B-500.1 Participation in Local Decision-Making

DEFINITION OF PARTICIPATORY GOVERNANCE

Strategic Leadership at the College is a participatory governance model. Participatory Governance at the College is a dynamic and cooperative interaction among Employees that enhances decision-making. The goal is to engage a more significant number of people on campus, improve communication both vertically and horizontally, and create a system where “silos” are broken down and innovative ideas from all corners of the campus can be brought forward for consideration. The Strategic Plan will guide the College’s version of Participatory Governance and will be orchestrated through the Strategic Leadership (SL) structure.

Strategic Leadership is organized in areas across the College, with opportunities for all Employees and Students to serve a supporting role. SL (the College’s governance system) will operate under the premise that the needs of our Students and the quality of their education are a priority.

Communication must be clear, frequent, consistent, and timely within the SL committees/groups and between groups and the wider College Community. To further clear and open communication, an SL Intranet site was created.

The College’s image of SL is to provide all Employees a voice in the decisions and processes that impact our stakeholders (the College Community).

PRINCIPLES OF STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP

The College is a public technical college. Wisconsin State Statute vests responsibility with the District Board to hold in trust and good custody the interests of the state and the citizenry. These are responsibilities for which the District Board is accountable and which neither it nor the President/District Director, an agent of the District Board, can delegate. Therefore, all decision-making must be in the form of recommendations to the President/District Director or the District Board. Nevertheless, it is incumbent upon the District Board and the

President/District Director to support college governance procedures so long as they do not result in recommendations contrary to statute, fundamental principles or mission, or the vital interests of the College or the larger College Community.

The organization is expected to solicit and receive advice on developing such policies, procedures, and processes from the President/District Director’s Employees, Students, and the College’s legal counsel as needed. When deciding the appropriate course of action to follow, policies supersede procedures, procedures supersede processes, and processes supersede practices.

Examples of what differentiates a Strategic Leadership issue from an Operational Leadership issue:

 Strategic Leadership is:

• A vehicle for campus-wide participation and collaboration.

• An opportunity to introduce, analyze, and discuss college goals, policies, and procedures.

• A formal, deliberate process to manage the efficiency and effectiveness of the College.

• A forum for active Employee involvement that the administration will recognize and support.

• Based on clear, frequent, and consistent communication.

• A process involving people with responsibility and accountability in providing well-informed, realistic, and unbiased decisions to the College.

• A system incorporating a communication network that enables and promotes dialogue, understanding, joint investigation, and creative collaboration.

• A process where decisions are consistent with the College’s Mission, Vision, and Values.

Strategic Leadership is not:

• A replacement for administrative functions.

• A process to supersede the authority of the President/District Director or the District Board.

• A place for a person to fear retaliation for expressing their views and opinions about the topic under review.

• A platform to promote the interest of individual constituencies.

• An arena to address all the concerns of the College Community.

• A personality-driven process.

• A forum for personal issues or complaints.

• A perfect process.

STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP OVERVIEW

The College’s Strategic Leadership Model comprises two (2) significant bodies, six (6) Collegewide committees, and several Administrative committees:

1. The Executive Council (EC) comprises the President/District Director of the College and reporting executives.

2. The Blackhawk Advisory Council (BAC) is a cross-functional group designed to provide comprehensive oversight and strategic guidance within the College’s shared governance structure, aligning policies and procedures with its operational and strategic goals in coordination with the Executive Council and the District Board, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

These two (2) groups are expected to collaborate to move the College forward, focusing on the strategic initiatives outlined in the strategic plan. Joint meetings between the two (2) groups should be scheduled as necessary to ensure adequate communication and collaboration of efforts.

Executive Council (EC)

The EC reviews recommendations and may recommend that they be forwarded to the District Board for approval in cases where District Board action is required or may recommend adoption for governance issues for which District Board action is not required. See Policy B-400 – College Policy Adoption, Amendment, and Suspension.

Blackhawk Advisory Council (BAC)

The Blackhawk Advisory Council’s mission is built on shared governance, promoting inclusive, transparent decision-making that aligns with the College’s goals. This approach fosters collaboration among the College Community, empowering the College’s committees to drive growth and success. Responsibilities include:

1. Oversight and approve all Collegewide and Administrative Committees, charters, and membership to ensure inclusive and cross-functional representation on each committee.

2. Ensure the development and review of policies and procedures at the College follow a process designed to ensure alignment with the College’s strategic goals, transparency, and support for accreditation efforts.

3. Foster a culture of continuous improvement throughout the College. Through well-defined mechanisms, the BAC supports stakeholders in identifying opportunities for enhancement, streamlining processes, and driving efficiency. The President/District Director will act as the EC sponsor for the BAC. See Procedure 500.2 – Continuous Process Improvement (CPI) Teams for requesting and forming a CPI team.

4. Support the College President, Executive Council, and District Board in shaping and executing the College’s strategic plan.

All committees will publish their charter, membership agendas, minutes, and reports.

Collegewide Committees

The six (6) Collegewide committees mirror the College's Mission and Vision. Collegewide committee chairs report to the EC. More information on Collegewide committees can be found on the Intranet.

1. Community Engagement Committee

2. Emergency Preparedness Committee

3. Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) Committee

4. Information Technology Governance Committee (ITGC)

5. Next Generation Learning Committee

6. Student Success Committee

Administrative Committees

As the need arises, Administrative committees can recommend approval to the BAC. Administrative committees are standing committees delegated an area of responsibility and oversight through a proposed charter. BAC approves any new Administrative committee charter and membership, changes to an existing charter or membership, and any proposed elimination of the Administrative committee. The chairs of each Administrative committee report to the EC member in charge of the proposed area of responsibility.

Strategic Projects

Strategic projects are developed to support the achievements of the College’s strategic priorities. In most cases, college action plans implemented will affect a policy, an administrative procedure, a process, or a practice as defined within this document. For this reason, strategic projects can be assigned annually to specific committees responsible for that area.

Each committee in the structure can create ad hoc (Teams or Task Force) committees to address a particular issue when needed. Once an ad hoc committee has completed its task, the product is considered through the standard governance process.

Collaboration

All committees, teams, and task forces within the SL structure will be open and collaborative with all other committees, teams, and task forces.

• Consult: Each committee/team/task force/organization must consult with any other committee/team/task force/organization on any project that interfaces with another entity's scope.

• Recommend: Any committee/team/task force/organization can recommend a project to any other committee/team/task force/organization through a BAC suggestion.

• Assign Project/Task: Only EC or the organizational leader of the area of assignment can assign a project/task to a committee/team/task force/organization. When these assignments affect more than one (1) area, the BAC will review the assignment. The BAC can assign a project/task to a Continuous Process Improvement (CPI) team or committee with the approval of EC and BAC.

GUIDELINES FOR STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP

Principles of Operation

Accountability standards and procedures must be clear at critical points or stages of discussion. Confidential personnel issues will be handled appropriately and separately from the Strategic Leadership structure. No person should fear retaliation for expressing their views and opinions about the topic under review.

The Strategic Leadership model should function effectively regardless of the personalities involved (i.e., no matter who the people are in any given unit at any given time). Procedures for initiating change must be clearly defined to encourage creativity and preserve institutional values.

The College’s agreed-upon principles and values must be respected and followed. The College's culture and history must also be respected, and any changes made should follow these principles and values.

The Employees who perform the work have the most knowledge about the job and, therefore, should be consulted in depth when making vital decisions. All Employees must do their best to focus on what is best for the College Community and put aside their interests. What appears to be a narrow personal interest to one may be an essential example of a salient issue to others; patience and tolerance must be afforded those expressing a perspective.

Rules of Operation

All committees are required to establish a meeting schedule; however, the meeting schedule may be modified as needed. The Chairs will formalize the agenda and run the meetings. They will do their best to communicate the news and decisions of the committees fully, accurately, and succinctly to the College Community and the reporting Executive Council member, including the date, place, time, and agenda of the next meeting. Agendas should be posted to the Intranet minimally two (2) days before the scheduled meeting. A Scribe will create and distribute the minutes of the meetings. The minutes from all committee meetings will be made available to the College Community within seven (7) business days via the Intranet under Strategic Leadership/Committees.

Elected committee representatives must participate in 75% of the meetings (unless excused). If schedules do not permit such attendance, they must resign to select a replacement. If the representative does not willingly resign, procedures for replacing the representative should be articulated and enforced.

All recommendations should be accompanied by an explanation regarding the procedures and rationale that led to the recommendations. Information necessary for making recommendations and decisions is available to all who request it, and information will not be withheld from decision-making individuals, councils, or committees. No committee, team, or task force should make recommendations without consultation with its constituents and without notifying its constituents of its recommendation. Employees with information necessary to a particular discussion may be invited to that meeting as a guest but will not be voting members.

Before a recommendation is sent forward, the originating committee, team, or task force must ensure that:

1. It is consistent with the College’s Mission and Goals.

2. It is sufficiently supported by data or other information.

3. It incorporates a mechanism for evaluating the outcome when appropriate.

EC and BAC will not consider recommendations that do not meet these conditions.

Committee, team, or task force recommendations must be approved or disapproved on time (i.e., within 30 days) unless such recommendations are sent back for further information and study or circumstances outside the administration’s control require an extension. In the latter case, an explanation of those circumstances must be made.

Alternative recommendations or further courses of action should be suggested whenever possible when disapproving formal recommendations. Employees need to understand the reasons behind decisions to be engaged. When a request is denied at any level, an explanation should be given containing consideration and thoughtfulness equal to that contained in the original request.

Because Strategic Leadership requires the commitment of time, effort, and sometimes resources from individuals and departments, the College shall provide members of the committees with adequate support to enable them to carry out their Strategic Leadership responsibilities.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Chair: Attends and facilitates all meetings, ensuring committee work is consistent with the stated purpose. Responsible for setting the meeting schedule for the year and considering deadlines for council and committee activities, projects, and reports. Develops agendas, meeting notices, and other planning documents. Monitors committee progress and follows up with the committee chair regarding the status of assigned projects. During meetings, the Chair keeps the discussion on track, monitors participation by members, and keeps the committee focused on reaching a decision. Is responsible for disseminating information concerning council activities, including agendas, news, and decisions. 

• Scribe: Responsible for accurately capturing the minutes of committee meetings and making the minutes available to the College Community in a centralized electronic repository.

• Members: Possess a good understanding of the committee’s purpose, support the efforts of the chair, carry out individual assignments made by the chair, prepare for and attend meetings, ask questions, voice objective opinions on the issues, support decisions of the committee, and act as an advocate for the committee.

• Terms: Each committee will decide.  BAC will fill vacant positions within committees to offer others the opportunity to serve.

Committee membership will be determined each spring for terms that begin in the fall of each academic year. BAC will oversee the process to ensure cross-functional representation from divisions. EC members should recommend the appointment of representatives from their respective areas. The process will allow Employees interested in joining specific committees to voice their interest in being considered for membership. The goal of committee selection will be to have a committee that represents all Employees while ensuring that the membership provides an effective committee structure.

DEFINITIONS

Charter –The defining document for each team, task force, or committee that establishes purpose, goals/objectives, and bylaws.

Council/Committee – A permanent body of persons delegated to consider, investigate, act on, or report on some matter related to the strategic plan or direction of the College.

Organization Entity – A working structure such as a division or department that is under the direction of an executive team member.

Task Force – A temporary grouping (one (1) year or more) under one leader to accomplish a definite objective in the strategic plan – limited use.

Teams – Short-term (one (1) semester to one year) group to tackle specific issues in a Continuous Process Improvement methodology.

Work Plan – An annual plan detailing work to be accomplished by a team, task force, or committee