1.36 Shared Governance

(Adopted May 7, 2018)

East Central College is committed to a model of shared governance that reinforces the College’s mission to serve students and other stakeholders. Shared governance is a systematic decision-making process that requires representation from all areas of the College to actively collaborate with transparency, accountability, and responsibility. Shared governance fosters an institutional culture of inclusion, integrity, open communication, and good faith.

The principles of shared governance shall include:

  1. Due diligence in every aspect of communication, transparency, and decision-making.
  2. Mutual trust and respect for each other and for the collaborative process.
  3. Efficient and timely communication of decisions, including an implementation timeline for decisions made.
  4. Collaboration among the Board of Trustees, administration, faculty, staff, and, where appropriate, students to strengthen the quality of the education and services provided at the College.
  5. A culture of inclusion by thoughtfully considering the ideas and opinions of those most impacted by decisions, while working to ensure meaningful involvement of all stakeholders in the decision-making process.
  6. Utilizing relevant data and expert opinions in the decision-making process, including both quantitative and qualitative data where possible.
  7. Using current policy documents to ground initial deliberations within the decision-making process and developing and recommending policy revisions where outcomes are not satisfactory.
  8. Setting standards for accountability at all levels of the shared governance model by defining goals, reporting progress, and assessing the decision-making process itself.

Procedures (Adopted 5-7-2018; Revised 3-8-2021, 11-6-2023)

1.36.1 Shared governance is intended to promote open communication for discussion of College issues and development of recommendations to the College administration, with the appropriate person or body making decisions after consideration of provided input. Issues of focus may include but are not limited to curriculum, assessment, retention, strategic planning, student support, physical facilities, technology, budget priorities, and professional development.

1.36.2 The College will maintain internal documents related to shared governance within an appropriate software platform.

1.36.3 A web page dedicated to shared governance shall be established and maintained, and will include the following components:

  • Definition of Shared Governance
  • Mission of Shared Governance
  • Model (flowchart and explanation)
  • Link to the internal document database

1.36.4 A list of all standing and ad hoc committees along with each committee’s purpose, membership, meeting dates, and contact information shall be maintained on the internal document database.

1.36.5 A report on the status of shared governance and the effectiveness of the governance model shall be presented annually to the Board of Trustees.

1.36.6 A Shared Governance Council shall be established, with representation from the Board of Trustees, College administration, faculty, professional staff, and classified staff.

The Shared Governance Council shall make recommendations on policy and other matters of institutional concern.

Representatives to the Shared Governance Council will be elected for a two-year term by each governing body and shall consist of the following:

  1. Faculty – 2 members
  2. Professional Staff – 2 members
  3. Support Staff – 2 members
  4. Representative from Rolla – 1 member
  5. Vice Presidents – 4 members
  6. President of College – 1 member
  7. Board of Trustees – 1 non-voting member

1.36.7 The Shared Governance Council is charged with developing, maintaining, and revising procedures for seeking input and providing communication from and to employee associations.