Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 50.03
Liaison Mike Evans
Submission Date May 28, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Williams College
PA-3: Participatory Governance

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.50 / 3.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1

Do the institution’s students have a representative body through which they can participate in governance (e.g. a student council)? :
Yes

Do the institution’s students have an elected representative on the institution’s highest governing body?:
No

If yes to either of the above, provide:

A brief description of the bodies and mechanisms through which students are engaged in governance, including information to support each affirmative response above:
All students are eligible to run for the student-elected college council, all students can come to college council meetings, all students can submit a resolution to college council. All students can participate in a campus decision-making committee. College Council is Williams College’s campus-wide student representative body that oversees the approval and funding of student organizations, the relationship between students and administrators, and takes on major campus initiatives and projects. No students are on the Board of Trustees, though, which is the highest governing body at Williams.

Do the institution’s staff members have a representative body through which they can participate in governance (e.g. a staff council)?:
Yes

Do the institution’s non-supervisory staff members have an elected representative on the institution’s highest governing body?:
No

If yes to either of the above, provide:

A brief description of the bodies and mechanisms through which staff are engaged in governance, including information to support each affirmative response above:
The Staff Advisory Council is a nominated group of staff members from across the college that meets regularly with Human Resources leadership to research, discuss, and provide feedback on institutional policies and practices. The council is comprised of 18 members, 3 from each of the “Neighborhoods” (academic departments, campus life and college relations, dining, central administration, facilities, provost's office). Nominations are solicited annually. Staff may express interest themselves or be referred by others. Council members serve a 3 year term. The Council meets monthly.

Do the institution’s teaching and research faculty have a representative body through which they can participate in governance (e.g. a faculty senate)?:
No

Do the institution’s teaching and research faculty have an elected representative on the institution’s highest governing body? :
No

If yes to either of the above, provide:

A brief description of the bodies and mechanisms through which teaching and research faculty are engaged in governance, including information to support each affirmative response above:
Faculty carry a considerable share of the responsibility for creating and implementing college policies through their work, often with students and staff, on faculty standing committees and on other college-wide committees and advisory boards, and, as a whole, at meetings of the full faculty–the central venue for faculty governance, where the curriculum is approved annually and other important matters are discussed and voted upon. There are members of the faculty included in the college's senior staff in the roles of: Provost, Dean of the College, and Dean of the Faculty.

Part 2

Does the institution have written policies and procedures to identify and engage external stakeholders (i.e. local residents) in land use planning, capital investment projects, and other institutional decisions that affect the community?:
No

A copy of the written policies and procedures:
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The policies and procedures:
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Does the institution have formal participatory or shared governance bodies through which community members representing the interests of the following stakeholder groups can regularly participate in institutional governance?:
Yes or No
Local government and/or educational organizations No
Private sector organizations No
Civil society (e.g. NGOs, NPOs) No

If yes to one or more of the above, provide:

A brief description of the bodies and mechanisms through which external stakeholders are engaged in institutional governance (including information about each stakeholder group selected above):
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Optional Fields 

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
https://committees.williams.edu/ https://collegecouncil.williams.edu/ https://sites.williams.edu/staff-advisory-council/ https://president.williams.edu/college-governance/

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.