Lecture Notes

1. Lecture Notes HEOC 725

2. Policy and Policy Making The college board is the only entity invested with the power of adopting policy and giving it legal authority. College presidents routinely commend policies and policy changes to their boards. Therefore it’s essential that presidents master the art of drafting policy.

3. As you work through the readings for Session Four, take note of the concept of shared governance. Unlike chief executive officers in the proprietary (profit-oriented) sector, CEOs in higher education expect faculty and sometimes other employees to be heavily involved in the generation of institutional policies.

4. The American Association of University Professors with offices at One DuPont Circle in Washington, D.C. has long been an advocate for shared governance. The AAUP argues that colleges and universities work best when their policies are shaped by those who have expertise. Because faculty members are experts in learning and teaching, they must be heavily involved in making academic policy.

5. Since the advent of collective bargaining in academe, colleges and university leaders in states that have public service collective bargaining laws must work with union leaders in making policies that affect employees “wages, hours and working conditions.” A president is in for a big surprise if he or she unilaterally proposes that the faculty load be increased to avoid faculty layoffs in tough times, see: http://tenured-radical.blogspot.com/2009/11/and-if-you-give-us-full-book-of-green.html

6. Successful presidents learn to consult frequently with the leadership of various college groups (starting with the faculty union or senate). The work diligently to help their board members understand that the college is a peculiar institution with very strict, traditional limits on the powers of the CEO and the board.

7. Successful presidents are aware of the fact that labor-oriented legislators and governors sometimes exploit their connection to union leadership to undercut (or at least to challenge) presidential and board authority.

8. At universities with major, (Division One) athletic programs, presidents and board can be challenged by supporters of the athletics program. Some observers believe that at many major universities, the athletics program is so well-funded by television and boasters that it is virtually independent and free of presidential and board control.

9. However policies are developed, the college president must focus on process. Having a good idea is not enough for a policy maker. The required bases must all be touched – and in the right order. At the University of California at Berkeley there is a website to guide those who would write policy.

10. In addition to having been developed according to the correct process protocols, in order to survive a policy must also fit with the organization’s other policies. Moreover, it must pass legal muster. In addition, once a college adopts a policy it must live by that policy or else open itself to legal liability; (see the Lopez case in Session One.)

11. We began by considering the board’s role in policy making. Because the board is the ultimate policy making authority, board members are sometimes tempted to use policy to manage college operations. If it wanted to do so, the board could have a policy on how many times the toilets are cleaned in the college library. Such an approach, however, would be criticized as “micromanagement” on the board’s part.

12. In order to help the board govern more and manage less, John and Miriam Carver advocate “Policy Governance.” Policy governance proposes to let the board decide the college’s “ends” and to leave the “means” to the president, faculty and staff (with some “executive limitations.’) We will examine the arguments for and against Policy Governance.