Running head: HIGHER EDUCATION ORGANIZATIONAL GOVERNANCE STRUCTURES

Models of Higher Education Organizational Governance Structures

EDLD 8433 - Higher Education Governance
Jennifer Duncan
6/26/16

HIGHER EDUCATION ORGANIZATIONAL GOVERNANCE STRUCTURES

In this weeks reading higher education governance structures were broken down to
explain not only what they are, but what influences them. In addition, the effects these
governance structures have on their constituencies was addressed. Some of the themes discussed
were policy reform, strategies for addressing issues regarding finances and structure in terms of
how institutions operate. One of the important takeaways for me was regarding finances because
they affect both the taxpayers and students. The readings this week gave some suggestions on
how to fix the negative cycle of some governance structures and I believe that it is a great
starting point to a much larger conversation.
In Tandbergs document, The Conditioning Role of State Higher Education Governance
Structures, reasons for reforms were discussed (2013). The first note was that state higher
education governance reform can be costly, both to taxpayers and policy makers who expend
political capital and time (Tandberg, 2013, p.507). The second reason for reform was the
manner in which states govern higher education impacts state higher education policy and
finance decision making (Tandberg, 2013, p.507). What this said to me is that when money is
involved, decisions are made in terms of how much money the state will spend on resources for
an institution, which directly effects taxpayers. This also spoke to me that when policy makers
are making decisions, they need to keep taxpayers and other stakeholders in mind. In my future
role as an administrator, it is important for me to pay attention to decision-making trends and
what is going on in the state in order to better prepare my institution for decisions that will
directly impact us.
Another statement that stood out in this document was the type of higher education
governance structure utilized by a state can influence how the state handles financial aid
(Tandberg, 2013, p.508). This stood out to me because financial aid is one of the most important

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parts of an institution and it directly effects students. In states where financial aid is steadily
decreasing, we can trace it back to the type of governance of the institution. In my role as a
future administrator, I believe that it will be part of my job to figure out ways to receive more
funding from the state for my institution because financial aid, or lack thereof, can be a deciding
factor for a student. As a future Dean of Students, I believe that it is my job to do whatever I can
to make sure students are not burdened by finances, but instead successfully complete their
degrees with the financial end being less of a burden.
In the document, The Paradox of Scope: A Challenge to the Governance of Higher
Education, Collis wrote about current governance structures and how they are in a catch-22
situation. What he meant by this was that current governance structures prevent us from
choosing a clear strategy that would enable us to improve the governance structure, which would
in turn make choosing the strategy easy (Collis, 2004, p.159). Collis offered some suggestions
to improving the issue of governance structure, such as minimizing agency problems, improving
board effectiveness, and addressing strategy and structure in an effort to make governance
structure more clear and to tackle different issues that arise. I believe that improving the boards
effectiveness is foundational but the board must first address strategy and structure in order to
start to turn things around. After reviewing this document, it seems easier said than done and it
revealed to me that it will probably be harder to tackle the issue of higher education governance
than I originally thought.
The Higher Education Governance Structure document was a comprehensive report on
Connecticuts governance (2010). Experts agree that an effective systems governance aligns
with the states higher education priorities and is responsive to the states needs, among other
characteristics (Connecticut General Assembly, 2010, p.ii). This statement was very definitive

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of what was the best type of governance, not whether a consolidated governing board or a
statewide coordinating board was better, but rather looked at specific characteristics. The
committee that wrote this document also gave some suggestions for what an effective leadership
group should do and these included creating strategies, setting goals, and monitoring progress.
These are tactics that I could use in my future role in higher education in order to have a
successful administration and create change whenever there is an issue.
Overall, I believe that these documents gave me a better understanding of the challenges
and possible solutions of organizing governance structures. As a future administrator, I can take
what I have learned and use that in my role to better understand decisions that are made and even
offer suggestions to my administration on how to make decisions that better serve our students.

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References
Collis, D. (2004). The paradox of scope: A challenge to the governance of higher education. In
Competing Conceptions of Academic Governance: Negotiating the Perfect Storm, edited
by William G. Tierney. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Connecticut General Assembly Legislative Program Review and Investigations Committee.
(2010). Higher education governance structure. Hartford, CT. Retrieved from
https://www.cga.ct.gov/pri/docs/2010/Final_Report_Higher_Education_Governance_Stru
cture.PDF
Tandberg, D. (2013). The conditioning role of state higher education governance structures. The
Journal of Higher Education. 84(4), 506-534.