3-18-2003

The Shared Governance Policy of Leeward Community College

1. Any individual or group of individuals on campus has the right to provide their views on any issue important to them.  The college shall educate the faculty and staff of this right and provide opportunities for faculty and staff to provide input.
2. Administrators shall demonstrate a willingness to incorporate a large amount of faculty and staff input into decision-making especially relating to academic policies, academic procedures, and financial and budgetary matters.
3. Administrators and other decision makers shall provide reasons for decisions that are contrary to the wishes of constituency groups and other recommending bodies.

The Principles of Shared Governance at Leeward Community College

1.         The Provost and the administration and all campus constituency leaders and representatives shall adhere to the shared governance policy.

2.         The college should provide on-going education regarding the agreed upon shared governance policy.

3.         The administration must solicit and consider Faculty Senate input before decisions are made that have a direct impact on the academic policy, the academic curriculum or the academic procedures of the college.

4.         A team approach to planning and problem solving should be employed.

5.         Committee members and constituency representatives are responsible for keeping the people they represent informed.

6.         Committee members on administrative and campus wide committees should be selected or nominated by the groups they represent or at least chosen from lists submitted by elected leaders of those groups.

7.         Decision-makers should communicate their actions and decisions with reasons appropriate to those decisions to those directly affected by the decision.

8.         The Campus Council and Faculty Senate’s recommendations on budgetary priorities should be given heavy weight in administrative decisions relating to those matters.

General Comments about the meaning of words used in the Shared Governance Policy and the Principles of Shared Governance

I.          Definitions:

1. Governance is the act of decision-making.
2. Shared governance is the act of collegial decision-making.
3. Collegial decision-making is the process of enabling constituencies, through consultation, to participate in giving input to affect decisions made at Leeward Community College.

II.        Clarifications:

1. Shared Governance does not take away the authority invested in decision-makers to make decisions.
2. Collective Bargaining is a form of shared governance.  Unions and Management negotiate to establish working conditions and salaries.
3. Shared Governance dictates that individuals will have an opportunity to participate in decision-making.  Individuals may participate by voicing opinions, voting, making recommendations, investigating, writing reports, evaluating leaders, serving as consultants, leading forums, attending forums, serving on senates and councils and committees. This is not an exclusive list.
4. Committees, senates, councils, divisions and constituency groups are a mainstay of shared governance.  These groups are empowered by shared governance to make formal recommendations on issues before them.

The Shared Governance Policy and the Principles of Shared Governance were approved by the following:

The Faculty Senate of Leeward Community College on November 27, 2002

/s/ James Goodman

By James Goodman, Faculty Senate Chair

The Campus Council of Leeward Community College on March 6, 2003

/s/ Manuel Cabral

By Manuel Cabral, Chair of the Campus Council

The Provost of Leeward Community College on May 15, 2003

/s/ Mark Silliman

Mark Silliman, Provost of Leeward Community College