Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 69.54
Liaison Mike Versteege
Submission Date June 30, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of Alberta
PA-3: Participatory Governance

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00 Trina Innes
Chief Sustainability Officer
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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

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

BOARD OF GOVERNORS
http://www.governance.ualberta.ca/BoardofGovernors.aspx

Three student representatives may be appointed to the Board of Governors, two nominated by the Students' Union and one nominated by the Graduate Students' Association.

The Board of Governors at the University of Alberta is consists of a Chairman appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, the Chancellor, the President and eighteen other persons appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, representing alumni, students, staff, and the general public. The Board of Governors is guided by a government-approved mandate.

There are seven Standing Committees established by the Board of Governors pursuant to the Post-Secondary Learning Act: Audit; Finance and Property; Human Resources and Compensation; Investment; Learning and Discovery; Safety, Health and Environment; and University Relations. The Board has delegated to each Committee responsibility and authority to make decisions on behalf of the Board in the Committee's defined area of responsibility except to the extent that such authority has been specifically limited by the Board in the Terms of Reference for the Committee.


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

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

BOARD OF GOVERNORS
http://www.governance.ualberta.ca/BoardofGovernors.aspx

Three staff representatives may be appointed to the Board of Governors. One staff member nominated by the Non-Academic Staff Association and two academic members nominated by the Association of Academic Staff University of Alberta (AASUA).

The Board of Governors at the University of Alberta is consists of a Chairman appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, the Chancellor, the President and eighteen other persons appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, representing alumni, students, staff, and the general public. The Board of Governors is guided by a government-approved mandate.

There are seven Standing Committees established by the Board of Governors pursuant to the Post-Secondary Learning Act: Audit; Finance and Property; Human Resources and Compensation; Investment; Learning and Discovery; Safety, Health and Environment; and University Relations. The Board has delegated to each Committee responsibility and authority to make decisions on behalf of the Board in the Committee's defined area of responsibility except to the extent that such authority has been specifically limited by the Board in the Terms of Reference for the Committee.

EMPLOYEE ASSOCIATIONS
http://www.hrs.ualberta.ca/en/MyEmployment/Agreements.aspx

Staff members can participate in either the Non-Academic Staff Association (NASA) or the Association of Academic Staff University of Alberta (AASUA).

WORKING GROUPS

Staff can serve on sustainability-related working groups addressing waste diversion, food and purchasing.


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

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:

BOARD OF GOVENORS
http://www.governance.ualberta.ca/BoardofGovernors.aspx

In addition, two members of the academic staff of the university, one of whom is nominated by the General Faculties Council and one of whom is nominated by the AASUA, serve on the Board of Governors. Current representation of faculty is done by:
- Katherine Binhammer, Professor, English and Film Studies
- Dr David Cooper, Professor in Accountancy, Alberta School of Business

GENERAL FACULTIES COUNCIL
http://www.governance.ualberta.ca/GeneralFacultiesCouncil.aspx
http://www.aasua.ca/publications-and-resources/aasua-policies-and-procedures/part-5-university-relations/

As set out in the Alberta Post-Secondary Learning Act, subject to the authority of the Board, General Faculties Council (GFC) is responsible for the academic and student affairs of the University. Specific powers of GFC include granting of degrees, approval of the University's Academic Plan, academic programs, academic policies, academic awards, and the University Calendar. GFC is Chaired by the President and is composed of 158 members, including all university Vice-Presidents, all Faculty Deans, professors, students, librarians, and academic and non-academic staff.

There are 9 Standing Committees established by GFC pursuant to §26 and §31 of the PostSecondary Learning Act (PSLA):
i. Executive Committee (and Nominating Committee).
ii. Academic Planning Committee.
iii. Academic Standards Committee
iv. Committee on the Learning Environment
v. Campus Law Review Committee
vi. Facilities Development Committee
vii. Undergraduate Awards and Scholarship Committee
viii. University Teaching Awards Committee
ix. Replenishment Committee

The President of the Association of Academic Staff (AASUA) is elected by academic staff and appointed to General Faculties Council as a voting member. . The Association’s Nominee is elected pre-appointed by AASUA Council.


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:

LONG RANGE DEVELOPMENT PLAN

The University of Alberta follows the Post-secondary Learning Act, which outlines the consultation process required for an amendment for the long range development plan. The university has been consulting with the North Campus communities of Windsor Park, Garneau and McKernan since 2001. Consultative and information-sharing opportunities have included: letter mailing, directed letters, community workshops, open houses, facilitated community dialogues and meetings.

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING

UAlberta developed a memorandum of understanding between the executive officers of the university and representatives of the South Campus Neighbourhood Coalition (SCNC) to clarify and strengthen the public consultation processes regarding the development of the university’s South Campus. It outlines the university's commitment to the sustainable development of the South Campus and meeting its growth needs in ways that are socially, economically and environmentally responsible. It also indicates that the university and SCNC wish South Campus developments to support teaching and research initiatives and creating a sense of place that can be enjoyed by students, faculty, staff and the residents of neighbouring communities. The university uses the LRDP’s Smart Growth and Planned Community Principles to guide the developments on South Campus.


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

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):

BOARD OF GOVERNORS

The Minister of Advanced Education seeks applications from individuals interested in serving as a public member on Alberta’s post-secondary institution boards of governors. The recruitment of public members to the Board of Governors is competency-based. The steps that are taken or intended to be taken in the recruitment process and any identified skills, knowledge, experience or attributes required of a member to be appointed will be made public either before or after the member is appointed. By nature of the competencies sought, the intention is that various community stakeholders representing the community, including local government, private sector and civil society are able to serve and support institutional governance.

FACULTY OF EXTENSION

One of the ways that the Faculty of Extension assures that its programming is current, relevant, and of excellent quality is through a Program Advisory Committee system. The Program Advisory Committee is the principal means for involving program stakeholders, soliciting expert advice and counsel, maximizing responsiveness to student and client needs and demands, and contributing to developing and incorporating the findings of contemporary scholarship and research into programming. Membership of the Committee normally should consist of a minimum of one member from each of the following categories: program staff, academic staff, instructors, students and professional/industry partners.


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:

Additional content experts:

PART 2
Benjamin Louie
University Architect

Anastasia Lim
Executive Director
Community Relations


Additional content experts:

PART 2
Benjamin Louie
University Architect

Anastasia Lim
Executive Director
Community Relations

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.