UFS Role in Supporting Campus-Level Shared Governance

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One role of the University Faculty Senate (UFS) is to serve and enhance campus-level faculty and staff shared governance. UFS’s priority in this respect is to help campuses strengthen their shared governance cultures, systems, and processes, including dialogues across campus roles (e.g., faculty, staff, administrators, students). Sometimes this support may result in sharing resources or informal conversations, and sometimes it may result in a more formal approach.  We begin with the former.

I.  Resources available electronically

The following resources are available to campus governance leaders (CGLs), and can be useful for both proactive and reactive approaches:  preventing, mitigating, or solving problems; improving processes and systems; and promoting a healthy climate for shared governance.

  1. Digital repository of shared governance resources on the UFS website.
  2. Governance handbook offering basic information, policies, guidelines, and procedures for CGLs and Senators.
  3. CGL listserv available for all members to post question(s) or request(s) to other CGLs
  4. Shared Governance Assessment Survey, a customizable tool, available in various formats, including as a Word document, Google Form, or MS Teams Form, that can be used by the campus as is, or modified so that it can be deployed and analyzed by members of the UFS Governance Committee for the campus, as each entity so chooses.

II. Services available through the UFS President

If the previous resources do not provide sufficient assistance, CGLs can reach out to the UFS President, who may employ a variety of strategies to aid the campus. The UFS President has considerable experience with local and SUNY-wide shared governance. The resources at their disposal to support campuses or help resolve a conflict over shared governance include access to other experts, such as the UFS Vice President/Secretary, CGL Convenor, Governance Committee Chair, UFS Fellow(s), and/or Parliamentarian. Typically, UFS bears the cost of providing these resources.

  1. The UFS President may visit campuses, virtually or in-person, at the invitation of the campus governance leader(s) to meet faculty, staff and administration; attend campus events; or assist with a governance issue. As befitting their less formal nature, they generally will not be followed by a written report.
  2. The UFS President or designee may be invited to give a Shared Governance 101 presentation to help campus communities come to a common understanding and definition of shared governance.
  3. The UFS President or designee may be invited to conduct How-To Workshops, including:
    • Parliamentary Procedures;
    • “How to run a meeting”;
    • “How to write a resolution”;
    • Bylaws Revision;
    • Governance Models
  4. The UFS President may offer a more focused response, including convening of experts to do Town Halls, listening session(s), or panels, in response to specific campus concerns.

In comparison to a Campus Consultation, described below, the above options are far less likely to be noticed in the public media, can be arranged more quickly and quietly, and are less costly.

III.  Campus Consultation

When an impasse arises between or among faculty/staff and administration, it rarely begins as an intense, unsolvable problem. Initially, some minor disagreement between administration and faculty can, if not addressed and resolved, escalate to a more serious conflict. A campus consultation is a collegial process that leverages shared governance expertise across SUNY to assist a campus experiencing governance conflicts between campus governance bodies and campus administration, or between groups of faculty, staff, and/or other campus constituencies. A campus consultation is recommended in situations where there is a serious, prolonged conflict; where there have been repeated, unsuccessful efforts to address and resolve it; and/or where there is serious consideration of a vote of “no confidence.”

A campus consultation consists of forming and charging a Consultation Committee (hereafter referred to as “the Committee”), which gathers materials; visits the campus; meets with faculty, staff, and administration (as warranted); and issues a report with recommendations. All costs of a campus consultation are borne by the UFS.

In all interactions throughout the consultation process, the UFS President and the Committee will respect the authority, prerogatives, and responsibilities of the campus president and the CGL(s).

A.      Request for Consultation

A request for a campus consultation should be directed to the UFS President by the CGL(s), with concurrence of the campus executive committee and/or campus governance body. A joint request made with the campus president is strongly recommended, but not required. The request, in the form of a letter of invitation to the UFS President, should include sufficient detail to permit the drafting of a charge to the Committee. Copies of sample letters of invitation are on file in the UFS office.

B.      Charge and Function

The UFS President, after consulting with the UFS Executive Committee, appoints the Consultation Committee, names its chair, convenes it for its first meeting, and prepares a carefully developed charge, which should include the scope of the problem(s) to be examined, an expected completion date, and a budget for the campus visit.

The UFS President will share the charge with the Consultation Committee and others as appropriate. The Committee will investigate the problem(s) identified in the charge, collect information and visit the campus, and develop a report with suggestions and recommendations.

C.      Membership and Responsibilities

Before forming the Committee, the UFS President may consult with the UFS Executive Committee, the Chair of the Governance Committee, past UFS presidents, or persons who have previously chaired such committees. The President then appoints a team of two or three members, naming one as the chair, and informs the Executive Committee.

For Consultation Committee membership, the UFS President seeks people with broad governance experience. They should be distinguished by reputations for reasonableness and integrity, and for their capacity to avoid being either advocates or adversaries in their dealings with administrators and faculty. It is not required that the members of the Committee be current members of the UFS. Relevant experience in shared governance is the most important qualification.

At the request of the UFS President to the SUNY Chancellor, the Committee may include a person from SUNY System Administration as the third member. This individual typically has prior experience in local campus governance, the UFS, or the Faculty Council of Community Colleges. The SUNY Chancellor appoints this person, who will act as a member of the Committee and not as a representative of SUNY System administration.

The Chair of the Consultation Committee shall keep the UFS President apprised of the progress of the Committee and any difficulties that may arise with respect to either the charge or the budget.

Members of the Committee should not speak publicly about the consultation, the content of the report, or its recommendations, and should exercise care in maintaining the confidentiality of the Committee’s work.

D.      Materials and Documentation

The Consultation Committee Chair solicits all relevant campus documents from the CGL(s),  campus president, and members of campus. Both the campus president and the CGL(s) may send materials independently; however, they are encouraged to share with one another all the materials they transmit. The Committee will accept all documents and materials that are provided by any member of campus, as long as they have appropriate attribution of source. No materials will be accepted from anonymous sources, with the exception of quantitative shared governance survey data. Contributors may request confidentiality with respect to their submissions, and the Committee will seek to maintain the confidentiality of all documents provided, to the extent allowed by law.

E.      Campus Visit

After the collation and review of initial materials from the campus, the Committee will schedule a visit to the campus. During the visit, the Committee will expect to meet with the campus president, the CGL(s), and key members of both the administration and shared governance bodies. Faculty, staff, students, or others in the larger campus community (for example, alumni, donors, or college council members) may also meet with the Committee. Such meetings may occur on-campus, off-campus, by phone, or by synchronous video technology. Each person must identify themselves to the Committee, but their identities will be kept confidential to the extent allowed by law, and every effort will be made to ensure that the Committee’s report does not include any comments that could be traced back to a specific person.

F.      Report and Next Steps

After the campus visit, the Committee will write a report (hereafter referred to as “the Report”) with their assessments and recommendations. The draft Report remains the property of the Committee and the UFS President, who retain authority over its distribution. The UFS President will transmit the draft Report to the CGL(s) and the campus president, who should not share it beyond their leadership teams. The CGL(s) and campus president have two weeks from the receipt of the draft Report to respond in writing to the UFS President with requested corrections of any errors or omissions of fact. Within two weeks, the Committee will review these responses and produce the final version of the Report.

The Chair of the Committee will send the final Report to the UFS President. The UFS President will deliver the final Report in person to the CGL(s) and the campus president, at a meeting with both parties present. At the discretion of the UFS President, the Committee Chair may be invited to this meeting. This meeting is intended to provide an opportunity for discussion of the Report, to answer any questions that might arise, and to set the stage for implementing recommendations (short-term, medium-term, and long-term). The UFS President will transmit a copy of the final Report to the Chancellor; another copy will be archived in the UFS office.

The final Report, once given to the CGL(s) and campus president, becomes the property of those parties that requested the campus consultation, and those party(ies) then have independent authority over its distribution. In light of the sensitivity of the content of the Report, careful consideration should be given to the scope and means of its distribution.

The CGL(s) and campus president should consider creating a joint committee of faculty, staff, and administration to review the recommendations in the Report and develop a plan for implementation. The UFS President will follow up with the CGL(s) and campus president to discuss progress since the final Report was delivered.

The UFS President may be asked about, and may choose to comment on, the consultation process. However, any public comments should typically be limited to process, not substance, and next steps, rather than past problems.

G.     Timeline for Consultation Process

It is anticipated that the total time for the visitation process should not exceed four calendar months.

  1. A letter of request for Campus Consultation from the CGL(s) (jointly with the campus president, if possible) is sent to the UFS President.
  2. The UFS President appoints the Consultation Committee, typically within two weeks of receipt of the letter of request, and informs the campus of the Committee’s membership.
  3. The Committee Chair reaches out to the campus president and CGL(s), requesting initial documentation, which is then exchanged between parties on campus and forwarded to the Committee.
  4. The Committee works with the CGL(s) to plan the timeline for the campus visit and schedule meetings.
  5. The campus visit takes place, typically over two to three days; virtual meetings may also be held before or after the campus visit.
  6. The Committee develops the draft Report and submits it to the UFS President, who sends it to the CGL(s) and the campus president.
  7. The CGL(s) and campus president have two weeks from the receipt of the draft Report to respond in writing to the UFS President with requested corrections of any errors or omissions of fact.
  8. Within two weeks, the Committee will review these responses and produce the final version of the Report, which they submit to the UFS President.
  9. The UFS President schedules a joint meeting with the CGL(s) and campus president (and, at the UFS President’s discretion, the Committee Chair) to give them the final Report, answer questions, and discuss next steps.
  10. The UFS President will transmit a copy of the final Report to the Chancellor; another copy will be archived in the UFS office.
  11. The UFS President will follow up with the CGL(s) to discuss progress since the final Report was delivered.

[1] This section of the Handbook was originally presented to the University Faculty Senate at the October 2007 147th UFS Plenary meeting and approved by the body: Resolution 147-03-1. The previous revision was proposed at the April 2023 194th UFS Plenary meeting and approved by the body. This revision was proposed at the October 2025 201st UFS Plenary meeting and approved by the body.