University Governance

When are Universities Followers or Leaders in Society? A Framework for a Contemporary Assessment by John Aubrey Douglass, CSHE 1.22 (February 2022)

John Aubrey Douglass
2022

In assessing the current and future role of universities in the nation-states in which they are chartered and funded, it is useful to ask, When are universities societal leaders as societal and constructive change agents, and when are they followers, reinforcing the existing political order? As discussed in the book, Neo-Nationalism and Universities: Populists, Autocrats and the Future of Higher Education, the national political history and...

The Private Side of Public Universities: Third-party providers and platform capitalism by Laura T. Hamilton et al. CSHE 3.22 (June 2022)

Laura T. Hamilton
Heather Daniels
Christian Michael Smith
Charlie Eaton
2022

The rapid rise of online enrollments in public universities has been fueled by a reliance on for-profit, third-party providers—especially online program managers. However, scholars know very little about the potential problems with this arrangement. We conduct a mixed methods analysis of 229 contracts between third-party providers and 117 two-year and four-year public universities in the US, data on the financing structure of third-party providers, and university online education webpages. We ask: What are the mechanisms through which third-party relationships with universities may be...

International Education in a World of New Geopolitics: A Comparative Study of US and Canada by Roopa Desai Trilokekar, CSHE 5.22 (July 2022)

Roopa Desai Trilokekar
2022

This paper examines how international education (IE) as a tool of government foreign policy is challenged in an era of new geopolitics, where China’s growing ambitions have increased rivalry with the West. It compares U.S. and Canada as cases first, by examining rationales and approaches to IE in both countries, second, IE relations with China before conflict and third, current controversies and government policy responses to IE relations with China. The paper concludes identifying contextual factors that shape each country’s engagement with IE, but suggests that moving forward, the future...

Creating a Great Public University: The History and Influence of Shared Governance at the University of California by John Aubrey Douglass, CSHE 4. 2023 (October 2023)

John Aubrey Douglass
2023

Since establishing its first campus in 1868, the University of California (UC), California’s landgrant university, developed into the nation’s first multicampus systemin the United States, and is today widely recognized as the world’s premier network of public research universities. This short essay provides a...

ROPS Special Thematic Issue: Reflections on the Challenges of Representation and Academic Freedom

2023

CSHE is devoted to supporting open and civil debate on key issues facing higher education. The ROPS contribution posted below by Steven Brint and Komi Frey discusses the University of California policies and practices of using DEI statements in the hiring and advancement of faculty, and how these policies and practices intersect with academic freedom as well as broader issues related to the contemporary academic culture of universities—what some may view as a controversial issue within the academy.

Because the editors of ROPS anticipated differing views regarding their analysis, and...

The Attractiveness of European Higher Education Systems: A Comparative Analysis of Faculty Remuneration and Career Paths by Alice Civera, Erik E. Lehmann, Michele Meoli & Stefano Paleari, CSHE.1.23 (March 2023)

Alice Civera; Erik E. Lehmann; Michele Meoli; Stefano Paleari
2023

The academic professoriate is a determinant of successful higher education systems. Yet, recently, worsening conditions of employment, deteriorating salaries, and threats to job security have made the academic profession less attractive, especially to young scholars, in several countries. This paper investigates the salaries as well as the recruitment and retention procedures in public higher education institutions from a cross country perspective. The UK, Germany, France, and Italy are adopted as case studies to determine the attractiveness of European higher education systems. The...

Public University Systems and the Benefits of Scale by James R. Johnsen. CSHE 2. 2024 (February 2024)

James Johnsen
2024

Multi-campus public higher education governance systems exist in 44 of the 50 U.S. states. They include all the largest and most influential public colleges and universities in the United States, educating fully 75 percent of the nation’s public sector students. Their impact is enormous. And yet, they are largely neglected and as a tool for improvement are underutilized. Meanwhile, many states continue to struggle achieving their goals for higher education attainment, social and economic mobility, workforce development, equitable access and affordability, technological innovation,...

South Korea's Higher Education System Through California Eyes by John Aubrey Douglass CSHE 4.20 (May 2020)

John Aubrey Douglass
2020

Like California, South Korea’s system of higher education is a work in progress. Each must evolve and reshape themselves at various points in their histories in their quest for relevancy and, increasingly, to external pressures and demands of governments and, more generally, society. Utilizing California’s pioneering higher education system as a comparative lens, I provide an outsider’s view of South Korea’s higher education system from two perspectives. First, a national system viewpoint: How is the higher education eco-system organized and managed, and what funding and other incentives...

University Governance

Effective governance is crucial to the success and sustainability of higher education institutions. At CSHE, our research examines the structures, policies, and decision-making processes that shape university governance at institutional, state, and national levels. This page highlights CSHE’s work on university governance, offering insights into the challenges and opportunities facing higher education leaders today.

Selected publications include:

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On the Brink: Assessing the Status of the American Faculty, by Jack H. Schuster and Martin J. Finkelstein

Jack H. Schuster
Martin J. Finkelstein
2007
This paper focuses on the present condition and future of the professoriate and is part of a long-term study on how the academic profession is changing, now more rapidly than at any time in memory. These dramatic shifts have led to a deep restructuring of academic appointments, work, and careers. The question now looming is whether the forces that have triggered academic restructuring will, in time, so transform the academic profession that its role—its unique contribution—is becoming ever more vulnerable to dangerous compromise. Whether the academic profession is able to negotiate successfully its role in the new era—to preserve core values and to ensure the indispensable contributions of the academy to society—remains to be seen.