administrative campus committees, including mission and membership, please visit: http://www.uww.edu/university-committees/administrative-committees One representative of the Academic Staff Assembly and one from the Classified Staff Advisory Council serves on the Campus Safety Committee. The purpose of the Campus Safety Committee is to create and maintain an active interest in safety through a broad scope Risk Management, Safety and Loss Control program that encourages the participation of all personnel in initiating, maintaining and improving safe practices or conditions for the UW-W campus. One representative of the Academic Staff Assembly serves on the Essential Learning and Assessment Review Commitee (ELARC). The committee is responsible for discussing assessment data and other indicators related to student achievement of the UW-Whitewater baccalaureate learning outcomes (essential learning outcomes) and make recommendations to improve teaching, learning, and assessment. Representatives of the Academic Staff Assembly and Classified Staff Advisory Council served on the Master Plan Advisory Committee. One representative of the Academic Staff Assembly serves on the University Technology Committee. The University Technology Committee (UTC) is the representative group which considers issues of campus-wide importance concerning information technology. Two representatives of the Academic Staff Assembly serve on the Strategic Planning and Budgeting Committee (Instructional and Non-Instructional). A representative of the Classified Staff Advisory Council serves on the Strategic Planning and Budgeting Committee. The committee is responsible for the strategic planning and budgeting process for the campus and is advisory to the Chancellor. There is no clear indication of a committee that focuses on communications processes and transparency practices.

The Faculty Senate shall represent and conduct the business of the Faculty except at those times at which the Faculty meets and except for those purposes otherwise specified by this constitution or by a vote of a meeting of the Faculty. It is answerable to the Faculty and may refer matters to the whole Faculty for decision. Senators shall be elected according to the following rules in elections conducted by the Elections Committee, which shall adjudicate difficulties. Senators-at-large shall be elected from each rank (Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, and Instructor) by the faculty of that rank. Each rank shall elect one senator for each 20 faculty of that rank or major fraction thereof, except that each rank shall elect at least one senator, making twenty constituency senators. For Senate purposes there shall be five constituencies; they are the four colleges of the University, and a fifth made up of all faculty members whose major appointment lies outside an academic department. This fifth constituency shall be considered to be under the jurisdiction of the Offices of Student Affairs and Academic Affairs. The four constituency senators shall be elected at large within the constituency and by the constituency. All members of the Faculty holding rank of Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, or Instructor (including Academic Staff members who have been granted "Faculty Status") are eligible.

The closest thing UW-Whitewater has to a governing body is the Strategic Planning and Budget Committee. There are five Faculty Senate representatives on this committee, including one from each College and the Senate Chair. http://www.uww.edu/university-committees/administrative-committees/strategic-planning The Chancellor's Administrative Staff is also a representation of decision-makers on campus. There are no faculty members representing their respective governance groups on this committee.

Several of the committees represented below cover more than one area and there are multiple committees focused on some of the areas, but a sampling has been provided below. For a full detail of all administrative campus committees, including mission and membership, please visit: http://www.uww.edu/university-committees/administrative-committees One representative of the Faculty Senate serves on the Campus Safety Committee. The purpose of the Campus Safety Committee is to create and maintain an active interest in safety through a broad scope Risk Management, Safety and Loss Control program that encourages the participation of all personnel in initiating, maintaining and improving safe practices or conditions for the UW-W campus. Several representatives of the Faculty Senate serve on the Essential Learning and Assessment Review Commitee (ELARC) from various Faculty Senate committees related to the topic of curriculum and/or assessment. The committee is responsible for discussing assessment data and other indicators related to student achievement of the UW-Whitewater baccalaureate learning outcomes (essential learning outcomes) and make recommendations to improve teaching, learning, and assessment. A representative of the Faculty Senate served on the Master Plan Advisory Committee. One representative of the Faculty Senate serves on the University Technology Committee. The University Technology Committee (UTC) is the representative group which considers issues of campus-wide importance concerning information technology. Five representatives of the Faculty Senate serve on the Strategic Planning and Budgeting Committee (Chair and representative from each of the four Colleges). The committee is responsible for the strategic planning and budgeting process for the campus and is advisory to the Chancellor. There is no clear indication of a committee that focuses on communications processes and transparency practices.

Academic Staff Assembly: http://www.uww.edu/asa/ University Staff Council: http://www.uww.edu/usc Faculty Senate: http://www.uww.edu/facsenate/ Whitewater Student Government: http://blogs.uww.edu/studentgovernment/ University Committees: http://www.uww.edu/university-committees