Senate Charter Amendment No.: 1415-01A
UNIVERSITY SENATE
UNIVERSITY AT ALBANY
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK
Introduced by: Governance Council
Date:
August, 14, 2014
Amendment RE: Committee on Assessment of Governance and Consultation.
IT IS HEREBY PROPOSED THAT THE FOLLOWING BE ADOPTED:
•
That the proposed amendment to the University Senate Charter below be adopted.
•
That this amendment go into effect immediately following Senate approval.
•
Current Charter:
X.1.3. The Committee on Assessment of Governance and Consultation shall evaluate
the effectiveness of governance in representing its constituencies, in addressing issues and
concerns, and in affecting institutional decisions.
X.1.3.1. The Committee on Assessment of Governance and Consultation shall consist of
no more than 8 members, including at least 3 members of the Council, at least 5
Teaching Faculty, and no more than 2 voting members selected from Faculty or Staff
who are not students or Voting Faculty.
X.1.3.2. The Committee shall assess:
X.1.3.2.1. the structure and functioning of governance;
X.1.3.2.2. the responsiveness of governance bodies to their constituencies;
X.1.3.2.3. the effectiveness of Faculty participation in decision-making, as specified in
Article I, Sections 2.2 and 2.4 and Article II, Section 5.2 of the Faculty Bylaws.
X.1.3.3. The Committee shall develop and regularly administer assessment instruments,
conduct data analysis and report findings to the Council.
Proposed Revision:
The following change is proposed:
X.1.3.3. The Committee shall develop and regularly administer assessment instruments,
conduct data analysis and report findings to the Council on a two-year cycle.
Rationale:
The Governance Council has concluded it is important to institutionalize systematic evaluation of the
effectiveness of governance in representing its constituencies, in addressing issues and concerns,
and in affecting institutional decisions. This would support “the development of stable expectations
and working relationships” as recommended in the 2009 Middle States Report, Chapter 4, p. 2 (see
https://wiki.albany.edu/display/middlestates/Home). Although the recommendation put forward in the
2009 Middle States Report was for annual campus surveys of faculty (see quote below) the
Governance Council has decided that a two year cycle would more effectively support a process of
survey development, implementation, analysis, presentation of results and revision.
“It is strongly recommended that the campus survey of faculty completed for the Middle States
self-study be done annually as a way to monitor faculty views and conditions at the University”
(Chapter 4: Leadership, Governance and Administration, p. 8).
