Governance in higher education
Part of a series on |
Governance |
---|
Governance in higher education is the means by which institutions for higher education (tertiary or post-secondary education) are formally organized and managed (though often there is a distinction between definitions of management and governance). Simply, university governance is the way in which universities are operated. Governing structures for higher education are highly differentiated throughout the world, but the different models nonetheless share a common heritage.[1][2] Internationally, tertiary education includes private not-for-profit, private for-profit, and public institutions governed by differentiated structures of management.
Governance and management of post-secondary institutions becomes even more diverse with the differences in defining the relationships between higher and tertiary education (university education), postsecondary education, technical and
Governance
The concept of
"Governance" is defined by Kezar and Eckel as the macro-level of policy decision making. and bridge to coordinate governance and institutional management.
Due to the influences of public sector reforms, several authors (Kezar and Eckel 2004; Lapworth 2004; Middlehurst 2004) point out that next to the concept of shared and participative governance a new form of governance has emerged. According to Lapworth, the rise of the notion of corporate governance and the decline of the shared or consensual governance can be seen to be a result of the decline in academic participation, a growing tendency towards managerialism and the new environment where the universities are operating.[5]
University governance varies between countries. McMaster notes the different cultures in universities and the traditional relationships between faculty and administration, characterizing historical transitions and suggesting that universities today are undergoing transitions in culture.
Dearlove emphasises that, under the conditions of mass higher education, no university can avoid the need for some sort of bureaucratic management and organisation, though this does not mean that the importance of informal discipline and profession-based authority (internal governance of universities) can totally be ignored.[7] Lapworth advocates what the author believes is a model of university governance with the positive aspects of corporate and collegial approaches.[5] The issues in university governance discussed by these literatures are detailed by Coaldrake, Stedman, and Little (2003) through a comparative study of current trends in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, with poignant insight into the different models of governance for the management of higher education. Critical of the currents of change toward "corporate governance," the authors cite reference to literature that calls for "re-balancing" of university governance, maintaining that the re-balancing "would amount to a clarification of shared governance".[8] With changing roles in human resources and the external pressures for accountability affecting university relationships internally, McMaster provides insights by defining management styles in terms of nested partnership between faculty and administration, contiguous partnership, and segmented partnership. With debates over the recent trends, university organizations, governing associations, and numerous postsecondary institutions themselves have set forth policy statements on governance.[6]
United States
Within the US, governance varies greatly from university to university. Without any policy, various statements have been influential.
American Association of University Professors
The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) was the first organization to formulate a statement on the governance of higher education based on principles of democratic values and participation (which, in this sense, correlates with the Yale Report of 1828, which has been referred to as the "first attempt at a formally stated philosophy of education" for universities, emphasizing at that time that Enlightenment curricula following the establishment of democratic constitutional governance should not be replaced with retrogression to religious curricula).[9] The AAUP published its first "Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities" in 1920, "emphasizing the importance of faculty involvement in personnel decisions, selection of administrators, preparation of the budget, and determination of educational policies. Refinements to the statement were introduced in subsequent years, culminating in the 1966 Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities.[10] The document does not provide for a "blueprint" for the governance of higher education. Nor was the purpose of the statement to provide principles for relations with industry and government (though it establishes direction on "the correction of existing weaknesses"). Rather, it aimed to establish a shared vision for the internal governance of institutions. Student involvement is not addressed in detail. The statement concerns general education policy and internal operations with an overview of the formal structures for organization and management. In process and structure, the meaning with the outcome is an organizational philosophy for shared governance in higher education.
National Education Association
First published in 1987, the
State and federal government and external agencies should refrain from intervening in the internal governance of institutions of higher education when they are functioning in accordance with state and federal law. Government should recognize that conserving the autonomy of these institutions is essential to protecting academic freedom, the advance of knowledge, and the pursuit of truth.[11]
The policy statement references the AAUP's "1966 Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities." The basic principles evidently draw from the early AAUP statement on governance. Though the NEA makes no mention of students anywhere in the policy, the NEA like the AAUP does reflect the basic ideas and premise for the "responsibility primarily of the faculty to determine the appropriate curriculum and procedures of student instruction".[10] In this respect, the AAUP grants that considerations should be made for publicly supported institutions. Unlike the NEA, the AAUP elaborates more on the role of governing structures, including the role of the president to ensure "sound academic practices", as the NEA suggests faculty rights to appeal flawed and improper procedures. In summation, where the AAUP discusses the organizational structure for governance and management in more detail while touching on student involvement, the NEA statement differs by detailing primarily faculty rights and responsibilities in shared governance.
Statement of community college governance
Following on the 1987 publication of "Policy Statement on Higher Education Faculty Governance", in 1989 the NEA issued a "Policy Statement on Higher Education Policy for Community College Governance." The NEA elaborates upon issues in support of shared governance for the management of community colleges, junior and technical colleges not addressed in their previous statement. The statement is based on the same principles, believing cooperative decision-making and collective bargaining in governance should be based on "collegial" relationships. Where statements from the NEA and the AAUP advocate the importance of faculty involvement in governance, the community college statement notes that many do not exercise the right when available and that faculty "at public institutions are not yet permitted to bargain collectively in many states".[12] The NEA then elaborates upon the need for faculty participation.
Again, the "Policy Statement of Community College Governance" correlates based upon the same underlying principles of the AAUP and NEA statement on faculty governance. The community college statement also elaborates upon structure and procedure not addressed in the previous statement, including the "ad hoc" and standing committees as discussed in the AAUP policy statement on governance. Where the AAUP statement discusses policy on students and their academic rights, with the community college statement the NEA does not address student involvement.[12]
American Federation of Teachers
In 2002, the Higher Education Program and Policy Council of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) published a statement in support of the shared governance of institutions. The policy statement is a response to the fact that many governing boards have adopted the "mantra of business".[13] The AFT iterates the purpose by which higher education achieves democratic organizational processes between administration and faculty, believing shared governance is under attack in six ways:[14]
- the outsourcing of instruction, particularly to learning technologies;
- redirecting teaching to part-time and temporary faculty;
- re-orienting curriculum to business oriented coursework;
- the buying and selling of courseware for commercial exploitation;
- for profit teaching and research;
- with the formation of a "commercial consortia with other universities and private investors." Meaning, as many have begun to view education as business, they are not necessarily in the business of education.
Accordingly, six principles affirm standards of academic freedom, faculty participation in standards and curriculum, and faculty decisions on academic personnel as the AAUP first established principles of governance. The statement maintains that participation in shared governance should be extended, acknowledging that the way in which participation is expanded will vary from institution to institution; "but each group whose work contributes to the academic enterprise should be involved in a manner appropriate to institutional functions and responsibility".[15] The policy addresses unions and faculty senates, believing that they contribute to the maintenance of shared governance in institutions as well as the role of accrediting agencies to support management standards. In conclusion, the AFT emphasizes affirmation of the goals, objectives and purpose for shared governance in higher education.
Association of Governing Boards
With recent debates and trends in the governance of institutions of higher education in the United States, the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB) issued a statement on governance, most recently updated in 2010. The original statement was published with a correlating statement, "Governing in the Public Trust: External Influences on Colleges and Universities." In the first statement on governance, the advisiory organization for institutional governance discusses facts and perceptions concerning governance, including specific facts related to institutional trends and perceptions that "internal governance arrangements have become so cumbersome that timely decisions are difficult to make".[16] The AGB statement then defines general principles upon which governing boards are to operate and the responsibilities of a governing board to the institution; the updated principles as of 2010 are below.[17]
- The ultimate responsibility for governance of the institution (or system) rests in its governing board.
- The board should establish effective ways to govern while respecting the culture of decision making in the academy.
- The board should approve a budget and establish guidelines for resource allocation using a process that reflects strategic priorities.
- Boards should ensure open communication with campus constituencies.
- The governing board should manifest a commitment to accountability and transparency and should exemplify the behavior it expects of other participants in the governance process.
- Governing boards have the ultimate responsibility to appoint and assess the performance of the president.
- System governing boards should clarify the authority and responsibilities of the system head, campus heads, and any institutional quasi-governing or advisory boards.
- Boards of both public and independent colleges and universities should play an important role in relating their institutions to the communities they serve.
With their statement on governing bodies, the AGB then provides statement on governing in the
- the primacy of the board over individual members;
- the importance of institutional missions;
- respecting the board as both buffer and bridge;
- exhibiting exemplary public behaviour; and
- keeping academic freedom central.[18]
In conclusion, the statement asks for the reaffirmation of a commitment to citizen governance to maintain the balanced and independent governance of institutions.
2001 Kaplan Survey on higher education governance
Sponsored by the AAUP and the American Conference of Academic Deans, the 2001 Survey of Higher Education Governance is a study done by Gabriel Kaplan, a doctoral student at Harvard University interested in replicating research done by Committee T of the AAUP thirty years previously. The findings of the report detail the method with summary of the present state of shared governance. The findings include the state of the locus of authority and reforms as well as the analysis of the challenges facing Liberal Arts Colleges with the pressures of the current economic climate.[19] The preliminary results contain the raw data on the landscape of governance in higher education from a population of 1303 4-year institutions in the United States, with data compiled from both administrative structures and the faculty. The survey did not include participation from any population of students.[20]
Since the 1819 U.S. Supreme Court case
By contrast to corporate trends, the author maintains that the corporate "one-size-fits-all" system could not effectively suit institutional needs. From which, the perspective then affirms the AAUP tradition of shared governance as a sound system of organization and management in higher education, "essential to the long term interests of colleges and universities if they wish to remain competitive and academically credible".
Australia
In October 2003, the
The recommendations address practices by which internal governing structures operate and how they can improve institutional governance for the Commonwealth of Australia. External relations, the role of faculty and students in governance are not approached except inasmuch as institutional board members should be appointed with their selection based on contributions "to the effective working of the governing body by having needed skills, knowledge and experience, an appreciation of the values of a university and its core activities of teaching and research, its independence and academic freedom and the capacity to appreciate the university's external community needs from that university".[24] The committee defines the responsibilities of university governance, including legal obligations and legislative requirements for the internal governing boards of Australian institutions. Accordingly, governing bodies "should make available a programme of induction and professional development . . . to ensure that all members are aware of the nature of their duties and responsibilities".[24] The report concludes with protocol for annual reports, including report of risk management and additional steps to ensure good governance.
Africa
The Pan-African Institute of University Governance is a project set up by the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie and by the Association of Commonwealth universities, in support of the Ministry of the higher education of Cameroon. It was launched during the World Conference on the Higher education of the UNESCO which was held in Paris from 5 to 8 July 2009, by the Rector of the AUF, Mr Bernard Cerquiglini, and the General Secretary of the ACU Mr John Tarrant.
Based physically at the Yaounde - Cameroon, it is about a unique structure of support which aims at improving all the practices which contribute to the smooth running of higher education in Africa. Its vocation is to accompany the modernization of the governance of higher education thanks to the implementation of expertise, the modules of training, seminars and workshops and especially specific tools of management, analysis and evaluation. It spreads his actions on the whole domain of governance (academic, administrative, financial, social, numerical and of the research) and has a function of observatory of higher education in Africa.
At this effect, the Institute founds its methods of work on its role of observatory of higher education, on its expertise in evaluation of mechanisms of functioning and decision-making in establishments, and thus on its capacity of analysis of the modes and tools of management of higher education.
The Institute's action is founded around five major challenges:
- a challenge of efficiency to develop the universities' practices of governance and make them real actors of the development.
- a technical challenge to help universities rationalize their means and realize in best their missions
- a strategic challenge by the pooling of tools and the exchange of the good practices
- an African challenge to realize an African community of higher education which transcends the language and political barriers
- a political challenge through its network of partners and experts.
The activities of the Institute in 2009–2010 are articulate around three types of actions:
- the effective launch of the Institute
- the knowledge of the mechanisms of university governance through two inquiries
- initiatives of training, information and promotion.
The Institute works in partnership with stakeholders and international institutions to accompany initiatives and realize actions which can contribute to the improvement of the functioning of higher education and more widely education in Africa.
The philosophy of this Institute expands dialogue and shared experience between African university leaders on issues related to university governance. Methods will step out from the classical models of cooperation in which the "expertise" of the North are transmitted to "addressee" and "consignee" of the South, leading to the principals and attitudes of copy-write. African Universities can only develop if they succeed in inventing their own policies and procedures, all by taking into consideration international standards.
To assist universities in the accomplishment of their missions in an efficient and modern way, the Pan-African Institute of University Governance shall make use of the relationship it has with partners such as the Agence universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) and the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU).
The AUF-ACU partnership consists of two joined visions. Rounding on common objectives and shared missions, Anglophones, Francophones, Lusophones and Arabic-speakers will better enrich discussions on how to develop higher educational system. This illustrates the importance taken by cultural diversity in the World today, being an essential basis for development inside more harmonized globalization which takes into account each person's identity and values. Therefore, our approach is that of the exchange of experience and good practices likely to be widespread within the framework of our institutions that most frequently lack real communication.
About governance : Two approaches shall enable us to tackle the problems of higher education institutions' governance in Africa. The first one is current. It consists of rationalizing, valorizing and modernizing both the university foundations and their various systems of functioning. It supposes to put on better the whole university structure : better management, transparency in the decision-making and the participation of all actors in the decision-making. The second approach of governance fundamentally questions the efficiency of the systems of functioning of universities, too much centered on the hierarchical authority of the State, and on that of the university and academic administration, whether it is to define the financing, programs, the qualifications and even the courses of training. The governance of higher education will succeed only if it allows creating a common space of meeting between the actors : political, socioeconomic, students, teaching and civil society. Web site : www.ipagu.org
South Africa
The South African National Commission on Higher Education was meant to serve as a "
Where the 1997 Higher Education Act and
Other European countries
Institutions of tertiary higher education in Europe have been under reform, following the common goals and objectives to develop new models for institutional governance. Sporn, writing for
Significant among these changes is the establishment of governing and coordinating boards with decision-making structures for collaboration in external and internal governance of higher education (as done in many states within the United States). Believing that there will be either a convergence or divergence between a strong administrative managerialism and faculty involvement in governance throughout Europe, the UK and U.S., the example of the system in Austria illustrates the potential for innovative approaches that grant autonomy to institutions with restructuring through an external board. In conclusion, Sporn believes the new governing structures provide stronger leadership and management, but that institutions "should pay close attention to the role of faculty and shared governance."[32]
United Kingdom
Changes in the
- labormarket, i.e. the Efficiency Drive.
- Downsizing and Decentralization, breaking up large institutions into smaller peripherary units with a small centralized managerial core and a split between public and private funding.
- Excellence, the In Search For Excellence Model, which focuses on a more human resource approach to institutional change with a mix of top-down and bottom-up organization
- Public Service, with the merging of both public and private managerial practices.
See also
- Policy governance
- Comparative education
- Educational leadership
- International education
- Post-secondary educational organizations
- Students' union
Notes
- ^ Altbach 2005, pp. 16–18.
- ^ Coaldrake, Stedman & Little 2003, p. 5.
- ^ Nelson, Adrian (2010-02-08). "The Shimer College Assembly". Archived from the original on 2012-05-17. Retrieved 2015-01-22.
- ^ a b Kezar and Eckel 2004, pp. 371–398.
- ^ a b Lapworth 2004, pp. 299–314.
- ^ a b c McMaster 2002, pp. 1–9.
- ^ Dearlove 1997, pp. 56–75.
- ^ Coaldrake, Stedman & Little 2003, p. 14.
- ^ Brubacher 1982, p. 5.
- ^ a b AAUP 1966.
- ^ a b NEA 1987.
- ^ a b NEA 1989.
- ^ AFT 2002.
- ^ AFT 2002, p. 5.
- ^ AFT 2002, p. 8.
- ^ AGB 2001, p. 3.
- ^ AGB. "Statement on Board Responsibility for Institutional Governance". AGB. Retrieved 2011-06-13.
- ^ AGB 2001, pp. 23–26.
- ^ Kaplan 2001.
- ^ http://www.aaup.org/NR/rdonlyres/449D4003-EB51-4B8D-9829-0427751FEFE4/0/01Results.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ a b Quinn 2005, pp. 30–31.
- ^ a b Moore 2005, pp. 26–28.
- ^ AVCC 2003, p. 3.
- ^ a b AVCC 2003, p. 6.
- ^ Hall & Symes 2005, pp. 205–206.
- ^ Hall & Symes 2005, pp. 200, 204, 210.
- ^ a b Hall & Symes 2005, pp. 201–202.
- ^ Hall & Symes 2005, p. 210.
- ^ Sporn 2003, p. 31.
- ^ Sporn 2003, p. 33.
- S2CID 151552617
- ^ Sporn 2003, p. 41.
- ISBN 978-0-85773-025-1.
- ^ Sporn 2003, p. 32.
References
- Birnbaum, R. 1991. How Colleges Work. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
- Butts, R.F. 1955. A Cultural History of Western Education; its social and intellectual foundations. New York: McGraw-Hill.
- Dobbins, Michael and Jens Jungblut. "Higher Education Governance." Oxford Bibliographies. 29 November 2018. DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199756810-0203
- Heller, D.E., (Ed.). 2001. The States and Public Higher Education Policy. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
- Kaplin, W.A. & Lee, B.A. 1995. The Law of Higher Education: A Comprehensive Guide to Legal Implications of Administrative Decision Making, (3rd Ed.). San Francisco: Jossey Bass Publishers. (For UK law, see Farrington, D.J. & Palfreyman, D. (2012) 'The Law of Higher Education' (2nd Ed.)(Oxford University Press), as updated on-line and as supported by an on-line 'HE Casebook' at the OxCHEPS website, www.oxcheps.new.ox.ac.uk - also at the Resources page of that website see the reference to Shattock, M.L. (2008) 'Managing Good Governance in Higher Education' in the Open University Press 'Managing Universities and Colleges' series.)
- Leadership and Governance in Higher Education. Handbook for Decision-makers and Administrators. 2011. Raabe Academic Publishers. http://www.lg-handbook.info
- Middlehurst, R. 2004. "Changing Internal Governance: A Discussion of Leadership Roles and Management Structures in UK Universities." Higher Education Quarterly, Vol. 58, No. 4: 258-279.
- Mingle, J.R. & Epper, R.M. 1997. "State Coordination and Planning in an Age of Entrepreneurship." In Goodchild, Lovell, Hines, & Gill, (Eds.). Public Policy and Higher Education, Boston, MA: Pearson Custom Publishing.
- Revitt, E. & Luyk, S. 2015. "Library Councils and Governance in Canadian University Libraries: A Critical Review." Canadian Journal of Academic Librarianship, Vol 1, No. 1: 60-79. Available online: [1].
- Rudolph, F. 1990 [1962]. The American College and University: A History. Athens and London: The university of Georgia Press.
- UNESCO. (2004). "Managerialism and Evaluation in Higher Education." UNESCO Forum Occasional Papers Series No. 7. Paris: Author. Available online [2].
- Altbach, G.P. (2005). "Patterns in Higher Education Development". In Altbach, P.G.; Berdahl, R.O.; Gumport, P.J. (eds.). American Higher Education in the Twenty-First Century: Social, Political, and Economic Challenges (2nd ed.). Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
- American Association of University Professors (1966). "Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities". Retrieved 2015-01-22.
- American Federation of Teachers (2002). "Shared Governance in Colleges and Universities". Archived from the original on 2006-10-26. Retrieved 2006-09-27.
- Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (2001). "AGB Statement on Institutional Governance" and "Governing in the Public Trust: External Influences on Colleges and Universities". The Fundamentals. Board Basics. Washington, D.C.: Author.
{{cite web}}
: Missing or empty|url=
(help) - Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee(2003). Chancellors and AVCC statement on university governance.
- Brubacher, J.S. (1982). On the Philosophy of Higher Education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
- Coaldrake, P.; Stedman, L.; Little, P. (2003). Issues in Australian University Governance. Brisbane: QUT.
- Dearlove, J. (1997). "The academic labour process: from collegiality and professionalism to managerialism and proletarianisation?". Higher Education Review. 30 (1): 56–75.
- Hall, M.; Symes, A. (2005). "South African higher education in the first decade of democracy: from cooperative governance to conditional autonomy". S2CID 143242450.
- Kaplan, G. (2001). "Preliminary Results from the 2001 Survey on Higher Education Governance". American Association of University Professors and The American Conference of Academic Deans.
{{cite web}}
: Missing or empty|url=
(help) - Kezar, A.; Eckel, P. D. (2004). "Meeting Today's Governance Challenges". The Journal of Higher Education. 75 (4): 371–398.
- Lapworth, S. (2004). "Arresting Decline in Shared Governance: Towards a Flexible Model for Academic Participation". Higher Education Quarterly. 58 (4): 299–314. .
- McMaster, M. (2002). "Partnerships between Administrative and Academic Managers: How Deans and Faculty Managers Work Together" (PDF). Association of Tertiary Education Management. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-10-22.
- Moore, Robert Jr. (2005). "In Shared Governance, What Role for the AAUP?". Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education. 28 (9).
- National Education Association (1987). "NEA Policy Statements: Faculty Governance in Higher Education". Retrieved 2006-09-26.
- National Education Association (1989). "NEA Policy Statements: Statement on Community College Governance". Retrieved 2006-09-26.
- Quinn, Kevin P. (2005). "Shared Governance: The Elusive Role of Jesuit as Trustee". Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education. 28 (10).
- Sporn, B. (2003). "Convergence of Divergence in International Higher Education Policy: Lessons from Europe" (PDF). Publications from the Forum for the Future of Higher Education. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-01-23. Retrieved 2015-01-22.
External links
- Why is Higher Education Board Governance Important? Dr. Drumm McNaughton
- Excellence in Governance Victorian TAFE Association
- Resources on Governance, AAUP