Shared Governance at Evergreen
The art of teaching at Evergreen should be the art of arranging the conditions and moments when the student encounters problems and ideas so that important learning takes place; lives are touched, shaped and changed so that they become responsible, critical and creative life-long learners. The art of administration at Evergreen should be, must be, the art of protecting, stimulating, supporting, and rewarding good teaching.
Because the art of really effective teaching is something we all learn together, and because the art of developing and teaching interdisciplinary programs is something that we will work at for years to come, the more experimental, creative, critical and self-corrective we are, the more successful we will all be.
To ensure this, the faculty has been organized into many temporary, small, autonomous teams and each given a great deal of freedom and a great deal of responsibility, power and authority. The faculty, so organized, will always have access to the deans, the provost and the president. The deans, provost and president will always have immediate access to the faculty.
The academic structure of Evergreen enables faculty members to know and feel their stake in the success of their program–and their stake in the success of the Evergreen idea. When the structure did not support our goals, it was changed, and it will be changed again as need arises.
Domain of Faculty Interest
The faculty’s interest is divided between domains covered by collective bargaining and domains covered by shared governance. The United Faculty of Evergreen (UFE) is responsible for representing the faculty’s interests with respect to wages, hours and working conditions. Beyond wages, hours, and working conditions, faculty play a central role in all decisions related to curriculum, academic and admission standards, and faculty hiring. In addition, the scope of faculty interest includes matters relating to institutional mission, structures and processes within the Academics division, academic support for students, structures and strategies to promote inclusive excellence, resource allocation within the Academics division, and decisions about college-wide resource allocation and planning. Should the roles of UFE and the shared governance structures overlap, the Agenda Committee will endeavor to work collegially with UFE to address particular issues.
The faculty expects meaningful consultation and participation on all matters within the scope of the faculty’s interest. The faculty also expects its collective recommendations to be heard, considered, and taken with great seriousness by the deans, the provost, the president, and the trustees.
The formal power of the faculty extends to a vote of no confidence in a policy, administrator, or administering body. Votes of confidence are reserved for extraordinary situations in which regular procedures do not suffice. We warmly invite, indeed we urge, the president, provost and deans to attend faculty meetings regularly in order to be aware of faculty opinion.
Key Roles and Responsibilities of Shared Governance
The PROVOST is expected to bring matters that fall within the scope of the faculty interest before us by bringing them to the attention of the Agenda Committee on a regular basis.
The DEANS are faculty members charged with academic administration (Section 2.300).
The FACULTY MEETING is a forum for discussions about academic policies and other matters related to the faculty interest.
The AGENDA COMMITTEE will determine the appropriate use of the Faculty Meeting on each matter, which might include consultation with the decision-maker, consultation with Agenda Committee members who will make a decision on behalf of the Faculty, deliberation leading to an advisory vote by the Faculty, or some other mechanism.
The Chair of the Faculty will also be chair of the Agenda Committee. The Agenda Committee is a representative body elected from the faculty on at-large basis. The Agenda
Committee will consist of eight elected members, plus the Chair of the Faculty and the faculty representative to the Board of Trustees. Terms of the elected members will be two years, and at least four new members will be nominated and elected annually in the late spring. The chair will also be elected annually in late spring. The previous year’s chair typically serves as the Faculty Representative to the Board of Trustees.
In addition, the Agenda Committee will recruit two liaisons to foster collaboration within the faculty and across the College: 1) an academic dean or provost, 2) a representative from the United Faculty of Evergreen leadership team.
As a general practice, all faculty members are welcome to attend Agenda Committee meetings except under very limited circumstances and with the approval of 2/3 of the Agenda Committee.
The Agenda Committee has the following functions:
- Facilitate the development of a collective faculty agenda for the year and strategies for implementing this agenda.
- Create an agenda for the Faculty Meeting and determine the best structure for the Faculty Meeting.
- Provide consultation on academic policy and college decisions within the broader faculty interest as defined above. Issues that the Agenda Committee agrees are only extensions of existing tradition and policy may be settled by the Committee in consultation with the provost and deans and reported to the faculty.
- To act on behalf of the faculty when necessary. In situations when it is not possible to convene the faculty, the agenda committee will be available for emergency consultation with the president, provost and deans. The agenda committee expects to be called in such events. Members who are available will be on year-round call; and in addition, each member of the agenda committee would agree to be available during one month each summer. They will be compensated on a per diem basis. There would thus be at least three members of the agenda committee available during each of the summer months.
- Determine which matters should be brought to the Faculty Meeting (possibly leading to a vote of the faculty) and which can be formally approved, or not, by the Agenda Committee without formal consultation at the Faculty Meeting. Issues that involve minor policy changes may be settled by the Agenda Committee through consultation or vote. Issues that involve major policy changes will be brought to the Faculty Meeting for consultation or deliberation except when they require an immediate decision or response in order to provide faculty input. One Agenda Committee response may be a decision that a proposed major policy change must be presented at the Faculty Meeting for deliberation and vote. Reports from committees charged or co-charged by the Agenda Committee are assumed to be major policy changes that should be presented to the faculty for consultation or deliberation. Formal approval of an item by the Agenda Committee requires 2/3 of the existing Agenda Committee membership; individual votes will not be a matter of public record. Decisions made by the Agenda Committee on behalf of the faculty will be promptly communicated to the faculty.
- Charge or co-charge committees to address issues within the faculty’s interest. Review with the provost and deans the charges, constitution, and membership of all committees and governance bodies working in areas within the faculty interest.
- Review committee reports within the faculty interest and determine whether they should be brought to the Faculty Meeting for consultation or deliberation leading to an advisory vote.
- Improve communication at the College by developing and maintaining a central website for campus governance and provide a quarterly report on major governance work within the faculty interest. Post timely minutes of Agenda Committee and Faculty Meeting proceedings on the governance website, including all votes made by the Agenda Committee.
- Collaborate with the academic deans to plan the academic retreat.