GOVERNANCE IN UNIVERSITIES

Governance in Universities

Governance in Universities

Robert Birnbaum

According to the author Birnbaum, the state has the power and the authority to establish educational institutes such as colleges and universities. The establishment of an educational institute goes through a process of statute, provision in the constitution, which also has its corporate presence. In addition, the college or university also needs to have a governing board. However, the author suggests that the area of governance incorporates more than the legal requirements and implications (Birnbaum, 1991). Decision making is part of governance, and today, the task of decision-making are performed by trustees, presidents, and faculty members.

Trustees and faculty

The author describes the earlier times and the authority, which the board possessed. Furthermore, the author describes that trustees, and the faculty had a limited role before and the issue of governance was not a problem. However, the board started delegating authorities to the trustees and faculty members, which include presidents and some teachers. As the authority of trustees, and faculty members increased, there was little that the board could do about it as the trustees and the faculty members became “the university” (Birnbaum, 1991).

With respect to the authority and power of trustees and faculty members in the curriculum, there have been a number of suggestions that the board should take back the authority from them. The author discusses the role of scholars and how their contributions can be effective. The scholars need to have a free hand to ensure that there is effectiveness in the university.

Therefore, the administrative role should incorporate assisting the scholars and taking care of their individual needs. The reason behind giving free hand to scholars is that scholars need to have a free hand to conduct their scholarly and scientific work. This is also supported by the works of Veblen. According to Veblen's description about the scholars and role of administrators, it puts forward a simple description of governance by asking if the university should be controlled by trustees and administrators or faculty.

Administrators and Faculty

Birnbaum also explains about the role of administrators and faculty members in the governance of universities and colleges. According to the author, there used to be amateur administration in the educational institutes when the faculty members had the responsibility to look over the administrative tasks along with conducting classes. However, in most of the institutions, this tradition has come to an end. Administration tasks and responsibilities require ...