The Status of Student Involvement in University Governance in Kenya

The Status of Student Involvement in University Governance in Kenya
Author: Mulinge, Munyae M.
Publisher: CODESRIA
Total Pages: 253
Release: 2017-05-05
Genre: Education
ISBN: 2869787146

This book examines the concept of the democratization of governance in universities in Kenya with particular emphasis on students involvement in governance processes and decision making. Data were collected from members of the student community utilizing a structured self-administered questionnaire and from purposively selected key informants and focus group discussants drawn from Kenyatta University (representing the public sector) and the United States International University (representing the private sector). The guiding argument for the study was that shared governance, one of the principles of good governance, is critical in enabling the universities to deliver their visions and the missions effectively. The results revealed that while in principle, Kenyan universities have embraced democratic governance in which all stakeholders, including students, have a role to play, in practice they continue to violate the core principles of good governance, particularly shared governance. Specifically, students, who are major stakeholders in university education, are largely excluded from significant structures of governance thereby limiting their influence and participation. Although their representation is mainly provided via student self-governance organs (unions, associations and/or councils), their effectiveness is undermined considerably by the lack of trust and confidence of the student body and the unending manipulation by top university administrators and external political actors. Student active involvement in decision making is mainly confined to lower levels such as the school/faculty and departmental/programme. The authors call for a paradigm shift in the involvement of students in the governance of universities in ways that discourage the current culture of tokenism and political correctness that characterizes public and private universities in Kenya.

European Higher Education Area: The Impact of Past and Future Policies

European Higher Education Area: The Impact of Past and Future Policies
Author: Adrian Curaj
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 727
Release: 2018-07-03
Genre: Education
ISBN: 3319774077

This volume presents the major outcomes of the third edition of the Future of Higher Education – Bologna Process Researchers Conference (FOHE-BPRC 3) which was held on 27-29 November 2017. It acknowledges the importance of a continued dialogue between researchers and decision-makers and benefits from the experience already acquired, this way enabling the higher education community to bring its input into the 2018-2020 European Higher Education Area (EHEA) priorities. The Future of Higher Education – Bologna Process Researchers Conference (FOHE-BPRC) has already established itself as a landmark in the European higher education environment. The two previous editions (17-19 October 2011, 24-26 November 2014), with approximately 200 European and international participants each, covering more than 50 countries each, were organized prior to the Ministerial Conferences, thus encouraging a consistent dialogue between researchers and policy makers. The main conclusions of the FOHE Conferences were presented at the EHEA Ministerial Conferences (2012 and 2015), in order to make the voice of researchers better heard by European policy and decision makers. This volume is dedicated to continuing the collection of evidence and research-based policymaking and further narrowing the gap between policy and research within the EHEA and broader global contexts. It aims to identify the research areas that require more attention prior to the anniversary 2020 EHEA Ministerial Conference, with an emphasis on the new issues on rise in the academic and educational community. This book gives a platform for discussion on key issues between researchers, various direct higher education actors, decision-makers, and the wider public. This book is published under an open access CC BY license.

Governance of Higher Education

Governance of Higher Education
Author: Ian Austin
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 395
Release: 2015-08-20
Genre: Education
ISBN: 131781052X

Governance of Higher Education explores the work of traditional and contemporary higher education scholarship worldwide, providing readers with an understanding of the assumptions, historical traditions, and paradigms that have shaped the scholarship on governance. Bringing together the vast and disparate writings that form the higher education governance literature—including frameworks drawn from a range of disciplines and global scholarship—this book synthesizes the significant theoretical, conceptual, and empirical scholarship to advance the research and practice of governance. Coverage includes the structures of governance, cultures and practices, the collegial tradition, the new managed environment of the academy, and the politics and processes of governance. As universities across the globe face a myriad of challenges and multiple stakeholder demands, Governance of Higher Education offers scholars, practitioners, and higher education graduate students an essential resource for advancing research and the practice of governance.

Academic Governance in the Contemporary University

Academic Governance in the Contemporary University
Author: Julie Rowlands
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 262
Release: 2016-10-12
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9811026882

This book addresses three central questions in contemporary university governance: (1) How and why has academic governance in Anglophone nations changed in recent years and what impact have these changes had on current practices? (2) How do power relations within universities affect decisions about teaching and research and what are the implications for academic voices? (3) How can those involved in university governance and management improve academic governance processes and outcomes and why is it important that they do so? The book explores these issues in clear, concise and accessible language that will appeal to higher education researchers and governance practitioners alike. It draws on extensive empirical data from key national systems in the Anglophone world but goes beyond the simply descriptive to analyse and explain.

Practice for Life

Practice for Life
Author: Lee Cuba
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 253
Release: 2016-08-15
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0674972406

From the day they arrive on campus, college students spend four years—or sometimes more—making decisions that shape every aspect of their academic and social lives. Whether choosing a major or a roommate, some students embrace decision-making as an opportunity for growth, while others seek to minimize challenges and avoid risk. Practice for Life builds a compelling case that a liberal arts education offers students a complex, valuable process of self-creation, one that begins in college but continues far beyond graduation. Sifting data from a five-year study that followed over two hundred students at seven New England liberal arts colleges, the authors uncover what drives undergraduates to become engaged with their education. They found that students do not experience college as having a clear beginning and end but as a continuous series of new beginnings. They start and restart college many times, owing to the rhythms of the academic calendar, the vagaries of student housing allocation, and other factors. This dynamic has drawbacks as well as advantages. Not only students but also parents and faculty place enormous weight on some decisions, such as declaring a major, while overlooking the small but significant choices that shape students' daily experience. For most undergraduates, deep engagement with their college education is at best episodic rather than sustained. Yet these disruptions in engagement provide students with abundant opportunities for reflection and course-correction as they learn to navigate the future uncertainties of adult life.

Student Governance and Institutional Policy

Student Governance and Institutional Policy
Author: Michael T. Miller
Publisher: IAP
Total Pages: 138
Release: 2006-05-01
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1607525356

Colleges and universities face a variety of challenges in meeting the needs of students, and one of the greatest is their ability to respond to student needs while protecting institutional and academic integrity. For those working with students, a primary example of this challenge is the involvement of students in shared decision-making, a process often developed and fostered through organizations such as student government. Few discussions have embraced the challenges of shared governance with students, particularly within the past two decades. This book arose from continuous conversations with college and university administrators and policy makers who struggle daily with the decision-making process and the role of student voices. The volume is also intended to be an extension of the Julie Caplow and Michael Miller volume on Policy and University Governance (2003) that looked at internal and external governance issues and their impact on institutional policy formation and decision-making. The collections of chapters included here provide a comprehensive view of student involvement in policy formation and decisionmaking. The volume begins with a general overview of the challenges associated with investing students with power, authored by Tulane University’s Morolaké O. Laosebikan-Buggs. Michael Miller and Daniel Nadler then provide a rationale as to why students have been involved in shared decision-making in the past, outline the benefits and problems historically associated with student shared governance, and offer some meaningful recommendations for continuing to work with students.

Students’ participation in university governance in South Africa

Students’ participation in university governance in South Africa
Author: Vuyo Mthethwa
Publisher: AOSIS
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2023-03-01
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1779952023

The purpose of this book is to examine the academic experiences of students who participated in university governance at South African universities. Scrutiny is placed on the alignment of student representative council constitutions and university statutes with the actual experiences students had in discharging their roles in governance and in the way this impacted their academic progress. Through a multi-site case study design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with members of the student representative council who participated in university governance and supported by document analysis and observations to generate the data. The study adopted Tinto’s Integration Theory and Astin’s Theory of Involvement as the two frameworks are based on the relationship between students’ extra-curricular activity and their academic experiences. The study invokes a greater awareness of students as major stakeholder in governance and informs policies and practices that may better serve students’ academic experiences. The study will contribute to the understanding of cooperative governance principles while drawing from the perspective of the students on their understanding, limitations and challenges in discharging their roles in university governance.

University Governance in Canada

University Governance in Canada
Author: Julia Eastman
Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
Total Pages: 253
Release: 2022-08-15
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0228012740

Universities play essential roles in Canadian society. The internal and external governance of these complex institutions faces ever-evolving challenges within a rapidly shifting international context. Written by a national team of scholars, University Governance in Canada asks how institutional decisions are made and who is behind these choices. By exploring the historical evolution and regional contexts of Canadian universities, as well as current trends, the book gives readers deep insight into how these institutions are governed. The authors explore the tensions between academic governance, external and internal stakeholder expectations, and societal demands as they relate to higher education and research in Canada. Comprising a case study of six major universities, the book examines the dynamics of governance at the institutional, provincial, federal, and international levels and reveals how Canadian universities make decisions and how well they are equipped to meet current and future opportunities and challenges. Canadians invest a lot of money, time, hope, and expectations in their universities. University Governance in Canada gives policy-makers, scholars, governors, leaders at all levels, faculty, staff, students, and citizens at large knowledge and tools that will help ensure the country’s universities excel in their missions and deliver fully on these investments.

Big Data on Campus

Big Data on Campus
Author: Karen L. Webber
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2020-11-03
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1421439034

Webber, Henry Y. Zheng, Ying Zhou

Faculty Participation in Decision Making

Faculty Participation in Decision Making
Author: Carol Everly Floyd
Publisher: Study of Higher Education
Total Pages: 134
Release: 1985
Genre: Education
ISBN:

The literature concerning higher education and generic organization theory is reviewed to address various questions relating to faculty participation in institutional decision-making. Attention is directed to: the rationale for faculty participation, alternative types of participation, participation in academic senates, participation by functional area, participation at the system and state levels, participation and centralization/decentralization, strengthening consultative processes, and increasing faculty satisfaction and participation. Generic organization theory provides extensive reasons why participation in organizational decision-making can improve employees' satisfaction and performance. Types of faculty participation in institutional decision-making are separate jurisdictions, shared authority, and joint participation. Faculty participation can involve curriculum design, faculty personnel status, selection and evaluation of administrators, planning, budgeting, and planning for retrenchment or financial exigency. Joint faculty and administrator efforts may focus on four important areas: rebuilding collegial foundations, shaping the consultative framework, increasing the availability of information, and facilitating group deliberations. Areas for further analysis are suggested. (SW)