Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 70.78
Liaison Amber Saxton
Submission Date Sept. 1, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

George Mason University
PA-3: Participatory Governance

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.75 / 3.00 Mary Liang
Sustainability Analyst
Sustainability
"---" 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?:
Yes

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:
Mason’s Board of Visitors (BOV) includes two students who serve a one-year, non-voting terms. The students are actively involved on the BOV committees and participate in all board activities and deliberations. The current representatives are the Student Body President and the president of Graduate and Professional Student Association who are elected by their peers. These students serve as liaisons for student concerns and are appointed by the Board of Visitors each year at the May meeting to serve a one-year term.

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:
Mason's Staff are empowered with their own Staff Senate. Their primary functions are advocacy, education and appreciation. All staff senate members are elected by Mason staff members and serve one year terms.

Do the institution’s teaching and research faculty have a representative body through which they can participate in governance (e.g. a faculty senate)?:
Yes

Do the institution’s teaching and research faculty have an elected representative on the institution’s highest governing body? :
Yes

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:
The Faculty Senate is the primary mechanism through which all faculty (including adjunct faculty) have an avenue to participate in the governance of George Mason University. The Senate has the fundamental general responsibility to speak and act for the General Faculty on matters affecting the University as a whole. The Senate is the principal faculty advisory body to the President and the administration. The Executive Committee Chair of the Faculty Senate, who is elected by peers, is the faculty representative on the Board of Visitors, Mason's highest governing body.

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?:
Yes

A copy of the written policies and procedures:
MOU - 2010 Original.pdf

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 Yes
Private sector organizations Yes
Civil society (e.g. NGOs, NPOs) Yes

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):
George Mason University hosts and sits on many advisory boards for various schools and colleges, and representatives from the private sector, education, civil society all participate on these boards.

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:
All information is for FY 2016.

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.