Purpose: The main objective of the paper is to develop an investment model using data envelopment analysis (DEA) that provides a decision-making framework to allocate resources efficiently, such that the relative efficiency is improved within an available investment budget. Design/methodology/approach: Firstly, DEA models are used to evaluate the…

Sociology faculty are accountable to multiple stakeholders to demonstrate that our academic programs are effective and that students are learning. Despite the ubiquity of mandated program review practices, which often include the assessment of student learning, research is lacking on the extent to which these efforts lead to improvements in…

This paper examines strategic information systems' role in academic program planning, emphasizing department heads' perspectives at emerging universities. Employing a descriptive survey method, it gathers data from 54 department heads across three universities via a validated questionnaire, addressing system implementation and challenges. Despite…

While university department heads are integral to the operation and culture of higher education institutions, they often experience little training or support to fulfill their complex and multifaceted role. At the same time, there is limited research on how heads come to understand their work or how such understandings shape their behavior. In…

This study investigated how open and distance learning (ODL) reform was managed within the Institute of Extramural Studies (IEMS), at the National University of Lesotho (NUL). The reform was introduced during the 2017/18 academic year with first-year programmes in three departments: (a) Adult Education; (b) Business and Management Development; and…

Academic globalisation and the internationalisation of scientific knowledge currently place higher education between two forces: global competitiveness and innovation on the one hand, local attractiveness and diversity on the other. In view of this double requirement, this paper aims to examine language policy and analyse its impact on language…

This paper deals with policymaking in the higher education sector as an activity which happens on many levels, with many and varying interests involved. As the present thematic issue highlights, language is present in higher education policymaking, whether explicitly or implicitly. This special issue's initial claim is that "Policy is what…

For more than 20 years, new public management (NPM) has been the guiding governance model of university reforms in Europe. One central aspect of this governance model is to strengthen the hierarchy within the universities. Recent research shows that the formal decision-making authority of university leaders and deans has increased in almost every…

Observing that the chairperson must at minimum be able to reconcile the role expectations of the institution and department with those of the individual, the author discusses the chair's specific role in establishing missions and goals, in communications, and in decision making. A sampling of twenty-nine specific functions is also presented. (DTT)

A 1975 study of decision-making in three university departments was designed to generate theory about the decision-making process in academic departments. The primary method of data collection was semistructured interviews with faculty members. Results show that members of the three departments shared general professional norms of: (1) individual…

Student faculty ratings are used at most institutions of higher learning for three important reasons. First, the ratings provide direct feedback to the faculty, and this enables faculty to adjust their teaching styles. Second, the ratings provide the administration with information intended to assist in guiding and mentoring faculty toward more…

The effect of subunit power on resource allocation decisions in one university is examined. Measures of departmental power in a university are found to be significantly related to the proportion of the budget received, even after statistically controlling for such universalistic bases of allocation as work load of the department, national rank,…

This report presents an initial design for a university program review system which is intended to improve decision making and planning through an in-depth evaluation of the university's academic departments and programs. The system involves three phases: (1) self study by the department, (2) a review by a committee external to the department, and…

This case study of three university departments was designed to generate substantive theory about decision-making in academic departments. Homans' social systems theory was used as a framework, and it is shown that the rate of interaction affects the crystallization of norm structures and processes of influence and decision-making. (Author/LBH)

The Netherlands' use of an ad hoc interinstitutional committee of university board members during a period of retrenchment is described which resulted in a plan to close a number of university departments and to terminate many small and not very successful research programs. (MSE)