California State University, Long Beach
PA-3: Inclusive and Participatory Governance

CSU Long Beach has several formal participatory or shared governance bodies through which students, academic staff, and non-academic staff can regularly participate. Associated Students, Incorporated (ASI) is the official voice of the student body at CSULB, advocating student needs and defending their interests in dealings with faculty, campus administrators, and government officials. There are both elected and appointed positions within the ASI Student Government. The student body at large automatically becomes members of the association when they pay their mandatory student fees at the time of registration. ASI student representatives sit on all of the major committees and governing bodies at the university. The Academic Senate ensures the effective exercise of the rights, duties, privileges, and responsibilities of citizenship within the University and is the official representative body responsible for and acting for its constituents. As such, it is the mechanism for orderly participation in the protection of academic freedom, in policy formation, in collegial governance, in the application of "joint responsibility," and in defining the role and mission of the University. It upholds protects, and enhances all the traditional rights of faculty, staff, students, and administration. It formulates educational and academic personnel policies and participates in the resource planning process and the determination of administrative regulations and practices. It reviews policies, practices, and procedures in matters of academic and professional concern and makes recommendations for implementing change. It acts as a consultative body to other constituencies on all matters it or the President deems pertinent to the welfare of the University. The Academic Senate structures itself to support the mission of the University and to achieve an optimal degree of communication and cooperation among the elements of the University. Staff Council provides both academic and non-academic staff with an effective process for participation in campus governance and facilitates communication and cooperation across the campus on issues of interest and concern to staff. Staff members are nominated and then voted into membership positions by their peers. As a member of the California State University (CSU) system, CSULB’s highest governing body is the CSU Board of Trustees (BOT). The CSU BOT is a 25-member governance board that adopts regulations and policies for the entire CSU system, but may not routinely have representative members from CSULB, specifically. Board committees have authority over educational policy, finance, campus planning, and facilities, among other areas. Membership of the board of trustees is composed of five (5) ex-officio Trustees (including the Governor of CA, the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the Assembly, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the CSU Chancellor), and sixteen (16) trustees who are generally appointed by the Governor. Of the sixteen (16) governor-appointed trustees, two (2) are students, one (1) is an alumnus from the CSU Statewide Alumni Council, one (1) is faculty from the Statewide Academic Senate, and the others represent diverse stakeholder groups from across the state.

Public comment is a standing agenda item on every CSU Board of Trustees agenda, allowing the community to provide input to BOT members on issues and policies.

More information about ASI Student Government: http://www.asicsulb.org/pages/asi-mission-statement More information about the Academic Senate: https://www.csulb.edu/academic-senate More information about Staff Council: http://web.csulb.edu/org/staff-council/ More information on the CSU Board of Trustees: https://www2.calstate.edu/csu-system/board-of-trustees/Pages/default.aspx More information about current membership of the Board of Trustees: https://www2.calstate.edu/csu-system/board-of-trustees/meet-the-board-of-trustees