Governance
Edmonds College's governance model and processes shape and inform the college’s plans, policies, and resource allocations. Through its planning processes, the college’s governance
structure pulls together campus input, priorities, and resources and maps them to
the college’s mission and mission fulfillment criteria. In particular, the college’s
governance structure provides a framework for the implementation of operational-level
and strategic planning, which flow across divisions and committees.
Through the college’s Comprehensive Planning framework, the college is able to identify future strategies and priorities. The planning framework utilizes feedback from evaluation tools, input and feedback from constituent groups, and environmental scan information. This ambidextrous planning structure allows for continuous improvement as well as innovative transformational change. Each year, strategies and action items are reviewed and updated so that the college maintains forward momentum.
In addition to implementing (and improving) planning and decision-making processes, the college also adheres to principles that promote transparent administrative oversight, regulatory compliance, ethical employee conduct, and the protection of campus and community members’ rights.
Although the current governance structure offers several avenues and opportunities for employees to participate in planning and decision-making, discussions about participatory governance are ongoing.
External College Governance
As with the state’s other 33 CTCs, Edmonds College was established by the legislature and is supervised by the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges. Other Revised Codes of Washington (RCWs) and Washington Administrative Codes (WACs) identify the laws and regulations that apply to the college.
Internal College Governance
Edmonds College has highly effective, yet evolving, governance structures (based on lines of authority and councils/committees) that clearly define governance relationships in matters of policy and administration.
- Lines of Authority: The Edmonds College-specific WACs and the college’s policies determine the college’s governance rules. They are implicit in the college's organizational chart (which depicts lines of authority and job titles) and in the relationships among the Board of Trustees, administration, faculty, and staff. Relevant documents include Board of Trustees (BOT) policies; the presidential contract; faculty and classified staff collective bargaining agreements; administrative exempt policies; and the Associated Students of Edmonds College's Constitution and Bylaws. These documents define the employees’ and campus units’ authority, responsibilities, and operating procedures as well as the relationships among the SBCTC, the Edmonds College BOT, the college president, and college constituencies.
- Committees: Various internal committees and the Faculty Senate (established in Spring 2015) support and enhance constituent-based participation in the college’s governance processes.
- The college’s various committees provide opportunities for engagement for all campus groups – faculty, staff, administrators, and students. The committees make recommendations to the President’s Leadership Team. President's Leadership Team either makes final decisions or presents recommendations, as appropriate, to the Board of Trustees.
- Faculty Senate was created to help all faculty more fully participate in the governance of the college. President's Leadership Team meets with the Faculty Senate Council at least once a quarter.