University Governance
Overview
Saint Joseph's University has several different governance structures to represent faculty, staff, and students, and to encourage active engagement in shared governance.
University Council
The University Council is the main body for policy formation at the university. Proposals for new policies and new academic programs are sent to the University Council in the form of mandates. The Council then forwards mandates for study by one or more governance for review and recommendation. These include the College Councils; the Academic Policies and Procedures, Faculty Policies and Procedures, or Student Affairs Committees of the Faculty Senate; or the Staff and Administrative Senate.
After the appropriate governance body has concluded its review of a mandate, its report of recommendations is returned to the University Council for a vote. If approved, mandates are then forwarded for the President’s and, in some cases, Board of Trustees’, approval. Approved policies can be located in the University’s Policy Library.
Questions about University Council may be directed to Melissa McClory, Senior Director for Academic Administrative Operations and Faculty Affairs.
Faculty Senate
College Councils
The College Councils represent the full-time faculty and associate deans within their respective College and Schools. The College Councils act on mandates received from the University Council and formulate internal college/school policy consistent with university-wide guidelines on academic and faculty matters, while providing a forum for discussion. All full-time and part-time faculty may attend meetings of the College Council in the college or school in which they are appointed.
Adjunct Faculty Association
The Adjunct Faculty Association (AFA) is a group of non-tenure-track faculty (NTT) at Saint Joseph’s University who have come together in an association for the sake of enhancing their professional interests. NTT faculty are defined in the Faculty Handbook as a faculty member who is neither tenured nor employed under a tenure-track letter of appointment. An “adjunct” is a part-time, non-tenure-track faculty member.
Staff and Administrative Senate
The Staff and Administrative Senate (SAS) is a newly formed Support Council that formally comprises the ASC (Administrative Staff Council) and PCompcom (Personnel Compensation Committee). SAS comprises employees of Hawk Hill, University City, and Lancaster campus locations.
University Student Senate
The purpose of the University Student Senate (USS) is to provide full representation of the views and opinions of the students. USS acts as a conduit between the students, faculty, staff, and administration, as well as strongly advocates the sentiments and interests of the students in both University and community affairs. The USS also incorporates the student voice in the policy and decision-making processes of the University.