Shared Governance: Principles and Operational Plan Update Delete

To accomplish the mission of Southern Adventist University, the Board, administration, faculty and others work interdependently under a shared-governance model. Shared governance is a shared process of decision-making under the delegated authority of the President. Under this model, the Board delegates responsibility for institutional operations to the President, who in turn delegates responsibility to other administrators and to the faculty. The extent of that delegation is defined and approved by the Board. The primary role of the faculty is to facilitate the academic success of our students and the University. The primary role of the administration is to nurture the institution’s mission-based ethos and direct the planning and management of University resources. These two roles are inextricably linked, and as such the partnership between faculty and administration, under the leadership of the President, must be both dynamic and well-defined in order to succeed.

Shared Governance Principles

 

For shared governance to be effective the following principles need to guide the decision-making process:

1. Transparency: While administrators and faculty need to trust each other to make appropriate decisions, transparency in conversations and in reasons for actions taken is vital. This includes providing opportunity for effective dialogue in the decision-making process.
2. Engagement: Shared governance can only be effective when those given responsibility for making a decision participate in the process. Council and Committee members must accept responsibility for attending meetings. Members of the campus community should engage in dialogue on campus issues, especially those impacting the academic environment.
3. Clear Path of Action: Council and Committee purposes describe the authority of each committee; therefore, these should be reviewed annually and updated regularly so that the decision-making process can be clear and efficient. Votes should occur in a timely manner, ideally at the next scheduled committee meeting.
4. Assignment of Responsibility: Councils should respect and carefully consider a decision to re-examine or adjust voted actions by reporting committees, deferring whenever possible to the committee that has invested time addressing an issue. Whenever possible, the action in question should be sent back to the committee where it originated with the reasons for review. Once a decision has been made all members of the relevant council/committee are responsible for supporting the vote of that body.
5. Respect: While members of the community may not agree with all decisions made by others, differences of opinion should be dealt with through a respectful process and through using channels appropriate for voicing those concerns. This would mean presenting the concern to those making the decision and others as appropriate. This might include invoking the University grievance procedure which involves peer review of a situation.  Using social media or other mass communication means to address a concern on a decision is not within the spirit of shared governance.

Administration Accountability and Responsibility

 

Southern Adventist University Board of Trustees holds the President accountable for operating the University within the institutional mission, institutional strategies, and financial models approved by the Board. Other University senior officers and administrative councils support the President in fulfilling this responsibility. Such responsibilities will ensure that the University relates appropriately to its constituencies (and accrediting bodies) and makes adjustments to its operations that will support the University’s goals. The administration will inform and engage faculty and staff in actions that affect the educational environment. Administration will also be open to actions initiated by these groups with the understanding that the final decision remains with the administration.

In order to meet their responsibilities, and in accordance with the operational principles of shared governance, administration must make decisions regarding:

1. Final selection of strategic priorities and their communication to the University community.
2. Adjustments to operations and structures to respond to mission and accreditation requirements and to the changing academic landscape.
3. Major structural change, such as closing or opening of a school or merging of non-academic operations.
4. Management of auxiliary or ancillary businesses that are not affiliated with an academic department.
5. Hiring of staff and faculty who have been selected and recommended according to working policy procedures.
6. Financial decisions that impact the budget, such as determining health care plans, introducing/deleting programs, outsourcing of services, wages, and determining administrative and staff/faculty ratio targets.
7. Legal and contractual issues impacting the university’s operations and accreditation.
8. Management and development of campus physical facilities.

Note: This list should not be considered exhaustive but represents the types of decisions taken by administration.

Faculty Accountability and Responsibility

 

Southern Adventist University Board of Trustees, through the President, has delegated to the faculty authority over the teaching and learning environment, and in particular, areas relating to curriculum, faculty work environment, and student academic success. Faculty are responsible for ensuring that the institution’s learning environment supports the institutional mission and the strategic initiatives established by the University. They are accountable to the students for the educational experience and providing direction and advising for success within their chosen field, in the context of a personal commitment to faith and service.

In order to meet their responsibilities, and in accordance with the operational principles of shared governance, faculty must engage in making decisions regarding:

1. Identifying faculty and academic priorities as part of strategic planning.
2. Creating or approving academic policies to promote the mission of the University.
3. Selecting and recommending of new faculty for hire and recommending existing faculty for promotion.
4. Recommending changes to faculty policy.
5. Creating faculty development and research opportunities for faculty.
6. Establishing, assessing, and updating curricula and programs.
7. Creating a teaching and learning environment that fosters best practices and appropriate faith integration.
8. Evaluating student academic work.

Note: This list should not be considered exhaustive but represents the types of decisions taken by faculty.

Shared Accountability and Responsibilities

 

As outlined above, when decisions are primarily driven by finance, institutional mission and vision, accreditation and institutional strategy, administration makes the final decision. When decisions are primarily driven by academic quality, program-level accreditation, the educational experience, research environment, faculty policy, and the teaching/learning environment, faculty take the lead, or make the final decision. When decisions are driven by spiritual goals and values, then faculty and administration plan and act collaboratively. Since most areas of responsibilities overlap, it is important that administration and faculty work cooperatively, recognizing the vital role each plays in making that particular decision within the organization and the impact that decision will have on affected parties.

Here are two examples for illustration.

Illustration One: A department wants to develop a new program that it considers will meet student demands. Faculty will decide on outcomes, create a curriculum map, and prepare a market analysis/budget to support the proposal. Administration will decide whether this new program fits institutional mission and can be supported financially. Faculty committees approve the academic part of the proposal and recommend it through faculty committee structures. Administration will present the proposal for final action to the Board.

Illustration Two: Administration decides that a new direction is needed in an academic area, such as the establishment of program review, or an increase in focus on a particular group of programs, based on, for example, accreditation standards or finance. Administration communicates the need and reasons for it to faculty. Faculty decide the best way to meet the new goals from the academic perspective. Administration and faculty will together find a path forward to ensure the new direction becomes a reality.

Council and Committee Responsibilities

 

Some campus decisions are not made in councils or committees, so shared governance is not limited to council or committee operations. Nevertheless, effective council or committee operations and clearly outlined expectations will be key to effective governance.

1. Faculty Committees

 

Faculty governance decisions take place mostly in faculty committees that report directly or through other faculty committees to the Faculty Senate. The outline of this structure can be found in the Employee Handbook. In summary, while many actions taken by faculty committees will be considered final, the Faculty Senate has ultimate oversight of faculty committee decisions and operations.

1. Administrative Councils and Committees

 

Administrative councils and committees can be academic or institutional. Academic administrative committees most directly relate to shared governance, but many institution-wide councils and committees also impact areas of shared concern. Academic administrative councils and committees can operate at a variety of levels. Examples of University-level councils and committees include President’s Council, Deans & Chairs Committee, and Vice President Councils.  The structure and reporting lines of academic and institutional committees can also be found in the Employee Handbook.

1. Consultative Councils and Committees

 

Consultative councils and committees deal with both academic or institutional matters.  As councils and committees deal with agenda items that have broader impact than their councils and committees, a standard operating practice will be to seek additional consultation before a decision is made. For example, if the Spiritual Life Council is considering a new spiritual master plan for the campus, they would seek additional consultation through the President’s Committee and as needed seek input from the Staff Advisory Council and the Faculty Senate.  The President’s Committee will be the primary consultative body to administration. Since the President’s Committee has representation from the Faculty Senate and the Staff Advisory Council, there may be times when a decision is made to seek further consultation from the Faculty Senate and/or Staff Advisory Council.

APPENDIX

Committee Operations

 

The following outline shows some of the ways in which shared governance takes place effectively through faculty, academic, and institutional administrative committees.

Each committee/council will be responsible for:

1. 1. Establishing a process for the minutes to be reviewed and approved and distributed to committee/council members within one week of each meeting.
   2. Circulating copies of the minutes to all necessary parties by the end of that week.
   3. Reviewing the purpose of the committee/council at least once annually and submitting recommendations for change, including membership changes, to the Faculty Senate (in the case of faculty committees) and to the Senior VP for Academic Administration (for all other committees) by March of each year (including other relevant bodies who must approve the changes).
   4. Posting all relevant public documents in a place accessible to committee/council members and other groups where applicable.
   5. Acting on items reported to the committee/council from other groups at the next scheduled meeting.
   6. Communicating in a proactive and timely manner to the campus about institutional policies, events, procedures, etc. that will directly impact an employee’s work or workplace.
   7. Identifying possible challenges in communication and timing to the relevant senior committee/council or the Senior VP for Academic Administration.

Senior committees/councils (those that have other committees reporting to them) will be responsible for:

1. 1. 1. Ensuring that the sub-committees and reporting committees/councils are operating within the parameters outlined under section 1 above.
      2. Recognizing the authority of the reporting committees to take appropriate action in a timely way. Usually this will not mean changing an action but referring it back for reconsideration or clarification. However, if an action is referred to the senior committee/council for consultation or action, the senior committee/council then has primary responsibility for making a decision.
      3. Keeping a flowchart of committee/council relationships and recommending changes in these to the Faculty Senate (in the case of faculty committees) and the Senior VP for Academic Administration, with annual reviews. Any resulting recommendations should be made by the end of March of each year.

The Senior VP for Academic Administration will be responsible for the following for all university committees/councils:

1. 1. 1. Making sure a committee/council template is available that includes membership, purpose, frequency of meeting, reporting lines, and a communication plan.
      2. Ensuring an annual review and update of committee flowcharts, purposes, and memberships.
      3. Working with IT to ensure that online work and storage space is available for all committees/councils.
      4. Working with deans and chairs to ensure that the workloads of faculty are carefully evaluated in assigning committee/council responsibilities.
      5. Maintaining an up-to-date committee/council membership database.