Shared Governance as a
Criterion for Presidential Evaluation

AS-2599-03/FGA/FA - March 6-7, 2003

ATTACHMENT TO AS-2599-03/FGA/FA

RESOLVED: That the Academic Senate of the California State University (CSU) strongly urge the Board of Trustees to add to the CSU Criteria for Presidential Assessment the following criterion: "Joint Decision Making Through Shared Governance"; and be it further

RESOLVED: That the Academic Senate CSU strongly urge the Board of Trustees to include within this criterion a requirement that there be evidence that presidents have worked collegially with their campus academic senates and other faculty representatives on budget planning and enrollment management; and be it further

RESOLVED: That the Academic Senate CSU strongly urge the Board of Trustees to include within this criterion a requirement that there be evidence that that presidents have worked collegially with their campus academic senates and other faculty representatives on policies governing academic and professional standards, curriculum and instruction, research and creative activity and other academic matters.

RATIONALE: Current criteria for presidential assessment make no reference to faculty or to shared governance, although the unique role of faculty and shared governance is enunciated in HEERA and in the statement on collegiality adopted by the Board of Trustees, which states "Collegial governance allows the academic community to work together to find the best answers to issues facing the university. Collegial governance assigns primary responsibility to the faculty for the educational functions of the institution in accordance with basic policy as determined by the Board of Trustees. This includes admission and degree requirements, the curriculum and methods of teaching, academic and professional standards, and the conduct of creative and scholarly activities."

The statement adds that "The collegial process also recognizes the value of participation by the faculty in budgetary matters, particularly those directly affecting areas for which the faculty has primary responsibility." More recently, both Chancellor Charles Reed and Board of Trustees chair Debra Farar have stressed the importance of involving faculty in campus budget planning, especially in light of the major fiscal challenges currently facing the CSU. Additionally, in a February 24, 2003, joint memo Executive Vice Chancellor David Spence and Academic Senate Chair Jacquelyn Kegley call for "authentic consultation and shared decision making between campus administrators and their academic senates on matters of enrollment management." By including joint decision making with faculty through the shared governance process as a formal criterion of presidential evaluation, the Board of Trustees would emphasize in a concrete manner the importance of such consultation and increase the likelihood that it would occur in a meaningful way on the individual CSU campuses.

APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY - March 6-7, 2003