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Revamp senior administration organization for more effective governance
Governance Reconsidered: How Boards, Presidents, Administrators, and Faculty Can Help Their Colleges Thrive takes an in-depth look at the current practice of governance in higher education and explores solutions for more effective functioning. Written by a former college president, the book provides an insider's perspective on the growing tensions around the traditional shared governance model and identifies the key challenges facing trustees, presidents, senior administrators, and faculty.
Traditional shared governance operations are typically time-consuming, process-laden, and slow to respond to the internal and external forces acting upon modern educational institutions. Higher education is facing increasing political and economic pressure, and senior administration frequently needs the flexibility to make institutional decisions quickly. Using recent public scandals as examples, Governance Reconsidered illustrates how the tension between the need for timely decisions and action versus the importance of mission and academic quality is creating a dramatic systemic problem. The book provides practical advice on the issues at the heart of the matter, including:
* The nature and pace of change on campus, including the pressures facing higher education
* Clarity about the roles and responsibilities of trustees, the president, and the faculty
* The campus community's role in decision-making activities
* How thriving universities can govern collaboratively
The book also addresses the brand new challenges that affect higher education governance, including MOOCs, online learning, and rising questions about value and cost. Campus leaders must work together effectively to boost higher education, and Governance Reconsidered contains the questions and answers integral to implementing effective governance.
List of contents
Foreword ix
Preface xiii
Acknowledgments xxi
About the Author xxv
1. Shared Governance: Its History and Its Challenges 1
The Pressures on Shared Governance 3
Differences in How Shared Governance Has Been Practiced 6
The History of Shared Governance 7
Differences over the Nature and Pace of Change 13
Pressures on Trustees, Presidents, and Faculty to Change 23
2. The Impact of Financial Pressures on Governance 25
The Causes of Financial Pressures 26
Efforts to Control Tuition and Limit Growing Financial Aid 33
The Dangers of Business as Usual in Times of Budget Problems 37
A Successful, Proactive Approach to Financial Pressures 42
3. The Impact on Governance of Contingent
Faculty, Online Learning, and MOOCs 45
Reliance on Contingent Faculty Affects Governance 46
Online Courses and MOOCs 58
4. The Impact on Governance of Questions About Higher Education's Value and Cost 69
Higher Education Is Vulnerable to Criticism 70
Claims That Colleges Are Failing to Educate Students 75
Elected Officials Seek to Influence Higher Education 78
Trustees Are Assuming More Activist Roles 87
5. Cautionary Tales: Protests of Presidential Actions and Lessons for Shared Governance 89
Chief Financial Officers Seek Academic Cost Reductions 90
Recommendations for Presidents 109
6. Cautionary Tales: Faculty Failures and Recommendations for Collaboration 123
Case Studies: Faculties That Resist Administrative Decisions 125
Recommendations for Faculty Members 141
7. Cautionary Tales: Boards That Fail to Fulfill Their Fiduciary Responsibilities and Recommendations for Changes 153
Examples of Boards Failing to Provide Oversight 154
Lessons Learned 167
Recommendations for Boards 167
The Complexity of Terminating a President 169
Recommendations for Boards That Are Confronted with Concerns About Presidential Performance 170
8. Exemplary Tales: Successful Presidents 185
The University of Maryland, Baltimore County 188
Kettering University 191
American International College 194
Pitzer College 197
Commonalities 199
Resources 201
References 203
Index 215
About the author
SUSAN RESNECK PIERCE is president emerita of the University of Puget Sound. As president of SRP Consulting, she advises colleges and universities on planning, effective board and presidential performance, board development, governance, and fundraising. She is the author of
On Being Presidential: A Guide for College and University Leaders (Jossey-Bass, 2012).
Summary
Revamp senior administration organization for more effective governance Governance Reconsidered: How Boards, Presidents, Administrators, and Faculty Can Help Their Colleges Thrive takes an in-depth look at the current practice of governance in higher education and explores solutions for more effective functioning.
