Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 74.42
Liaison Mary-Lee Townsend
Submission Date Feb. 1, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Western University
PA-3: Participatory Governance

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.25 / 3.00 Connor Donald
Sustainability Coordinator
Facilities Management
"---" 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:
Students at Western can be elected to positions on the University Student Council (USC), Society of Graduate Students (SOGS) or as a representative to the Board of Governors (2 undergraduate representatives and 1 graduate representative). There are many other opportunities for students to be involved in other levels of governance at the university, including Faculty Councils or residence councils.

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?:
Yes

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:
Through representation on the Board of Governors, elected staff take part in the above outlined decision-making scenarios through standard meeting procedures and motions. Meeting minutes and examples dating back to 1997 can be found at http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/board/meetings/agendas_minutes.html

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:
Teaching and research faculty from all departments can be elected to represent their colleagues on many governance bodies including the board of governors as well as Education Policy Committees.

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?:
No

A copy of the written policies and procedures:
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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):
The University Students' Council (USC) has a paid position for a Vice-President who is in charge of including internal and external stakeholders in their decision making process. The USC also has an External relationships and Strategies Policy, stating the values that will be observed when engaging external organizations. http://westernusc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/External-Relationships-and-Strategies-Policy.pdf Western University has also created a position for an Executive Director of Government Relations and Strategic Partnerships, which looks to involve governmental bodies, non profits and NGOs to support research endeavours that may have an impact on the community. The most recent Campus Master plan document, which is still under development, will be looking at engaging external organizations and neighborhoods surrounding Western University's property, to ensure that any concerns or issues are reviewed before the plan is complete. This document will provide the basis for Western's built infrastructure in the future, looking to make the campus more pedestrian-friendly. More information on this capital planning document can be found here: http://www.uwo.ca/ipb/publicaccountability/documents/OpenSpaceStrategy_Summary.pdf

Optional Fields 

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/board/officers.pdf

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.