In the past four decades the Senate has developed into a credible, flourishing and successful organization in part because it has been willing to seize the initiative on issues of importance to faculty, and because the administration has itself been steadfastly committed to the shared governance concept. Another reason why the Senate is so vibrant is that it has a very strong committee system with 20 committees working under its supervision. Periodically the Senate reviews and updates the entire committee system to meet perceived new needs of SWT faculty and students. The Tenure, Promotion and Compensation Committee, for example, works on proposing ways to refine the faculty merit pay system. Some committees study new issues, e.g. The Temporary Faculty Committee, which was created to study the needs of this group and to develop expectations and criteria for their evaluation.
Many committees handle large sums of state funds.
The Academic Computing Committee is charged with the task of enhancing student access to computers across the SWT campus. They are not allotted funds annually but were recently charged with allocating nearly a million dollars toward new computer improvements for students. It would be impossible for the SWT Faculty Senate to function and to achieve its goals without the assistance of these Committees. They are a primary element, a vital part, the core, the essence of our success. The committee members serve the Faculty Senate and Southwest Texas State University with diligence, persistence and great dedication.