This case study explores the potential for democratic governance in state-regulated Arab higher education systems focusing on institutional committee members' adoption of deliberative, empowered and participatory evidence-based decision-making practices while engaged in university policy development. Amidst a landscape characterised by the forces…

Frequently drawn from elite corporate backgrounds and, for public institutions, from pools of politically connected people, trustees usually have to be educated about shared governance. Corporate or political ties are scarcely reliable indices of the wisdom necessary to oversee institutions of higher learning, and some trustees, sadly, prove…

This article presents the annual report on the economic status of the profession. This year's report covers three main issues--all perennial problems, but with new analysis based on the latest data--in addition to summarizing the current results from the annual American Association of University Professors (AAUP) survey of full-time faculty…

College and university governance works best when every constituency within the institution has a clear understanding of its role with respect to the other constituencies. It works best when communication among the governing board, the administration, and the faculty (not to mention the staff and students) is regular, open, and honest. Too often…

The many levels of hierarchy in higher education are a kaleidoscope of power struggles and egos. The responsibilities of each level can be unclear, leading to administrative chaos. Above all, trustees who overstep their authority and neglect to direct policy can weaken an institution's mission and diminish its educational product. In 2008, as the…

During the 2011-12 academic year, a group of faculty and student researchers at the Cornell Higher Education Research Institute (CHERI) gathered information on which public and private institutions had faculty members on boards of trustees and obtained the names of the faculty members serving in these roles. In April and May 2012, the authors…

Academic Leadership 2.0 means making an administrative partnership with the faculty the cornerstone of an institution's culture. Administrators have to stop thinking of themselves as operating on a different level from the faculty. The fear many administrators have is that if they demonstrate their willingness to advocate for the faculty, the…

The nationwide recession has exacerbated what was already a long-term trend in public higher education--declining state support has meant shifting the revenue stream from state appropriations to more burdensome student tuition rates. Seduced by the lure of rapid profits, some institutions have made matters worse by opting for high-risk…

In this article we will present findings from a national survey questioning the actual impact of the new governance structures at German universities on academic teaching. To begin with, we give a theoretical underpinning to the economization of higher education institutions (HEIs) according to Principal-Agent Theory. This allows for the…

The work of individual professors and members of the "faculty" requires a high degree of autonomy. This professional independence that educators enjoy individually through academic freedom and collectively through peer review and shared governance arises from a social contract, a tacit agreement with the public about the contribution of…

What is the effect of the diminution of tenured, professional faculty or librarians by adjunct faculty or librarians? The author explores the effects of adjunct faculty and librarians on student learning, faculty governance, curricula, and academic freedom. The author discusses solutions offered by professional organizations as well as an…

The conditions surrounding appointments of full-time, tenure-tract, teaching faculty and administration produce one area in collective bargaining contracts that affects equally every employee of an institution. Several of these conditions are discussed: initial appointments; appointment authority; conflict of appointment authority; appointment…

The nature and status of collective bargaining by faculty in colleges and universities in both the United States and Canada are reviewed. The growth patterns for collective negotiation in both countries and the causal factors for faculty unions are contrasted. The use of collective bargaining in higher education raises issues, including the…

This report details the response of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges to Assembly Concurrent Resolution (ACR) Number 39 (Hayden), known as "Incentives for Improving Undergraduate Teaching." Part 1 provides the background and recent history of community college faculty development. Part 2 describes the current faculty…

Collective bargaining is intended to define what constitutes faculty union rights. Union claims to rights must be based on the content of the Agreement. Several union rights negotiated by faculty organizations with college and university administrations are detailed. These include agreements on who manages internal union affairs; rights that…