The current study explored the theory of hope as a characteristic of individuals who engage in shared faculty governance, specifically addressing the question: What are the characteristics of faculty governance leaders, specifically their predispositions to have hopeful attitudes about their college campuses and administration? A survey was…

This chapter describes the various approaches to internal shared governance utilized by community colleges, ranging from approaches that intentionally involve different constituents to those evolved from habit, tradition, and precedence.

College students have been engaged in various aspects of campus governance since nearly the beginning of the academy. This governance was formalized greatly by the academic freedom movement of 40 years ago, and the current system of shared governance has not adapted well to the changing nature of the commercial higher education institution. The…

A major component of the college student experience is the engagement with out-of-class activities. This involvement has been linked to a variety of success indicators, including higher levels of academic achievement, high retention and matriculation, and overall collegiate satisfaction. One of the key areas for student engagement is college…

Student involvement in higher education governance has traditionally been seen as an important element in institutional decision-making. Student governance, along with faculty, staff, and trustee governance, is seen as an important, defining element in higher education decision making, and an element that helps to define the unique nature of the…

Profiles faculty governance senates in two-year colleges. Reports that an exploratory survey was mailed to a purposive national sample of community colleges; responses revealed that governance bodies were less common than previously thought, and that these structures tended to be more informal than their four-year college counterparts. (Contains…

American colleges and universities rely on a system of shared governance that includes the voluntary involvement of faculty to assist in the decision-making process. With a culture of democratic involvement and an expectation to participate in the democratic process generally, American citizens are accustomed to this type of involvement,…

The provost is typically seen as the chief academic officer of an institution, who has a great deal of control over how faculty are involved in academic decision making. Using a 3-round Delphi survey, a group of 20 provosts identified and rated 20 dimensions to the value of faculty involvement in governance. These leaders agreed most strongly with…

Higher education institutions rely increasingly on their faculty to create, implement, and validate administrative decisions. As a result, the position of faculty governance body leader provides a meaningful example of the type of faculty member who becomes involved in campus activities outside the normal workload. This study examined the work…

Describes a study of 265 two-year college faculty in the southeastern United States to determine the effect of their involvement in governance on the teaching process. Reports that involved faculty had more positive attitudes toward students and were more motivated. Discusses implications of findings for teaching. (18 citations) (AJL)

Profiles individuals in the faculty governance leadership position, based on survey responses from 244 faculty governance leaders, including their written and oral communication apprehension levels, and the relationship of this apprehension to job-related stressors. States that effective communication is paramount to faculty governance unit leader…

This study used a Delphi survey to examine what undergraduate student government leaders think about increasing student involvement in self-governance activities. Twenty-students from geographically diverse institutions of higher education participated in the three rounds of the Delphi study. They generated a total of 56 different strategies and…

Descibes an investigation of 110 faculty who were involved (highly, moderately, or not at all) in governance activities in community colleges. No differences were found in perceptions about ideal governance-process characteristics or faculty involvement in shared governance. However, there was a difference in general perception toward the role of…

This study examined trends and issues in the involvement of college faculty in institutional governance between 1994 and 1997. The study reviewed 132 issues of "The Chronicle of Higher Education" published during this period to identify any article or news report related to faculty involvement in governance. These topics included faculty…

Traditionally, faculty members who expected to become presidents ascended through the typical labor chain to that position. However, questions are prevalent about whether these individuals gain the managerial experience needed to succeed in a presidency. Unlike the private business management model that has been successful in developing leaders in…