This article draws on Bourdieu's theorisation of domination and Gramsci's notions of hegemony within the context of a larger empirical study of Australian university academic governance, and of academic boards (also known as academic senates or faculty senates) in particular. Reporting data that suggest a continued but radically altered form of…

Despite considerable international literature acknowledging issues associated with the effectiveness of university academic boards (also known as academic senates or faculty senates), there is little current empirical research exploring why difficulties might exist and what (if anything) might be done about them. This article reports the findings…

A historically informed analysis of the academic board or senate in Australian universities, and in the wider higher education environment, particularly the UK, indicates that the role and function of academic boards has fundamentally changed in the past 30 years. Within the context of universities being repositioned to serve global knowledge…

This article undertakes a review of Australian and international literature and higher education policy in response to the changing nature of university academic boards (also known as academic senates or faculty senates). It shows that governance has become an issue for both the state and for universities and that within this context risk…

A study was undertaken to analyze the group processes in academic committee meetings, focusing on committee member perceptions of the processes and their effectiveness. Such committees are traditional in higher education, and have long been considered the most efficient and democratic decision-making method. However, they have been criticized as…

Policies and professionalism are discussed with reference to experiences in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Great Britain. A professional development policy is considered to be a prerequisite for inservice programs for academic staff, evaluation of academic performance, and career-related decisions. (Author/MLW)

One aspect of the role and responsibilities of education councils in Australia is addressed in this paper: that of the council and its accountability to the community. Three major sections are presented. Part One discusses the two difficult concepts of accountability and community. The second part presents some data on how council members appear…

This paper examines the structure and governance of higher education in Australia, including the federal and state roles, the functions of formal governing bodies, and finance. The paper also examines the organization of studies (bachelors through doctorate), the school admission process, the student financial aid scheme known as AUSTUDY, and the…

This collection of 12 papers examines the governance and funding of higher education in Australia, focusing on the national education reforms of 1987-88 and their effect on universities. Papers include: (1) "Higher Education in International Perspective" (David M. Cameron); (2) "Governance and Funding of Higher Education"…

Two models for the structure of college/university Senates and Councils in in Western Australia are proposed, and 50 recommendations of the Tertiary Institutions Governance Committee are presented. The Committee reviewed the governance of: the Senates of the University of Western Australia and Murdoch University, and the Councils of the Western…