Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 50.27
Liaison Caitlin Steele
Submission Date Feb. 15, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

San Francisco State University
PA-3: Participatory Governance

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.50 / 3.00 Nick Kordesch
Sustainability Coordinator
Office of Sustainability
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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?:
No

A brief description of the bodies and mechanisms through which students are engaged in governance, including information to support each affirmative response above:

Associated Students (AS), the student government at San Francisco State University, serves as the official voice of students. http://asi.sfsu.edu/student-government

The California State University system's highest governing body is the California State University Board of Trustees. There are two appointed (not elected) student trustees on the Board, who serve alongside Governor of California, the Lieutenant Governor of California, the Speaker of the Assembly, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the CSU Chancellor, sixteen Governor Appointees confirmed by two-thirds of the State Senate, one alumni association representative appointed by the Governor, and one faculty member appoint by the Governor. http://www.csustudents.org/who-we-are/student-trustees/

SF State also has a number of high-level campus governing bodies that all involve student representation. AS elects students that serve on these committees.

The President's "Group of 40" committee is a special task force that works on strategic decisions for the university and the Associated Students President is a representative on the group.

SF State's Strategic Planning Committee has a reserved seat for a student representative. http://planning.sfsu.edu/content/membership-and-timeline

SF State's Foundation Board of Directors has positions reserved for student representatives: http://sfsufdn.sfsu.edu/directors#officers

Students have three reserved seats on the University Corporation's (UCORP) Board of Directors. UCORP makes decisions about business operations at the university. https://ucorp.sfsu.edu/board

The University President has regular standing meetings with AS. The AS Board of Directors meetings include administrator representatives that allow student voices to be heard by the higher levels of the administration. Administrators include the Vice President of Student Affairs, Budget Director, and a Representative from the Vice President of Administration and Finance office. These administrators are responsible for bringing student voices to the administration. http://asi.sfsu.edu/minutes-agendas


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

A brief description of the bodies and mechanisms through which staff are engaged in governance, including information to support each affirmative response above:

The Academic Senate holds university-wide elections for a staff representative. https://senate.sfsu.edu/content/senate-roster-2016-2017


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? :
No

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 San Francisco State Academic Senate is the university's highest governing body for faculty. The Senate develops policies & procedures regarding faculty & administrative appointments, curriculum, business & fiscal matters, campus development, academic standards, University goals, and more. The Academic Senate selects members to participate on various university governance boards, including the Campus Sustainability Committee. Faculty members are elected to serve on these boards.

The CSU Board of Trustees is the CSU's highest governing body. The Governor of California appoints a Faculty Trustee from nominees proposed by the Statewide Academic Senate. The Alumni and Faculty Trustees serve for two years. https://www2.calstate.edu/csu-system/board-of-trustees/Pages/about-the-bot.aspx


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:
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The policies and procedures:

SF State uses the California Environmental Quality Act's Environmental Impact Report process to engage external stakeholders in land use planning, capital investment projects, and other institutional decisions that affect our local community. The SF State Government Relations team and the Capital Planning Design and Construction team regularly hold public meetings to discuss new projects that affect transit, traffic, noise, etc.

Sample announcement from the Creative Arts & Holloway Mixed Use Project:
A Notice of Preparation (NOP) for a focused tiered Environmental Impact Report has been issued for the Creative Arts & Holloway Mixed Use Project proposed on the San Francisco State University campus. The EIR will be tiered to the Campus Master Plan (CMP) EIR (SCH#2006102050), certified as a Program EIR under CEQA Guidelines Section 15168, by the CSU Board of Trustees in November 2007 (see below). The Project includes the construction of the Creative Arts replacement building, an associated 800-seat concert hall, and a mixed-use development including student housing, neighborhood-serving retail, and student support services.

The Trustees have issued this NOP for public review and comment pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Sections 15082(a) and 15375. The Trustees have established a 30-day public review and scoping period from July 7, 2016 to August 8, 2016, in accordance with the CEQA Guidelines (14 CCR 15082). Comments on the scope and content of the pending Draft EIR can be submitted during this period. See the NOP below for additional information about how to submit a comment.


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 No
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):
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The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

SF State does not have a single governing body that is designated "the highest." Each division of the university has its own governing body.


SF State does not have a single governing body that is designated "the highest." Each division of the university has its own governing body.

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.