Definition

Research on Academic Governance

No single or generally accepted definition

Closest: responsibility for the key academic issues

such as determining the curriculum, course approval,

and ensuring standards

No breakdown of specific duties or groups involved

Differ across types of institution and its history

Generally agreed upon that authority over everything to

do with academics is decided by the relationships

between the BOT and Senate

Composition

In the United States, there are two major “voices”

The Board of Trustees (BOT) & Administration

(President, Vice President, Deans)

Faculty (Senate)

Academic Governance

“Owned” by both the BOT and the Senate

Typically, BOT defers major decision making in

academic realm to the senate

Influences on Governance

Meeting constituents needs and expectations

Students, parents, community members, legislators,

creditors, donors, alumni, staff, and faculty

Meeting institutional goals

Effective Governance

Academic governance is a “hard to manage and

describe” university system (Bradshaw &Fedette,

2008)

Effective academic governance occurs when groups

do not get sidetracked into operational details that

may be better left to other groups or subgroups

Multiple influences of effectives

Complications in

Governance

Autonomy & Academic Freedom vs. Institutional Interest

Typically, academic decision making is deferred to

faculty

Faculty are criticized for being slow

Multiple committees impede processes

Blurred lines of responsibility / Overlap

What parts of the university would you assign to the BOT

and what part would you assign to the Senate?

Other Structures in

Governance

Concept of a Unicameral governing structure

One governing board that encompasses all facets of

decision making

Claude (1972) argues that this method doesn’t

pretend to solve problems by avoiding them

Partnership Approach

Separate responsibilities but close partnerships

Joint committees & task forces

References

Bradshaw, P., &Fredette, C. (2008). Academic governance of universiites: Reflections of a senate chair on moving from theory to practice and back. Journal of Management Inquiry. 18(2).

Leadership Foundation. Academic governance. Retrieved from http://www.lfhe.ac.uk/governance/aboutgovernance/. Retrieved on October 18, 2010.

Morrill, R. (2003). The overlapping worlds of academic governance. Trusteeship, 1(11).

Mortimer, K.P., &Sathre, C. (2007). The art and politics of academic governance. Lanham, MD: Rowman&LIttlefield Publishers.

Waitzer, E. J., &Enrione, A. (2005). Paradigm flaw in the boardroom: Governance versus management. International Journal of Disclosure and Governace, 2(4), 348-357.