Reinventing Governance: The Role of Boards of Governors in the New Austrian University

In the last decade, the university sector in many European countries has undergone manifold changes in relation to the design of governance structures and processes. Accordingly, a board of governors with far-reaching competences was implemented by the latest reform of the Austrian higher education system in 2002. Drawing on an empirical research project, this paper contrasts the basic ideas of this reform with insights into the concrete practice of the new governance structure. The results show that board members’ personal factors such as personality, experience, and their attitude towards the multi-faceted nature of university governance, strongly influence the boards’ identity formation and actual work. It is concluded that such factors must be regarded when implementing governing boards in universities by means of university reform.

     

The Effectiveness of Academic Boards in University Governance

Despite considerable international literature acknowledging issues associated with the effectiveness of university academic boards (also known as academic senates or faculty senates), there is little current empirical research exploring why difficulties might exist and what (if anything) might be done about them. This article reports the findings of case study research conducted in Australian universities, which examined fulfilment of academic board terms of reference and perceived academic board strengths and weaknesses. Based on the data, the article then considers the characteristics of one particular “effective” academic board. It concludes by highlighting some potential implications of the research for those universities seeking to enhance the future role and function of their academic board, which include discussing the apparent importance of latent or tacit functions of university academic boards, versus those functions or responsibilities which are formally documented, and the building of intellectual and symbolic capital for their respective universities through a focus on the substantive quality of core academic programmes.     

The Role of Parent Governors in School Governance in Zimbabwe: Perceptions of School Heads,Teachers and Parent Governors

This paper reports on a study of the role of parent governors in five neighbouring rural primary schools in Zimbabwe. The study proposed that despite the presence of a legal decentralised school governance structure in which parents form the majority, they did not have the capacity to function effectively therein, and were still marginalised in school governance decision-making. Four areas of decision-making were investigated: school organisation; curriculum; employment and appraisal of teaching staff; and financial resources. Interviews were conducted with parent governors, school heads and teachers. Findings show that all the respondent groups perceived significant parental involvement in the area of school finances only. However, parents were perceived to lack the capacity to make decisions in all four areas. The study concludes that the role of parents in the running of schools in the country has not significantly grown from that of being school financiers and builders of infrastructure. Therefore, building school governance capacity among parents is necessary.     

The Role of Parent Governors in School Governance in Zimbabwe: Perceptions of School Heads, Teachers and Parent Governors

This paper reports on a study of the role of parent governors in five neighbouring rural primary schools in Zimbabwe. The study proposed that despite the presence of a legal decentralised school governance structure in which parents form the majority, they did not have the capacity to function effectively therein, and were still marginalised in school governance decision-making. Four areas of decision-making were investigated: school organisation; curriculum; employment and appraisal of teaching staff; and financial resources. Interviews were conducted with parent governors, school heads and teachers. Findings show that all the respondent groups perceived significant parental involvement in the area of school finances only. However, parents were perceived to lack the capacity to make decisions in all four areas. The study concludes that the role of parents in the running of schools in the country has not significantly grown from that of being school financiers and builders of infrastructure. Therefore, building school governance capacity among parents is necessary.     

The New Style Boards of Governors – Are They Working?

In the 1980s, the Government believed that the extra demand for new graduates would need to be met by making higher education institutions more 'business–like'. This change was aimed at making these institutions more responsive to the country's economic needs by improving access, quality and efficiency. One consequence of the move to more 'business–like' organisations was the imposition, under The Education Reform Act (1988) and The Further and Higher Education Act (1992), of newly constituted boards of governors upon the new universities and colleges of higher education.
These new boards were structured so that the majority of their membership consisted of 'independent members', defined in the 1988 Act as 'persons appearing to the appointing authority to have experience of, and to have shown capacity in industrial, commercial, or employment matters or the practice of any profession'. These boards were expected to lead, or at least to act as catalysts for, the necessary change process. The paper argues that boards of governors could be said to be very efficient but not necessarily very effective and suggests that more needs to be known about the corporate governance process in the new universities and colleges of higher education.     

Fostering Good Governance at School Level in Honduras: The Role of Transparency Bulletin Boards

Corruption is at the core of weak governance. In the education sector, corruption is a threat to the quality of and access to education. Although the diagnosis is straightforward, effective reforms are more difficult to implement. The principles of good governance (transparency, participation, accountability, and integrity) provide us guidance, but innovative ways need to be found to fill these principles with life and create dynamics of change. We present a simple, efficient experience of introducing transparency and fostering participation and therefore accountability at the school level in Honduras. The transparency bulletin boards (murales de transparencia) are a homegrown response to the call for improving governance in a challenging environment.     

校长与董事会:美国大学治理结构中的核心关系研究

强调“管理”而忽视“治理”,是当前我国大学建设中的一个重要问题.立足于美国的实践,分别从历史进程、治理与管理的关系、董事会和校长职责、董事会成员遴选方式、董事会构成、互动机制等六个维度探讨了校长与董事会的关系这一大学治理结构中的核心问题,以期为当前我国大学的建设提供一些借鉴.     

Governance and Management in the New University

Over the last thirty years, universities have moved towards a universal system of higher education, their objectives have changed significantly and, consequently, they are looking at making changes to their systems of governance and management. These changes can only be fully understood in the context of university tradition and culture. In this paper, concepts such as autonomy, collegial democracy and the status of teaching staff will be discussed from the perspective of the new developments, which have taken place in European higher education. Finally, new trends in university governing and management will be presented and discussed. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Taking WGU Seriously: Implications of the Western Governors University

After much attention during its development, the continued importance of the Western Governors University (WGU) has not been significantly addressed since it opened in 1998. While certainly not dominating the higher education environment as predicted by its founders, it has nonetheless demonstrated a new competency-based distance education model for higher education. For that reason, the implications of WGU should be taken seriously. Three potential implications for colleges and universities are outlined: accreditation policies, organizational models, and faculty roles. While its survival as an institution is questionable, the concepts behind WGU remain important in changes in American higher education.     

大学资源的系统建构与大学治理现代化:一个新的分析框架

大学治理资源是一个包含物质、权力、人力、历史、理论、社会、制度、组织和文化等资源要素在内的有机系统,大学治理的过程需要基于国家供给型、社会参与型、大学自生型和"国家——大学——社会"协作型四重模式进行资源的系统配置。推进大学治理体系现代化,必须着力做好对大学资源的系统开发和管理工作,在提升大学治理绩效的过程中推进大学资源系统实现科学化。     

美国西部州长大学的管理模式及启示

美国西部州长大学是美国远程教育领域具有特色的非盈利性虚拟大学,自创办以来为美国高等教育领域的发展提供了新的模式和动力,促进了美国高等远程教育领域的改革和发展.它的管理模式独具特色,在行政管理、教师管理、教学管理以及质量管理等方面的成功经验值得我们借鉴.     

Educational Television Revisited: the Governors State University teleclass experience

Currently the impact of educational television in universities is relatively small. However, this may change, thanks to recent advances in television technology. This article describes the ‘teleclass’ concept which Governors State University, a relatively small state‐funded institution in Illinois, has developed as an alternative to the conventional documentary‐style telecourse which is prohibitively expensive for most university television departments. Simply put, teleclasses are videotaped classrooms. The difference between teleclasses and the one‐way telelectures which were the bane of early educational television is that the entire class is videotaped, both students and instructor, so that all the interaction between instructor and students and between students and students is captured for the distant viewer, who becomes a vicarious participant in the classroom experience. Teleclasses have proved to be effective in terms of student completion and acceptance, and are having an impact on the university's entire academic programme.     

The New Role of the JUAA in Japanese University Evaluation

The aim of this paper is to explore the role of the JUAA in Japanese university evaluation, based upon its first progress evaluation. The underlying concept of university evaluation in Japan is a combination of self-monitoring and external valuation. It aims to move Japanese higher education systems from quantitative to qualitative development. There are many domains in university governance such as research, education, management, staff development, curriculum, admission policies, etc. This paper intends to examine how evaluation by the JUAA can provide incentive to improve them.     

新时代完善高校治理机制实践路径探析

新时代对高校提出了推进教育治理体系和治理能力现代化的新要求.完善高校治理机制是其中最主要的内容.完善高校内部治理机制,首先要在坚持党的领导的前提下用明晰职权、健全议事决策制度、创新书记与校长选任标准等举措解决党委领导下的校长负责制实施过程中存在的问题.其次应落实学术组织参与决策机制,解决学术权力与行政权力难以平衡的问题.再次要着重解决教职工民主参与不到位的问题,要完善教代会制度,各类人员包括临时工和劳务派遣人员都应在教代会中占一定的比重,要保障教代会闭会期间教职工的参与决策权.最后要通过扩充参与途径,完善救济渠道,解除与相关利益组织的权益制约来强化大学生的治理权利.     

无为而治：大学治理应有之准则

进入大众化阶段的我国高教,目前正处在一个问题诸多,饱受质疑的时期,这与政府主管部门的过度管理、大学内功利性管理等不当方式有很大关系,应借鉴“无为而治”的道家思想精髓进行大学治理。作为政府和社会,应积极履行宏观调控、社会管理和公共服务职能,简政放权,进一步扩大学校办学自主权。作为大学内部,应依据大学组织特性,建立健全现代大学制度,充分强化教师和基层办学单位在教学、科研等方面的主体性,构建大学自治、自主发展机制。     

国际公民教育的视界:主动公民身份再造

发轫于古希腊城邦时期的主动公民身份思想,随着近现代亲密性社会的兴起而日渐式微。现代社会普遍存在的民主的赤字、社会资本的销蚀和共享价值的迷失都是主动公民身份消解的后果。为了有效地应对主动公民身份消解带来的危机,西方公民教育界开展了政治性描述、理论性界定和经验性分析三种研究路径。在实践中,以全校策略框架为代表的主动公民身份再造运动更是风起云涌。然而,由于主动公民身份的再造是一个动态性的系统工程,因此其再造之路任重而道远。     

高校治理的一种新范式:以提升透明度为核心

以提升办学透明度为核心,进而实现高校透明治理的范式建构具有其深刻的社会背景.新范式的建构依附于社会公众一项重要权利的实现--对高校办学信息的获取权.我国高校的财务信息和非财务信息公开都相对匮乏,信息公开机制也缺乏规范性.为增强高校治理的透明度,高校应当提升财务信息的公开度、增强智力资本报告的自觉性和实现信息公开的规范化.     

学生家庭:全面大学治理视野下的非独立性治理主体

在高等教育大众化阶段,尤其是大学取得独立法人地位的现实情境之下,需倡导全面大学治理观,提高社会的参与程度。学生家庭是大学的重要利益相关者且和大学之间形成了委托代理关系,理应成为大学治理的一元。虽然学生家庭作为非独立的治理因子参与大学治理的成本较高,但可以通过一定的技术安排降低成本,实现技术上的独立化。     

Contextual Influences on School Effectiveness: The Role of School Boards

The purpose of this research project is to investigate if characteristics of school boards and their administrative control do explain variance among schools in pupil achievement in the cognitive domain. A combination of findings of research on school effectiveness and organizational effectiveness, gives the ground for the framework of school boards’ administrative control used in this study. A random sample of 133 school boards and one specific primary school, selected out of the total number of schools they oversee, was drawn. The findings show that characteristics of school boards do explain variance in cognitive achievement. Even after controlling for student background and school characteristics, school boards do make a difference. School boards that involve school team and parents (committee) in their decision‐making process manage schools with relatively better results in the cognitive domain.     

Critical Decisions Affecting the Development of Western Governors University

Interviews conducted with individuals involved in the early development and current operation of the Western Governors University allowed identification of 12 themes concerning early, formative decisions and decision-making processes. These themes were subsequently grouped into 5 categories: (1) politics, (2) organizational models, (3) changing mission, (4) multiple missions, and (5) experiencing innovation. Several factors, including the need to obtain financial support and to operate independently as a degree-granting institution, were influential in the decision to focus on competency-based curricula rather than providing a repository for distance learning courses offered by institutions in the West. Dr. Katrina Meyer is an Associate Professor of Higher and Adult Education at The University of Memphis. Her Ph.D. is from the University of Washington, and her research interests include online learning and virtual universities.