Measuring Governance in Tertiary Education

1. Measuring Governance in Tertiary Education JamilSalmi & Roberta Malee Bassett Washington, DC 28 January 2010

2. outline of the presentation • what is governance; why it matters • key dimensions of governance • the corruption agenda • benchmarking governance in tertiary education

4. what is governance in tertiary education? • governancefocuses on • the rules and mechanisms by which various stakeholders influence decisions • how institutions are held accountable • to whom they are accountable

5. what is governance in tertiary education? • governanceencompasses the framework in which an institution pursues its goals and policies in a coherent and coordinated manner to answer the questions: ‘who is in charge, and what are the sources of legitimacy for executive decision-making?’ eacea.ec.europa.eu/ressources/eurydice/pdf/0_integral/091EN.pdf

7. natural lab experiment: University Of Malaya vs. National University of Singapore • early 1960s: 2 branches of University of Malaya • today, stark difference: • THES: NUS # 30, UoM # 180 • SJTU: NUS 101- 151, UoM not in top 500

8. Characteristics of a World-Class University Alignment of Key Factors Concentration of Talent Students Teaching Staff Researchers Leading-Edge Research Top Graduates WCU Supportive Regulatory Framework Favorable Governance Abundant Public Budget Resources Endowment Revenues Tuition Fees Research Grants Resources Autonomy Academic Freedom Dynamic Knowledge & Technology Transfer Leadership Team Strategic Vision Culture of Excellence Source: Elaborated by Jamil Salmi

9. University Of Malaya vs. National University of Singapore • talent • UM: selection bias in favor of Bumiputras, less than 5% foreign students, no foreign professors • NUS: highly selective, 43% of graduates students are foreign, many foreign professors

10. University Of Malaya vs. National University of Singapore(II) • finance • UM: $118 million, $4,053 per student • NUS: $750 million endowment, $205 million, $6,300 per student

11. University Of Malaya vs. National University of Singapore (II) • governance • UM: restricted by government regulations and control, unable to hire top foreign professors • NUS: status of a private corporation, able and eager to attract world-class foreign researchers • 52% of professors (9% from Malaysia) • 79% of researchers (11% from Malaysia)

12. comparing the US and Europe • governance is a key determinant of world rankings • research performance positively linked to degree of autonomy (budget management, hiring and firing staff, freedom to set salaries) • university boards with outside representation are a necessary condition for dynamic reforms

13. outline of the presentation • What is governance and why it matters • key dimensions of governance

14. key dimensions of governance • role and responsibilities of the state? • laws, policies, declarations, charters • institutional leadership • autonomy vs. accountability (stakeholder voices) [

15. role of the State from central control to steering at a distance [

16. international trends • general move to granting greater autonomy (Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Germany, France) • MOEs are surrendering some functions to intermediate agencies or empowering institutions • Board with external representation • growth in scale and intrusiveness of monitoring by governments

17. key dimensions of autonomy • academic (selection of students - qualifications and number, program and curriculum development, academic freedom) • staffing (recruitment / evaluation of faculty / dismissal, remuneration) • financial (income generation, block-grant, ownership of infrastructure and ability to borrow)

18. extent of university autonomy in 12 OECD countries [

19. changing role of government (Georgia)

20. appointment of university leader • government appointment • democratic election (faculty, administration, students, alumni) • competitive appointment (Board, govt, electorate)

21. role of the Board in the autonomous university • appoints the President and monitors his/her performance • approves the mission and strategic plan, budget and performance indicators • assesses performance against the strategy and plan • establishes and monitors control and risk management systems

22. effective Boards • Board = interface between society and universities • learning to work together: university leadership and Board • need for capacity building • clear boundaries

24. outline of the presentation • why governance matters • key dimensions of governance • the impact of corruption

27. an inventory of corrupt behaviors • categories based on educational and institutional processes • “protagonists” identified • examples provided from around the world • summary matrix on p. 33 of the report

28. main forms of corruption in tertiary education • admission process (examination fraud, bribery, favoritism, undue influence, discrimination) • academic process (cheating, plagiarism) • awarding of false credentials • undermining of QA (bribery, false data, accreditation mills) • research misconduct (standards, falsification of results, conflicts of interest, theft of ideas)

29. financial fraud and mismanagement • profiteering • theft • embezzlement • financial mismanagement • student loan fraud

30. informal payments for education

31. http://medialogy.net/2009/12/28/looking-while-reading/

32. why does corruption happen?economic dimensions • corruption in tertiary education often mirror corruption in other realms • low teacher and administrator salaries • supply out of sync with demand

33. why does corruption happen?political dimensions • lack of oversight and accountability • managerial capacity • political tolerance

34. negative impact • contrary to basic purpose of education • ethical values • academic merit • loss of trust in system and outputs • teachers (role models) • students (code of conduct) • institutions (reputation) • misuse of limited resources • danger to the public • medical doctors with invalid accreditation

35. fighting corruption • preventive measures (legislation, governance, procedures) • detecting and monitoring (IT systems, tip lines, surveys, audits)

36. corruption in Kyrgyz universities

37. fighting corruption • punitive measures (legal action, career sanctions, academic / professional sanctions, protests and violence) • multiple purpose measures (accreditation, awareness, transparent reporting, integrity ranking)

38. outline of the presentation • why governance matters • key dimensions of governance • the corruption agenda • benchmarking governance in tertiary education

39. ranking systems in 2009

41. European Association of Universities • Study of University Autonomy in Europe (34 countries)

42. benchmarking governance in tertiary education • defining key dimensions • selecting indicators • developing questionnaire

43. developing indicators • systems governance (strategic vision, legal framework, quality assurance, resource allocation and financial incentives) • autonomy (academic, staffing, financial) • accountability mechanisms • existence and role of Boards • institutional leadership

44. data collection • piloting questionnaire in the East Asia Region • second pilot phase in Central America • intended to expand globally after pilot-driven improvements

45. next steps • collecting data • analyzing findings • establishing relationships with performance measures

46. Upgrade your knowledge – Govern and finance your tertiary education system! University Governance Ariel Fiszbein