Western Washington University
PA-3: Participatory Governance

Associated Student Government (1 President and 6 Vice-Presidents) are elected by their peers/students. It is responsible for policy setting for all of those areas that are considered Student Activities, provides the framework for a variety of experiential learning opportunities, and serves as a vehicle for student involvement in the governance of the University. http://www.as.wwu.edu/about/ Each year, a current student is appointed by the Washington Governor to serve on the Board of Trustees for a one year term. Additionally, the Associated Students President meets with the Board of Trustees as non-voting member.

WWU’s governance system, established by the Board of Trustees in 1978, consists of four constituency groups that represent the interests of their members and advise the President on issues of mutual concern. Professional staff are represented by the Professional Staff Organization (PSO), faculty by the UFWW (United Faculty of Western Washington), students by the Associated Students (AS), and classified staff by their appropriate union. ""Professional Staff"" or ""Pro Staff"" are employees who are not an executive officer or academic administrator and are excluded from the classified personnel system established by the Washington Personnel Resource Board. All professional staff are members of PSO. Currently, there are over 300 members at Western. They provide essential organizational services to faculty, students, and classified staff in pursuit of Western’s educational objectives. http://www.wwu.edu/pso/

The Faculty Senate is empowered to speak and act for the Faculty with responsibility in the areas of curriculum, academic programs, scholarly activities, the education of students, the mission of the university, and institutional and administrative effectiveness. These matters are not covered by the contract between WWU and the United Faculty of Western Washington (UFWW). The Senate agenda, the minutes, and short abstracts of meeting activities are sent to faculty and published on the web after meetings. Each Senator at Western represents a specific constituent group, usually in his or her discipline, and works to apprise constituents of current Senate action and discussions. Senate Elections and appointments to Standing Committees take place in Spring quarter. http://www.wwu.edu/facultysenate/

Western participates in a shared-governance model, as reflected in the institution’s Board of Trustees, advisory boards for Colleges, and WWU’s bottom-up budget development process. Western’s Trustees are each appointed by the Governor and they have a wealth of experience in the private and non-profit sectors. Additionally, Western has student representation on the Board of Trustees as well. Western’s budget-development process is a bottom-up approach that includes the work of the WWU University Planning and Resource Council, a standing committee of the Faculty Senate that is comprised of faculty representatives from all of the Colleges and the Library, WWU’s Vice Presidents, and representatives of Professional Staff and Classified Staff. Western’s Colleges have advisory boards comprised of members from related professional backgrounds. These advisory boards provide a unique lens that helps guide the Colleges and offer mentoring opportunities for students. Some examples of College advisory boards are outlined below. WWU’s Woodring College of Education has Professional Education Advisory Boards for teacher education, school counselor, and school administration programs that help the College ensure collaboration with P-12 practitioners in program design and delivery, and evaluation of the unit and programs. These advisory boards include participation from school administrators and teachers from local school districts and educational organizations. Western’s College of Business and Economics (CBE) has multiple advisory boards that include representation from the private sector, including the MBA Advisory Board, the Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management Advisory Board, the Marketing Advisory Board, and the Center for Innovation in Education Advisory Board. These advisory boards provide guidance to CBE regarding academic programs and provide mentoring opportunities to students. These advisory boards are comprised of representatives from a variety of private sector organizations. WWU’s Fairhaven of Interdisciplinary Studies has an Advisory Board that includes in its membership individuals with a wealth of experience working in the non-profit sector.