Shared Governance

What is shared governance?

Shared governance means that faculty and administrators share responsibility for operating and governing the university. Shared governance is mandated by the Constitutions of the Indiana University Faculty, the Bloomington Faculty, and the individual Schools and the College. Each of these documents specifies domains in which faculty have legislative authority, and others in which the faculty has consultative authority. On the Bloomington campus, the faculty have primary responsibility for general education, curriculum, promotion and tenure, and evaluation of student academic performance.

See a full list of the Bloomington Faculty's legislative authority

Successful shared governance depends upon trust, collaboration, communication, transparency, inclusiveness, honesty, and integrity.

Areas of legislative authority carry with them responsibility and accountability. Thus, shared governance depends on a system of mutual accountability, with the faculty answerable to the administration and the administration answerable to the faculty.