CHAPTER 1 - THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN SYSTEM AND THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-STEVENS POINT
SECTION 4 - UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-STEVENS POINT: GOVERNANCE ORGANIZATIONS
(To see who has authority to approve changes to this section, please see the Approval of Changes page).
COMMON COUNCIL
The Common Council is the shared governance body representing faculty and staff. It operates under our Constitution. UW-Stevens Point is deeply committed to shared governance. The personnel of the university include the academic staff, faculty, and university staff. Under the Constitution, the personnel commit to sharing leadership among themselves and with the chancellor and the students.
The Common Council is a unified body, with the core purpose of advancing the interests of the university, including the success of the students and the personnel.
In May 2015, faculty governance at UWSP moved from a Faculty Senate to shared governance among all personnel categories under the Common Council.
MEMBERSHIP.
Eligibility.
Generally all persons holding at least 50% appointments are eligible for membership in the Common Council.
Size.
The Common Council has up to 41 members, 10 seats each for faculty, academic staff, and university staff, 9 open seats, 1 academic dean, and 1 member appointed by the chancellor. Standing committee chairs serve as Councilors. When filling seats with elected standing committee chairs, elected Councilors, and appointees, efforts should be made to balance the Council according to constituency and personnel category
Constituencies.
Councilors are seated in an effort to spread representation across all divisions, as specified in the Constitution. However, regardless of the manner of nomination, election, or appointment, members of the Common Council and its standing committees and subcommittees serve as representatives of the entire university
Voting, Election, and Terms.
The annual election is in the spring.. Write-in votes are not be counted. Councilors are elected for two-year terms and committee chairs are elected for one-year terms; all may be re-elected for an additional term.
STRUCTURE.
Committees.
The primary work of the Council is conducted through its standing committees, which seek broad input and give detailed consideration to the issues before them. All committees report to the Council; no action of a committee is final until it has been reported to the Council. Some matters brought by committees require a vote of the Council, others only the report. However, any member of the Council may request and require a vote on any matter brought before the Council by a standing committee.
Committee Membership.
Membership on these committees is not restricted to members of the Common Council.
Executive Committee.
The officers of the Common Council and the chairs of the standing committees serve as the Executive Committee of the Common Council. Among its other responsibilities, the Executive Committee may act on behalf of the Common Council when the Common Council is not in session (primarily during the summer).
AUTHORITY.
The faculty and academic staff derive their authority from 36.09 (4) and (4m) of the Wisconsin Statutes:
(4) Faculty.
The faculty of each institution, subject to the responsibilities and powers of the board, the president and the chancellor of such institution, shall be vested with responsibility for the immediate governance of such institution and shall actively participate in institutional policy development. As such, the faculty shall have the primary responsibility for academic and educational activities and faculty personnel matters. The faculty of each institution shall have the right to determine their own faculty organizational structure and to select representatives to participate in institutional governance.
(4m) Academic staff.
The academic staff members of each institution, subject to the responsibilities and powers of the board, the president and the chancellor and faculty of the institution, shall be active participants in the immediate governance of and policy development for the institution. The academic staff members have the primary responsibility for the formulation and review, and shall be represented in the development, of all policies and procedures concerning academic staff members, including academic staff personnel matters. The academic staff members of each institution shall have the right to organize themselves in a manner they determine and to select representatives to participate in institutional governance.
University Staff.
The University Staff derive authority from Board of Regents Policy Document 20-20, “University Staff Governance.”
The Board of Regents is vested with the primary responsibility for governance of the University of Wisconsin System [Wis. Stat. § 36.09(1)]. In discharging this responsibility, the Board has an interest in providing University Staff the opportunity to participate in institutional decision-making. Each UW System institution shall:
1. Provide its University Staff members, subject to the responsibilities and powers of the board, the president, and the chancellor and faculty of the institution, the opportunity to be active participants in the immediate governance of and policy development for the institution;
2. Provide its University Staff members full participation in the formulation and review, and representation in the development, of all policies and procedures concerning University Staff members, including University Staff personnel matters; and
3. Provide its University Staff members the right to structure themselves in a manner University Staff members determine, and to select their representatives to participate in institutional governance.
INTERACTION WITH UNIVERSITIES OF WISCONSIN.
Systemwide Shared Governance Representatives.
The Common Council interacts with the Board and UW System administration primarily through the systemwide shared governance representatives’ meetings hosted throughout the academic year by UW Administration. The chair of Common Council and the personnel councils appoint a rep for each personnel category with the chair serving as the rep in their category.
Communications.
The representatives are included in communication from System administration, including system reports, budget information, the packet of information which Regents receive prior to their meeting, and press clippings related to the Universities of Wisconsin. Board and board committee minutes are on the UW website.
Network.
The representatives sometimes discuss issues through an electronic mailing list which includes all representatives but not System administration.
Board Meetings.
The Common Council chair also attends the monthly meetings of the Board as an observer and to report on the actions of the Board to the Common Council. Occasionally, a representative will address a Board committee or the full Board or will meet with regents privately to discuss issues of concern.
INSTITUTIONAL POLICIES PERTAINING TO COMMON COUNCIL.
Administrative Committees.
The Executive Committee of the Common Council or the chairperson of the Common Council shall appoint all faculty and academic staff members of administrative committees. Administrators responsible for administrative committees to which faculty or academic staff are to be appointed may notify the chairperson either to request appointees or to make nominations and request appointees from among the nominees.
Reassigned Time.
Chairperson of the Common Council.
A half-time (.50 FTE) position is assigned to the Office of Academic Affairs to provide reassignment time from teaching responsibilities for the chairperson of the Common Council.
Replacement.
The chairperson’s department or unit is authorized to hire a .50 FTE replacement for the chairperson when the department or unit deems it necessary.
Other Officers.
Requests for Load Relief.
The Common Council or individual officers may request that departments or units in which faculty serve grant load relief of .25 FTE for chairpersons of these committees:
• Academic Affairs;
• Academic Staff Council;
• Curriculum;
• Faculty Council;
• Graduate Council;
• University Personnel Development;
Action.
Departments and units from which load relief is requested for individuals in the enumerated positions shall arrange for load relief whenever possible.
SCH Production.
Load relief granted by departments or units to individuals for Common Council office is carried as official released time. For classroom teaching personnel, the FTE allocated to released time is not required to generate SCH.
STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION
PURPOSE.
The Student Government Association works with faculty, staff, and administration to achieve the best possible university environment and educational experiences. SGA serves as the messenger’s voice for student concerns, ideas, and interests in all facets of university life.
A copy of the SGA constitution can be found here.
MEMBERSHIP, OFFICERS, AND STUDENT SENATE.
Eligibility.
Every student of the university is considered a member of the Student Government Association.
Elected Officers.
The Student Government Association is led by an elected president and vice president.
Student Senate.
Decision Body.
As the voting body of SGA, the Student Senate debates issues, passes resolutions, approves budget allocations, and confirms appointees.
Size.
The Student Senate consists of between 16 and 30 elected senators. The distribution of senators is determined by the number of students in each of the colleges. Each college is represented by a minimum of four senators.
Voting, Election, and Term.
The annual election is in the spring, with ballot boxes at various sites across campus. The president and vice president are elected at large, while senators are elected by each college. Elected officers and senators serve a one-year term.
Segregated Fees.
The Student Senate votes on the disbursement of all segregated fees. The Finance Committee holds hearings, prepares a segregated fee budget, and reports its recommendations to the Student Senate for approval or amendment and approval.
Executive Branch.
The president appoints 11 students who, along with the president and vice president, hold paid positions and serve as the executive branch of SGA. The members of the executive branch are the:
• president;
• vice president;
• executive director;
• budget director;
• associate budget director;
• communications and public relations director;
• academic affairs director;
• legislative affairs director;
• student life affairs director; and
• inclusivity director.
AUTHORITY.
Students derive their authority from 36.09 (5) of the statutes:
(5) Students.
The students of each institution or campus, subject to the responsibilities and powers of the board, the president and the chancellor and the faculty shall be active participants in the immediate governance of and policy development for such institutions. As such, students shall have primary responsibility for the formulation and review of policies concerning student life, services and interests. Students in consultation with the chancellor and subject to the final confirmation of the board shall have the responsibility for the disposition of those student fees which constitute substantial support for campus student activities. The students of each institution or campus shall have the right to organize themselves in a manner they determine and to select their representatives to participate in institutional governance.