Mt. San Antonio College embraces participatory governance, giving all constituent groups the opportunity to have meaningful input into college planning and decision-making.

Sounds great, but what does this mean?

Participatory governance is the process of collective decision-making in the public domain where the government is one stakeholder among others who are affected by decisions — basically, everyone else.

Participatory governance is not about one person making the decisions, but ensuring that decisions are made with input, comments, concerns, and discussion from everyone affected by the decisions.

Here at Mt. SAC, our college president makes the decisions, but he has a cabinet, an advisory council, governance committees, campus committees, students, faculty, staff, and even the public who consult with the president before he makes decisions. Fortunately, our college president, Dr. William Scroggins, embraces participatory governance and uses it very effectively in making decisions that affect us all.

Why "participatory" governance?

Education Code Section 70901(b) requires the Board of Governors to adopt regulations setting “minimum standards governing procedures established by governing boards in community college districts to ensure faculty, staff, and students the right to participate effectively in district and college governance, and the opportunity to express their opinions at the campus level and to ensure that their opinions are given every reasonable consideration.”

Faculty, staff, and students are provided this opportunity to "participate effectively" in college governance by representative membership in college committees, who then make recommendations to the President and, in some cases, the Board of Trustees. Ensuring that all constituent groups have a voice in governance is the primary purpose of participatory governance.

All classified professionals at Mt. SAC are eligible to participate on campus committees, and you are strongly encouraged to do so. Participating on a committee is one way to meet other faculty, staff, and administrators you might not otherwise meet. You also provide the committee with experience and expertise, which helps lead to more positive outcomes.

What committees are there?

• Governance
• Operational
• Academic Senate
• Selection
• Ad Hoc and Others

Governance committees participate in the short and long term global planning of the college and make recommendations about rules, procedures, direction, and processes. These would include President's Advisory Council, the Budget Committee, and the Professional Development Council (PDC), whom you can thank for today's activities! Classified Professional Development Day (CPD) is an excellent example of "participatory" governance at work. The PDC discussed having CPD and made a recommendation to the college President. He took that recommendation to President's Cabinet (all the Vice Presidents), who decided it was a good idea, and . . . here we are! CSEA is represented on all governance committees.

Operational committees participate in planning of individual departments or cross-department groups and make recommendations affecting local projects and operations.These committees typically do not involve long-term college planning and/or may not require participation by all constituent groups because not all groups are affected by the work done in these committees. Examples of operational committees would include the Wellness, Facilities, and VOICES committees. CSEA is represented on these committees as well.

Academic Senate committees make recommendations about academic and professional matters. These committees are strictly academic in nature and do not typically involve classified professionals.

Selection Committees are convened when hiring faculty, classified and confidential staff, managers, and administrators. Classified professionals sit on these committees with the exception of faculty hiring, which is a four-year tenure process in which classified do not participate. CSEA also places a representative on all selection committees (other than faculty).

What is my role?

College committees serve the needs of the college and the students. Members of a committee, regardless of position or employment status, all work collaboratively toward the good of the college. Some committees (like the Citizens Oversight Committee and certain selection committees) may include members who are not even college employees. The role of every committee member on any committee is to fulfill the committee's purpose and function to the betterment of the college.

So how do you get on a committee? Because committees offer all constituent groups the opportunity to participate in governance, the constituent groups appoint their representatives. The District, Academic Senate, CSEA 262 and 651, confidential staff, and the Associated Students all appoint classified representatives to college committee. The Board of Trustees appoints members to the Citizens Oversight Committee.

Education Code 70901.2 states that "when a classified staff representative is to serve on a college or district task force, committee, or other governance group, the exclusive representative of classified employees of that college or district shall appoint the representative for the respective bargaining unit members." When CSEA appoints you to a committee, your primary role is to be the voice for classified professionals. You also serve as a college employee in the participatory governance process. Basically, you are there not only to help the committee meet its goals, but you are ensuring that classified professionals have "meaningful input" in planning and decision-making.

What are my responsibilities?

As a governance committee member, you are representing CSEA Chapter 262, so you should conduct yourself professionally and collegially, remembering that you chose to serve on the committee. As a committee member, you should:

1. Attend and actively participate in all committee meetings.
2. Contribute to the committee’s purpose and function.
3. Review agendas and minutes for accuracy and ensure they are posted to the committee web page at http://www.mtsac.edu/governance/committees.
4. Perform any duties or work assigned to you by the committee chair in keeping with the committee’s purpose and function.
5. Not be shy about expressing opinions, asking questions, or bringing forth concerns about the issues discussed in the committee.
6. Share your expertise and experience with other members of the committee about the issues before the committee.
7. Respect the opinions of others, even if you disagree.
8. Not let others intimidate you into silence – you are not alone.
9. Volunteer if you believe you can make a contribution.
10. Report back to and seek guidance from the Chapter President about your committee work.

As a hiring committee member, you are expected to:

1. Attend Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) training for members of selection committees.
2. Attend all committee meetings, including the orientation meeting, screening review, interviews, and any other relevant meetings.
3. Review job application packets to rank candidates according to established criteria.
4. Attend the compilation review meeting where all committee members will discuss the candidate rankings and determine which candidates will be invited to the interview.
5. Participate in the development of interview questions, the interview of candidates, and the selection of finalists to send to the appropriate administrator for final interviews.

What Are My Rights?

1. The right to participate. CSEA has the right to appoint you to committees, so your manager (nor any college administrator) can deny you from participating nor does your manager have the authority to replace you.
2. The right to participate without interference. CSEA selected you because of your qualifications and/or expertise. No one else should question your judgment or ability to make reasonable decisions. No one should try to influence you or persuade you not participate, although CSEA will give you guidance about issues that affect classified professionals.
3. The Right to compensation. Participation on a committee is considered part of your regular assigned work duties for the college. Neither your supervisor nor the district can require you to use break time, lunch time, vacation time, comp time, or require you to participate during non-working hours.
4. The right to voice concerns. You have the right to report activity to CSEA. You may be told you are not to discuss anything that happens in the committee meetings with anyone. This is false. In fact, you are expected and obligated to report to the Chapter leadership.

How do I serve CSEA?

Simply by volunteering to serve on a governance or selection committee is the first, big step. Your chapter leaders work hard to improve the lives of the members they serve, and you are helping accomplish this by volunteering to serve on committees. As a CSEA representative on a committee, you are providing chapter leaders with information about important college issues, like accreditation, the college budget, health and safety, and college planning.

You also serve when you report back to chapter leaders and members through the Governance Reports you receive at every chapter meeting. This report informs your classified colleagues about issues that may affect them. Chapter leadership may also give you direction as to how you can report back to the committee — you are the voice of classified professionals! The back-and-forth flow of information and concerns is the very embodiment of participatory governance.

What committees need representatives?

Selection committees need representatives virtually every week. Mt. SAC is fortunate enough to be in a growth period as far as classified staff is concerned, but classified staff also participate in hiring managers and administrators, so CSEA wants representatives who are willing to express themselves and actively participate in the hiring of managers and administrators who are worker-friendly.

College committees need representatives less frequently than selection committees, but representatives are needed all the time. Currently there is a need for representatives on several committees, including:

• American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment Committee, which is working toward the goal of climate sustainability and zero-carbon footprint. This is a new committee for Mt. SAC about an issue that affects everyone . . . everywhere!
• Campus Equity and Diversity, which works toward the goal of equal opportunity, educational excellence, and success for all students.
• Student Preparation and Success, which reviews and recommends campus standards or policies regarding student preparation and success.

So how do I volunteer?

That is the easy part! There are several ways you can volunteer. You can contact the Chapter President, 2nd Vice President, or your site representative and say you are interested in serving on a governance or selection committee. You can also fill out the online volunteer form (see the button below). Let a chapter leader know you want to serve, and the chapter president will discuss it with you and can appoint you.

Your participation on a selection and governance committees will give you insight into how classified and other college employees are hired and college governance and leadership, and you will learn how to work collaboratively with college administrators, faculty, or other classified colleagues whom you may not have had a chance to work with in the past. Your participation is also important to your classified colleagues. As the CSEA Chapter 262 representative, your participation ensure classified professionals are participating effectively in college governance.