| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 50.39 |
| Liaison | Marianella Franklin |
| Submission Date | Aug. 28, 2015 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
PA-3: Governance
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.00 / 3.00 |
Lisa
Cardoza Chief of Staff and Governmental Relations Officer Office of the President |
Do all enrolled students, regardless of type or status, have an avenue to participate in one or more governance bodies (through direct participation or the election of representatives)?:
A brief description of the mechanisms through which students have an avenue to participate in one or more governance bodies:
Through the University's Student Government Association, students are able to participate in the overall policy and decision making process of the University community. Each college at the University is represented by one undergraduate senator and one graduate senator. Also, raise awareness of the student's role in the academic community, assist in enhancing the quality and scope of education, and provide identified services to students.
Is there at least one student representative on the institution’s governing body who was elected by peers or appointed by a representative student body or organization?:
A brief description of student representation on the governing body, including how the representatives are selected:
The members of the UTPA Student Government Associate are selected as follows:
They are elected by the students enrolled in their specific college. Six students senators will serve at large, they are to be elected by the student body. One student senator will be elected by the University Program Board Executive Council. One student senator will be elected by the Greek Council, and one student senator will be elected by the Resident Housing Association Executive Council.
Do students have a formal role in decision-making in regard to the following?:
| Yes or No | |
| Establishing organizational mission, vision, and/or goals | Yes |
| Establishing new policies, programs, or initiatives | Yes |
| Strategic and long-term planning | Yes |
| Existing or prospective physical resources | Yes |
| Budgeting, staffing and financial planning | No |
| Communications processes and transparency practices | Yes |
| Prioritization of programs and projects | Yes |
A brief description of the formal student role in regard to each area indicated, including examples from the previous three years:
The student President of the Student Government Association sits in on what is knows as the University Council where the President of the University, the Provost and other committee members get together to discuss and plan for the university. The representative of SGA makes sure the student's needs are met and discussed when implementing change into the university.
For communication processes and transparency practices the student representative was part of the universities tuition and fee task force and ensured that the transparency of the tuition stayed true to the students.
In new policies, programs or initiatives, student representatives were responsible for starting the initiative of water bottle refilling stations that help reduce the waste of plastic bottle into our campus environment. These stations are now found all over campus.
Do all staff, regardless of type or status, have an avenue to participate in one or more governance bodies (through direct participation or the election of representatives)?:
A brief description of the mechanisms through which all staff have an avenue to participate in one or more governance bodies:
Non-Voting Members of the Senate shall consist of the President and members appointed by the President.
The nomination and election process as described in HOP 7.10.1 Sections III.A and III.B.
shall be managed by the Nominations and Elections Committee. Nominations
shall be made to the Nominations and Elections Committee no later than April
and elections shall be held no later than May except for the initial election.
Voting shall be held on campus for no less than seven
consecutive working days.
2. Elections shall be by electronic ballot.
3. The Nominations and Elections Committee will prepare the ballots for
the election. Included on the ballot will be the reference to the Job
Class or Institutional Unit District and a listing of the nominees in an
order determined by lot. In addition to instructions for voting, the
number of candidates to be elected from each district will be specified.
4. Ballots will be distributed only once through campus email to all staff
employees. Any employee alleging that he or she did not receive an
official ballot must submit a request to the Nominations and Elections
Committee no later than the election deadline in order to be issued
another ballot. Ballots must be submitted by the election deadline via
their own email in order for the ballot to be valid. A voting notice will
be posted/announced at least one week prior to the first day of voting.
Absentee voting may be requested from the Nominations and
Elections Committee on a case by case basis, allowing the Committee
ample time to verify voter eligibility.
5. At the close of the election, the Nominations and Elections Committee
will tabulate the votes.
6. Candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall be declared
Senate representatives and one alternate will be identified
(See Sec. II.B.4.). If a tie occurs, a run-off election will be conducted
for staff of the district affected.
7. Within one work week of the close of the election, the Nominations
and Elections Committee shall notify the newly elected
representatives. Within one week of such notification to the newly
elected representatives, the Committee shall inform the institutional
community of the results of the election.
8. All records pertaining to the nomination and election process shall be
stored in the office of the Secretary of the Senate (or the Senate Office)
in compliance with The University of Texas-Pan American
Is there at least one non-supervisory staff representative on the institution’s governing body who was elected by peers or appointed by a representative staff body or organization?:
A brief description of non-supervisory staff representation on the governing body, including how the representatives are selected:
Non-Voting Members of the Senate shall consist of the President and members appointed by the President
Do non-supervisory staff have a formal role in decision-making in regard to the following? :
| Yes or No | |
| Establishing organizational mission, vision, and/or goals | --- |
| Establishing new policies, programs, or initiatives | --- |
| Strategic and long-term planning | --- |
| Existing or prospective physical resources | --- |
| Budgeting, staffing and financial planning | --- |
| Communications processes and transparency practices | --- |
| Prioritization of programs and projects | --- |
A brief description of the formal staff role in regard to each area indicated, including examples from the previous three years:
Do all faculty, regardless of type or status, have an avenue to participate in one or more governance bodies (through direct participation or the election of representatives)?:
A brief description of the mechanisms through which all faculty (including adjunct faculty) have an avenue to participate in one or more governance bodies:
Through the Faculty Senate, faculty has the opportunity to promote the general welfare of the University by representing the faculty and librarians in matters that relate to that body, and serve as a channel for communication among students, faculty, staff and administration.
Is there at least one teaching or research faculty representative on the institution’s governing body who was elected by peers or appointed by a representative faculty body or organization?:
A brief description of faculty representation on the governing body, including how the representatives are selected:
Each college/library will have representation on the faculty senate in proportion to the ratio of the number of faculty members/librarians in each college/library to the total eligible University faculty members/librarians.
In order for representatives to be selected, the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs must submit the names of all academic and librarian appointees and their membership classification. The secretary of the Faculty Senate then determines the number of senators to which each college/library is entitled to. A Nomination/Election Committee then nominates and proposes the candidates for faculty senate. Once nominated the Secretary of the Faculty Senate distributes secret ballots to the voting faculty members/librarians of each college, whom are only allowed to vote within their own college. Lastly a committee appointed by the Chair of the Faculty Senate counts the ballots, then the nominees from each college receiving the largest number of votes shall be elected.
Do faculty have a formal role in decision-making in regard to the following?:
| Yes or No | |
| Establishing organizational mission, vision, and/or goals | --- |
| Establishing new policies, programs, or initiatives | --- |
| Strategic and long-term planning | --- |
| Existing or prospective physical resources | --- |
| Budgeting, staffing and financial planning | --- |
| Communications processes and transparency practices | --- |
| Prioritization of programs and projects | --- |
A brief description of the formal faculty role in regard to each area indicated, including examples from the previous three years:
The website URL where information about the institution’s governance structure is available:
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.