Examining the Responsibilities of Faculty Senates (original) (raw)
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SSRN Electronic Journal, 2012
This essay considers shared governance within the increasingly contested governance space of the U.S. public research university. My contextual focus will be on its most fragile element, a faculty senate. I will start with a very brief review of the foundations. The conceptual structures of shared governance are fairly well known but it is always useful to nod in the direction of sources. I then consider the realities of shared governance. I will suggest the context and the difficulties of shared governance within the a-symmetric power arrangements that are the hallmark of public universities. What I hope to flesh out is an outline of the context in which shared governance might be measured by its form with little attention paid to the effectiveness of its function. I will then consider where a faculty senate can fit into this governance enterprise. I will consider whether shared governance has come to mean more a sharing of the burdens of administration than a sharing of governance. I will end with a consideration of how I see the Penn State Faculty Senate playing a more engaged role within the constraints of shared governance.
Faculty Senates and College Presidents: Perspectives on Collaboration
University of Arkansas, 2019
Colleges and universities have historically provided faculty members access to sharing authority, and this has been manifest in recent decades through the creation and use of a formal body called a faculty senate. These formal bodies have at times been highly effective at articulating faculty member interests, yet there are few formal definitions or boundaries concerning what areas senates are most appropriately engaged. College presidents similarly recognize that senates have a role in institutional decision-making, yet often lack a clear understanding of where and how they should be engaged. The current study explored faculty senate leader and college president perceptions of boundaries of senate collaboration in decision-making. Survey respondents identified a high level of agreement that faculty senates should be engaged in academic collaboration with the president, but there was less agreement concerning collaboration in areas of campus life and work-life. Shared governance is both a hallmark of American higher education and an organizational performance strategy (Rosser, 2003). Through the collaboration and involvement of different internal stakeholders, college presidents can build enough consensus to advance agendas, gather input for a collective vision, and focus an institution's human resources to maximize performance. From an historical perspective, shared governance has such a strong historical underpinning that virtually all of the institutional regional accrediting bodies require some demonstration of shared governance. Despite this, the concept of shared governance and in turn, shared decision-making, has struggled (Birnbaum, 2004). Despite the importance placed on shared governance, evidence of its effectiveness is sporadic at best (Schoorman, 2018). Multiple studies have identified moderate to poor attendance at faculty
2019
The textbook is devoted to the activities of the Dean's corps of higher educational institutions. The chapters of the book are combined into five modules: the faculty and its head in the University management system, technology management faculty, management of economic and legal activities, management of educational programs, monitoring and evaluation of the faculty. Special attention in the new saniutele computerize the activities of faculty working in the electronic information educational environment. The textbook is intended for deans and their deputies, methodical workers of deans, reserve for nomination, but will also be useful to all management personnel of higher educational institutions.
Site-Based Decision Making Using Faculty Senates: Three Years of Experience in West Virginia
1994
The West Virginia education reform legislation of 1988 and 1990 mandated greater involvement of school personnel, p.Grents, and community in site-based decision making. This paper examines the operations and activities of facult' senates, which are composed of all full-time educators in each schol, for the years 1990-91, 1991-92, and 1992-93. A survey administered to delegates who attended the 1991, 1992, and 1993 West Virginia Education Association Delegate Assemblies yielded 176, 129, and 212 responses, respectively, an approximate 75 percent compliance rate. Respondents indicated increasing faculty involvement in school-based decision making; however, they expressed declining support for decisions and less satisfaction with senate operations within the 3-year period. They most frequently mentioned the need for training, role clarification, and greater support from the school and district administrations. Eight tables are included. (LMI)
The Latent Organizational Functions of the Academic Senate
The Journal of Higher Education, 1989
The roles of academic senates in university organization are discussed. Three symbolic purposes that academic senates may fill are considered first: they may symbolize institutional membership in the higher education system, collective and individual faculty commitment to professional values, and joint faculty-administration acceptance of existing authority relationships. Serving on the academic senate can confer status that *
Roles and functions of university senates in Turkish universities
The aim of this study is to understand the decision-making processes in higher education institutions by examining the functions of the university senates, which is the highest decision making organ in universities. In this study, a mixed design is used. 9 universities located in Istanbul constitute the sample of the study. To collect the qualitative data, document analysis was conducted and the presidents of these universities were asked to send all of the agenda items of the university senate meetings they had held in the 2010-2011 academic year. To collect the quantitative data, the presidents were asked to reply to the open-ended survey that had 2 open-ended questions on the observed functions of the universities. Even though the university senates are comprised of only academic faculty and described as the academic decision making body by law, the tasks they perform are less limited than it would be expected of the governance models of academic staff observed in some European c...
The Faculty Forum: A Case Study in Shared Authority
1996
The faculty governance body in the College of Education at the University of Alabama is described. Analysis of archives resulted in the identification of four areas of authority in which faculty shared: participation in meetings, agendas, voting behavior, and issues considered by the body. Data revealed that generally half of all faculty, regardless of rank or tenure status, participated in the formal governance activity, and that the majority of issues voted on focused on organization self-perpetuation. Several measures that are particularly sensitive in the current higher education climate were introduced in this arena. Emphasis was placed on dissemination of important information to faculty. The conclusion is drawn that the governance body provides a valuable forum for faculty to speak and be heard by administrators throughout the college. (Author/MSE)