Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 67.59
Liaison Susan Dorward
Submission Date Aug. 4, 2022

STARS v2.2

Raritan Valley Community College
PA-3: Inclusive and Participatory Governance

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.50 / 3.00 Susan Dorward
Sustainability and Energy Coordinator
Facilities and Grounds
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Shared governance bodies

Does the institution have formal participatory or shared governance bodies through which the following stakeholders can regularly participate in the governance of the institution?:
Yes or No
Students Yes
Academic staff Yes
Non-academic staff Yes

A brief description of the institution’s formal participatory or shared governance bodies:
From the Forum's Constitution:
Article I: Purpose and Vision
The Forum is the College’s system of shared governance in which college constituencies share in
the decision-making process about various policies and other concerns that relate to the
College’s mission. The Forum values respectful dialogue and provides an opportunity for all
constituencies on campus (College employees and students) to have a voice and be engaged. The
Forum serves as the instrument for communicating the will of the College community to the
President. The Forum Bylaws explain how this purpose and vision are carried out.
Article II: Membership
Forum members are the members of the four Constituency Councils of Raritan Valley
Community College: Council of Faculty, Council of Administrators, Council of Staff, and the
Student Government Association. The President and Executive Staff are non-voting Forum
members and not members of any Councils. All other fulltime employees are Forum and Council
members, with full voting privileges. The Forum Bylaws provide additional information about
the membership of the three Councils that represent College employees. The Student
Government Association is considered the students’ constituency council for the purposes of all
Forum-related matters and elects officers who serve as Forum voting members and
representatives at the Forum. The Student Government Association Constitution provides
additional information about the membership of the Student Government Association.

Part 2. Campus stakeholder representation in governance

Total number of individuals on the institution’s highest governing body:
15

Number of students representing their peers as official members of the institution’s highest governing body:
1

Number of academic staff representing their peers as official members of the institution’s highest governing body:
0

Number of non-academic staff representing their peers as official members of the institution’s highest governing body:
0

Part 3. Gender equity in governance

Number of women serving as official members of the institution’s highest governing body:
6

Percentage of official members of the highest governing body that are women:
40

Website URL where information about the institution’s highest governing body may be found:

Part 4. Community engagement bodies

Does the institution host or support one or more formal bodies through which external stakeholders have a regular voice in institutional decisions that affect them?:
Yes

A brief description of the campus-community council or equivalent body that gives external stakeholders a regular voice in institutional decisions that affect them:
The 15-member Board of Trustees meets monthly except in July. All meetings are open to the public and include an allotted time for public comment. The Board is responsible for the overall planning and policy making for the College. See https://www.raritanval.edu/general-information/board-of-trustees-and-administration/board-meetings

These meetings have been used by the public recently to express concern about supporting a recent LIV golf event at nearby Trump National Golf Club. It was also the forum for voicing concerns about a board member who was perceived as supporting homophobia at a public event.

The College's office of Enrollment Management regularly reaches out into our communities to see how we can better serve them. By meeting constituents in their own communities, we gather information on programming needs and other support system requirements.

Optional Fields 

Number of people from underrepresented groups serving as official members of the institution’s highest governing body.:
3

Website URL where information about the institution’s governance structure is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Enrollment Management information was provided by Carolyn White.

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.