The governance of most colleges and universities is shared among the board of trustees, the administration, and the faculty. Most four-year institutions endorse the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities (1966), which asserts that the faculty has "primary" authority over the…

How to make participatory democracy work in a period of financial stringency and academic soul-searching. (Editor)

Suggested questions are offered that must be asked if full accountability within individual colleges and universitites is to be realized. It is suggested that failure to include trustees in evaluations of an institution's effectiveness will lead to the emergence of serious problems. (LBH)

Comparison of the American Association of University Professors' (AAUP) tradition on governance and the Association of Governing Boards' (AGB) Statement on Governance reveals points of contention and agreement. Noted are the AGB statement's avoidance of the term "shared governance," a major principle of the AAUP, and the AGB's emphasis…

Factors influencing the policy responsibilities of trustees of higher education institutions include: the public disenchantment with higher education and doubt about whether liberal arts education is still valid in the face of vocational requirements, other educational styles and sponsors, financial problems, "constituency governance" on campus,…

Cogovernance refers to the process of administrators consulting academicians, through committees of faculty members. Competitiveness, rapid change, and the uncertainty that arises from the absence of assured funding underlies the strength of American college presidents. In contrast to the administrative professionals, members of academic senate…

Calls for presidential evaluations resulting from accountability demands are discussed. A summary of the literature is detailed and various models are described including: Los Angeles Community College District "civil service model," Ad Hoc Committee Model, Minnesota State University System Model, and FIPSE Model. (Author/MLW)

Three educators discuss shared leadership among faculty, administration, and trustees in higher education, addressing five issues: in what venues, other than faculty senates, collaboration takes place; why the outside world is hostile to the academic governing process; why faculty feel threatened and powerless; how faculty can mitigate hostility…

In an effort to manage change at Bennington College (Vermont) in the face of financial problems, its trustees engaged in an institutional symposium for a year and a half and issued a report addressing some significant questions in liberal education, including pressures for political correctness, the relativity of truth, individual responsibility,…

College faculty leaders, presidents, and board members must affirm their obligations to the public trust, in part by taking more responsibility for creating accountability through accreditation rather than serving political interests. Institutional integrity is built by cultivating innovation, self-scrutiny, and ongoing public discourse. (MSE)