Progress Report of
the AIC on Campus Council Constituency Roles and Governance
1. Summary
of the original problem:
In response to a recommendation in the 1994 accreditation report, a representative governance body called the Campus Council was created with its own Charter and By-Laws. All campus constituencies were represented on the Faculty Senate sponsored committee that recommended the establishment of this Campus Council and the Faculty Senate and Administration subsequently gave their approval to the Campus Council.
Per its Charter, the Campus Council “shall function as the recommending and advisory body of the college in matters relating to the priorities of the college.” “Priorities” is defined in the Charter as “establishing preferences, for the direction of the college, especially in regard to budget planning and resource allocation.
The Evaluation Report of the Accrediting Commission
for Community and Junior Colleges dated January 19, 2001 commended the college
for “organizing the Campus Council” but noted that the college needed to
“define the roles of all constituencies in governance.” Also, the report mentions that the role of
faculty in governance has been contentious: “Some on the Faculty Senate view
their roles as guardian of academic issues to include personnel, budget and
planning decisions. This view is in conflict with the representational
organization of the Campus Council.”
The Evaluation report made the following
recommendations:
1) “The
team recommends that the college clearly define the role of all constituencies
on the Campus Council. (Standards 10B.8,
10B.9, 10B.10)”
2) “The
team recommends that the college develop and implement a written policy which
articulates a decision making process which includes persons who will be
affected by the decisions and clearly states the role and participation of
faculty, support staff, and students on College governing, policy making,
planning, staff budgeting and special purpose bodies.”
Applicable Standards
Standard 10B.8 states: “The institution has a written policy which
identifies appropriate institutional support for faculty participation in
governance and delineates the participation of faculty on appropriate policy,
planning, and special purpose bodies.”
Standard 10B.9 states: “The institution clearly states and
publicizes the role of staff in institutional governance.”
Standard 10B.10 states: “The institution clearly states and
publicizes the role of students in institutional governance.”
2. Present
status of the problem:
Both the Faculty Senate and The Campus Council have
approved a Shared Governance Policy and a set of Shared Governance Principles.
These policy and principles now await approval from the Provost. The policy and principles of shared governance
once approved by the Provost will address the visiting team’s main
recommendation, namely that Leeward Community College establish a written
Shared Governance Policy. The committee
also has revised its report on the relationship between the Campus Council
Constituencies and the Faculty Senate.
3. Proposal
of a solution:
Once the Shared Governance Policy is approved by the
Provost, it will be necessary for the college to publicize the policy to insure
that all constituencies and decision makers throughout the college know that
the policy exists, understand the policy and practice the policy.
Shared governance can only become a reality when
individuals both understand the decision-making processes and engage themselves
in those processes in a creative, meaningful, and collegial manner. The
ultimate success of the policies and principles of shared governance and their
beneficial effect on campus morale and indeed campus decision making itself
needs to be assessed in a systematic manner.
The college must put in place the resources to
assure that the policy is well known and widely practiced.
4. Review
of the campus community:
The Committee after a lengthy discussion and review process during the 2002-2003 school year revised the Shared Governance Policy and Principles of Shared Governance and revised the report on the relationship between the Campus Council and the Faculty Senate. On November 27, 2002 the Faculty Senate reviewed and approved of the Shared Governance Policy, the Principles of Shared Governance and the Report on the relationship between the Faculty Senate and the Campus Council. On March 6, 2003 the Campus Council reviewed and approved of the same Shared Governance Policy, Principles of Shared Governance and draft report.
5. Shift
from plan to implementation:
During the 2003-2004 school year the committee recommends the college
establish a committee or persons in charge of promoting and assessing the
Shared Governance Policy. The three key
questions that must be addressed are:
How does the college promote and practice shared governance? How do we
know that? And how could we do it better?