UNIVERSITY REGULATION
PART III – FACULTY, STAFF AND STUDENT GOVERNANCE
Chapter 03.01 - Faculty, Staff and Student Governance

1. Intent
   
   It is the intent of the Board of Regents 1) that the faculty, staff and students shall share in the governance of the university, 2) that shared governance is an integral part of the business of the university and 3) that participants in shared governance are empowered by the Board of Regents to carry out their governance responsibilities to the best of their abilities without fear of reprisal.
2. Governance
   1. Systemwide
      
      The university hereby establishes a mechanism for faculty, staff and students to participate in system governance through the following organizations:
      
      Faculty Alliance
      Staff Alliance
      Coalition of Student Leaders
      System Governance Council
      
      Additionally, alumni associations are established at the three academic units and participate ex-officio on the System Governance Council.
   2. MAU-Specific
      
      The university hereby recognizes that institution-specific governance groups are an integral part of and are established at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA), the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), the University of Alaska Southeast (UAS), and the University of Alaska System Office (SO).
3. Authority
   1. Systemwide
      
      The Faculty Alliance, Staff Alliance, Coalition of Student Leaders and System Governance Council receive their authority and shall carry out their functions subject to the authority of the Board of Regents and the president of the university.
   2. MAU-Specific
      
      Faculty and staff governance groups at UAA, UAF, UAS and SO receive their authority from their cognizant chancellor, with the vice president for academics, students & research serving as the cognizant chancellor for SO.
      
      Student governments receive their authority from Regents’ Policy Part IX, Chapter 7, and corresponding university regulations.
      
      Alumni associations receive their authority from Regents’ Policy 02.08.010.
4. Purpose
   
   The purposes of the system governance groups within the University of Alaska are set forth and maintained in Regents' Policy 03.01.010.
5. Organizational Responsibilities
   
   Governance groups shall carry out their functions subject to their respective charters, constitutions, and bylaws.
   
   Responsibilities of the local governance groups are reflected in their respective charters, constitutions and bylaws. Responsibilities of the system governance groups are listed below.
   
   1. Faculty Alliance
      
      It is the responsibility of the Faculty Alliance to represent the faculty in areas that may include but are not limited to: coordination on matters relating to academic affairs such as academic program review; the addition, deletion or merging of academic programs; curriculum; subject matter and methods of instruction; degree requirements; grading policy; course coordination and transfer; student probation and suspension; standards of admission and scholastic standards; and other matters affecting the faculty, and/or the general welfare of the university and its educational purposes and effectiveness. 
   2. Staff Alliance
      
      It is the responsibility of the Staff Alliance to represent the Classified and APT (Administrative Professional and Technical) employees who are not represented by a collective bargaining agent in areas that may include but are not limited to: staff affairs, excluding those relating exclusively to faculty; personnel policies and regulations; compensation and benefits; and other issues affecting the work environment and/or the general welfare of the university staff.
   3. Coalition of Student Leaders
      
      It is the responsibility of the Coalition of Student Leaders to represent the students in areas that may include, but are not limited to: tuition and fees: financial aid and scholarships; residence life; minority and rural services; clubs and social activities; student media in all forms; health and safety; grievances; tools and resources; student employee relations, and other issues affecting the educational environment and availability of resources for student use. 
   4. System Governance Council
      
      It is the responsibility of the System Governance Council to coordinate matters of mutual interest or concern to the Faculty Alliance, the Staff Alliance, the Coalition of Student Leaders, and the alumni associations.
6. Membership Responsibilities
   
   For faculty and staff, it is understood that while governance participants’ primary responsibilities are performance of the duties for which they are employed, supervisors and employees will coordinate to ensure that departmental and governance needs are met.
   
   Serving on university governance groups is considered to be within the regular work duties of university employees and is supported by the university.
   
   Students serve on governance groups in accordance with Regents' Policy and University Regulation 09.07.050.
   
   Members who serve as officers or participate in special projects, research activities, events or committees directed by their governance organizations require sufficient time to meet those obligations in a reasonable fashion.
   
   Guidelines for participation in governance that are not included in governance group charters, constitutions or bylaws shall be promulgated by the system governance executive officer and made available for use by all members of the university community.
7. Membership
   
   Numbers of members and terms of office are prescribed in the constitutions, or equivalent documents of the respective system governance groups. MAU-specific governance groups determine the method of selection of their own members and their representatives to the system governance groups.
8. Meetings
   
   Meeting schedules are determined by the governance groups. Meetings may be held onsite or by audio or videoconference or some combination of these methods. Meeting notices will be published and available through commonly used means.
9. Quorum
   
   Quorum is defined by each governance group in their constitutions, or equivalent documents.
10. Parliamentary Authority
    
    The parliamentary authority for system governance groups shall be the latest version of Robert’s Rules of Order on file and available from the system governance office.
11. Charters, Constitution, and Bylaws
    
    1. System Governance Groups
       
       Constitutions and amendments for system governance groups, once passed by the groups, shall be:
       • transmitted to the president of the university for information,
       •  placed in system governance group handbooks, and
       •  retained in System Governance and Board of Regents’ Offices.
    2. MAU-Specific Governance Groups 
       1. Faculty and Staff Governance
          
          MAU-specific faculty and staff governance group constitutions and bylaws and amendments, once passed by the groups, shall be transmitted to the cognizant chancellor, or in the case of the System Office Staff Council, to the vice president for academics, students & research, for approval. 
       2. Student Governance
          
          Student government group constitutions, once approved by the individual student government groups shall be transmitted to the president of the university for approval in accordance with University Regulation 09.07.05.
12. Transmittal of Recommendations and Actions
    1. Transmittal of System Governance Recommendations and Actions to the Administration or Board of Regents
       
       Actions of the system governance groups affecting the university system or system community shall be transmitted in writing to the president of the university and the responsible executive within 40 days of the action taken.
       
       Transmittal shall include evidence of dialogue with the responsible executive and a faithful characterization of the views of that executive and of governance.
    2. Transmittal of Request for Action, Feedback, or Input from Administration and the Board of Regents to System Governance
       
       Items initiated by the president of the university, or designee, that affect matters within the scope of staff, faculty and/or student governance normally shall be submitted to the executive officer in the system governance office and transmitted to the appropriate system governance group(s) for review and/or other appropriate action. Request for input should include the following:
       1. Nature of action requested.
       2. Governance group to which the request is made.
       3. Relevant sections of regents’ policy or university regulation, as applicable.
       4. Reporting timeline requested.
       The appropriate system governance group(s) will provide comment on proposed policy or regulation revisions within thirty (30) days unless it requests a further thirty (30) days for consulting with individual campus-level faculty senates, staff councils, or student governments.
       
       Once the appropriate governance group has reviewed the proposed revisions, they will pass the proposed revisions with comments to the executive officer (E.O.) for system governance. The E.O. will transmit them to the administrator who originated the proposed policy or regulation. That administrator will then submit the revisions for the president’s consideration.
       
       However, the president may promulgate regulations exempt from advance review under regents’ policy, and the board may adopt policy changes warranting immediate implementation, prior to review by governance. Such policies and regulations will be transmitted to the E.O. in an expeditious manner and may be modified after governance review.
13. Acknowledgement and Review of Governance Recommendations
    1. Recommendations Transmitted to the President
       
       The President's Office shall acknowledge governance recommendations within ten (10) business days following receipt using a means equivalent to that used for transmittal.
       
       The president of the university shall notify the spokesperson of the sponsoring governance group and the system governance executive officer of the approval, disapproval, or modification of a governance action within forty-five (45) days of receiving the recommendation.
       
       In cases where this arrangement cannot be satisfied, the responsible executive will notify the sponsoring governance group as to the review process and anticipated date the review is likely to be concluded and administrative recommendations forwarded to the president.
    2.  Recommendations Transmitted to the Board of Regents
       
       The Board of Regents' Office shall acknowledge governance recommendations within ten (10) business days following receipt using a means equivalent to that used for transmittal.
       
       The executive officer of the Board of Regents shall notify the spokesperson of the sponsoring governance group and the system governance executive officer of the approval, disapproval, or modification of a governance action within ninety (90) days of receiving the recommendation
14. Presidential Action on Recommendations
    
    If the president determines that Board of Regents action is warranted as a result of a governance recommendation, including, but not limited to changes to regents' policy, the governance item is placed on the regents’ agenda for discussion or action as appropriate and the sponsoring governance leader(s) are invited to participate in the discussion of the issue.
    
    Spokespersons for governance groups may also present their views directly to the Board of Regents in accordance with board procedures.

(04-29-21)