This investigative report found that a "history of failed governance" at the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies (PWIAS) contributed to challenges around academic freedom raised by former PWIAS Director Philippe Tortell when he resigned in 2018. Tortell alleged that the Board of Trustees of the PWIAS and the University of British…

School leaders rightly tend toward collaboration and consensus-building when it comes to important decisions affecting students. But there are moments when, perhaps to their own surprise, they may find themselves willing to "go to the mat" on an important decision, whether consensus has been reached or not. Smith, a professor and chair…

The Regents of the University of Colorado engaged the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) to conduct a review of the reporting relationships and decision-making authority of the Board of Regents, the President of the System, the System Administrative Officers, and the Chancellors and senior officers of the four…

Academic institution structure is both hierarchical and committee-based. It is hierarchical in the Administration including staff, similar to business corporations. It is committee-based for the Faculty body in a fashion similar to US Congress. It can exploit the best of both models for better governance and rightfully democratic decisions. The…

In Canada, only 44% of members of academic governance bodies at universities feel that their boards are effective decision-making bodies (Jones, Shanahan, & Goyan, 2004). In this study, we examined the views of senators at a British Columbia university regarding their senate's effectiveness in decision-making, including structures, processes,…

This case tells the story of a failed public-private partnership. It illustrates how stakeholders, encouraged by the current political context, rushed into a partnership without establishing a basis for mutual understanding and expectations. As a result of this hasty arrangement, questions emerged over who ultimately controlled decisions related…

Research increasingly points to the negative impacts of teacher absence from school on access to schooling and success in learning in schools, in particular in schools in areas of multiple-deprivation (including rural schools). South African schools are no exception. In this regard, like any other employer, the South African Department of Basic…

This publication is part of an Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB) series devoted to strengthening the role of key standing committees of governing boards. While there is no optimum committee system for institutions of higher education, certain principles, practices, and procedures prevail. The best practices…

This case study examined a multi-college community college district in northern California in a primarily rural area, to understand how their practices compared to management best practices designed to improve student success, barriers that may exist in implementing best practices, and how the institution may improve its own practices. The problem…

This paper delineates six attributes of an ideal high school governance structure: respect, freedom, rationality, flexibility, equality, and involvement of staff and students in the decision-making process. (Author/SJL)

Management development and training is a vehicle to help make higher education management more professional by working with institutions' own managers on institutional problems. An integrated, systematic program for management development created by the Higher Education Management Institute and the Exxon Education Foundation is recommended. (MSE)

The four trends chosen for discussion in this paper represent the impressions of the observer and are selected because of their perceived relevance for persons having a major interest in educational administrator preparation programs. The author observes that (1) educational administration and governance in the public sector are becoming…

The responses of state colleges and universities to substantial reductions in their appropriations are examined in a one-year study that encompasses experience with fiscal stringency in about a dozen states, primarily in five states. Some key concepts such as "retrenchment,""time," and the differences in statewide organizations…