Fullerton College

President's Advisory Council

Statement of Purpose

Fullerton College embraces the concept of participatory governance.  The purpose of a participatory governance structure for decision making is to ensure that all decisions are well informed by input from the primary segments of the college community: faculty, students, classified staff, confidential employees, and administration.  In this regard the model is grounded in Assembly Bill 1725 and in the policies of the North Orange County Community College District Board Policy BP 2510: Participation in Local Decision-Making.

Participatory governance is a process of consultation – a framework of interactions that ensures that decisions are well informed. The process of participatory governance guides and informs the college’s decision-making activities, short and long-range planning, and problem-solving tasks.  With the exception of collective bargaining, personnel matters and legal issues, all aspects of the college conform to the participatory governance process.  Even though the determinations reached through the process are advisory to the College President, who serves as the institution’s chief executive officer, the majority of the institutional decisions are based on the directions of the discussion.  This is to ensure a system of debate and checks and balances in the review of important matters.  It also is designed to promote trust and broaden participation in the decisions reached, thereby reinforcing the structure of governance. 

The President’s Advisory Council (PAC) serves as the central, participatory governance council, functioning as the institution’s primary recommending body for decision-making and planning.  The structure and nature of the President’s Advisory Council is to facilitate its interactions with all institutional constituencies.  The planning role is enhanced by its familiarity with all functions of the college, ensuring both a knowledgeable and integrated perspective.

Specialized projects are referred by the Council to other governance organizations for review, such as the Faculty Senate and the Deans’ Council for instructional matters, the Classified Staff for classified issues and the Associated Students for student issues.  These bodies report back to the Council with recommendations.  For most issues, the determination of the President’s Advisory Council is final.  In some instances, however, in which District wide concurrence is necessary, the individual groups also make recommendations to their counterparts within the broader District.   The College President is charged with representing Council determinations to the Chancellor, the District Consultation Council and the Board of Trustees.

August 2006

Updated October 2012

Fullerton College is part of the
 North Orange County Community College District
For comments and suggestions email sbowman@fullcoll.edu
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