University Council

The University Council is the primary faculty and staff deliberative body for major and minor non-academic policy. It is primarily responsible for recommending minor non-academic university policies directly to the University President, and for recommending major changes in university policies to the faculty, the President, and the Board of Trustees for final approval. Major policies will normally have university-wide significance, and will require a thorough study to be undertaken, including an analysis of the attendant financial implications.

The University Council shall determine what non-academic policies are major and what are minor. The Chairperson may at any time change a policy under consideration from minor to major policy status. Section 2.4.4 of the University Handbook describes how a component group can request a reconsideration of a University Council decision, or how a component group can initiate a request for a new university policy.

The University Council shall recommend major university policies to the University Faculty Senate, which normally exercises the decision making power of the full University Faculty. If the Faculty Senate does not approve the policy recommendation, the University President can either 1) present both the University Council and the faculty positions to the Board along with his/her own recommendation or 2) refer the issue back to the University Council and Faculty Senate for further study.

Shared University Governance Structure Chart

Meeting Location/Format

University Council meetings are generally held on the second Thursday of the month from 4-6 p.m.; September through May. Two hours of meeting time are scheduled, but we will work to hold meetings to one hour if possible. They are only held on Zoom and sometimes are hybrid. View the current schedule here.