| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 81.82 |
| Liaison | Ryan Ihrke |
| Submission Date | Feb. 23, 2018 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Green Mountain College
PA-3: Participatory Governance
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.50 / 3.00 |
Ryan
Ihrke Director of Sustainability Sustainability |
Do the institution’s students have a representative body through which they can participate in governance (e.g. a student council)? :
Do the institution’s students have an elected representative on the institution’s highest governing body?:
A brief description of the bodies and mechanisms through which students are engaged in governance, including information to support each affirmative response above:
Student representatives serve on the strategic plan steering committee, as well as four Board of Trustee committees including academic affairs, student life, budget advisory, and responsible investing. A student representative also sat on the presidential search committee during the 2015-2016 academic year and a student is on the standing Education, Enrollment and Campus Life Committee.
In all cases, except the presidential search, students are selected by the student senate, a representative body of students elected by their peers. Openings for standing committees are brought to the Student Senate at the beginning of the academic year and they identify students to represent the student voice on these committees. If other committees or working groups are created throughout the year, Student Life staff communicate the need for a student to the Student Senate body and they identify a student to serve.
Do the institution’s staff members have a representative body through which they can participate in governance (e.g. a staff council)?:
Do the institution’s non-supervisory staff members have an elected representative on the institution’s highest governing body?:
A brief description of the bodies and mechanisms through which staff are engaged in governance, including information to support each affirmative response above:
Staff have several mechanisms through which they can participate in governance bodies. All GMC staff, outside of the offices of Cabinet, are invited to attend Staff Assembly, which meets once per month. Staff Assembly is run by representatives elected by the Assembly at large. Staff are elected or appointed by the staff to participate in decision-making bodies including the Faculty Assembly and budget advisory committee.
Staff Assembly elects representatives to serve on different Board of Trustee Committees including the presidential search committee in 2015-2016 and the strategic plan re-visioning committee in the fall of 2017.
Staff engagement with on-going board of trustee governance bodies includes representatives to the the Education Enrollment and Campus Life committee , Finance, Facilities, Investment and Planning committee, and the Institutional Advancement Committee.
Do the institution’s teaching and research faculty have a representative body through which they can participate in governance (e.g. a faculty senate)?:
Do the institution’s teaching and research faculty have an elected representative on the institution’s highest governing body? :
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:
All faculty, including adjuncts, may attend the main faculty meetings. They may also participate in regular academic program meetings.
Faculty are elected by their peers to serve on different Board of Trustee Committees including the presidential search committee in 2015-2016, and on-going on the Education Enrollment and Campus Life committee, the Finance, Facilities, Investment and Planning committee, and the Institutional Advancement Committee. Faculty appointees were identified by a faculty committee to serve on the strategic plan re-visioning committee in the fall of 2017.
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?:
A copy of the written policies and procedures:
The policies and procedures:
When Green Mountain College engages in a planning and development effort or capital investment project that will significantly impact members of the local community, business owners, or municipal governments, the College will call together a special advisory committee to discuss impacts and decide on a plan for sharing information to the wider community. At a minimum, the following protocol for engagement will meet the “inform” and “consult” stages of the IAP2 Spectrum of Public Participation, but may exceed these if deemed necessary by the College.
Significant impact is defined as any number of the following:
• Building a structure that can be easily viewed by multiple homes or businesses from off campus
• Building a structure or system that increases traffic, water use, or other comparable public systems by more than 25% of current levels
• Building a structure or system that will exceed one million dollars in cost
• Implementing a plan that will significantly increase or decrease the number of jobs offered by the College or another business in town (a threshold of 10 jobs will be considered significant)
The Special Advisory Committee may consist of members such as:
• The Town Manager of Poultney
• A member of the PDRC (Poultney Downtown Revitalization Committee) chosen by the PDRC
• An owner of a local business chosen by the Poultney Chamber of Commerce
• A citizen of Poultney, or surrounding towns, who is not formally affiliated with any of the other organizations represented on the advisory committee (this person could be chosen by a GMC staff member who has a close working relationship with underrepresented populations in the community).
The Special Advisory Committee will be called together by the GMC Cabinet prior to the College formally committing to the project. The Committee will meet at least once with at least one member of Cabinet, but as many times as Cabinet deems necessary.
The Committee will serve the following purposes:
• Listen to the project proposal
• Offer feedback on how the proposed project may impact the community positively and/or negatively
• Help the College decide if the broader community needs to be informed and/or consulted based on how likely it is that the project will affect the community significantly
• If deemed necessary, help the College identify an appropriate mechanism for informing and garnering input from the broader community, whether that be through a public meeting, a newsletter such as front porch forum, a website, or a mailing.
• Help the College navigate necessary laws, regulations, or permits.
Following the meeting(s) with the Special Advisory Committee, the College will inform/consult the broader public through the agreed upon mechanism if the Committee deemed it necessary to do so. Input from the Special Advisory Committee and/or the broader community will be considered in the decision of whether or not to move forward with the project and under what circumstances.
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 | No |
| Private sector organizations | Yes |
| Civil society (e.g. NGOs, NPOs) | No |
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):
Green Mountain College's Board of Trustee Kililngton Committee includes Mike Solimanto, Killington Resort's President and CEO. The Killington School of Resort Management is Green Mountain College's satellite campus where students live, study, and are integrated into the operations of the Killington Resort.
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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.