Overview

Higher education administration and governance has evolved dramatically over the past hundred years. How decisions are made within an academic organization, who maintains ultimate responsibility for the direction of colleges and universities, how the various constituent groups (trustees, university administration, faculty) share responsibility for governing the institution have changed given the increasingly complex demands faced by higher education as an industry.

It is important to understand how higher education organizations are structured so that you are able to better navigate the dynamic, ever-evolving university landscape. As a launching point for this lesson, we will review the various structures in place at a variety of institutions that demonstrate the ways in which colleges and universities are organized. The simplest way to do this is by examining organizational charts of different institution types.

For those of you that have taken HIED 545: Higher Education and Student Affairs in the United States some of this section will be a refresher on how organizations are structured, while for others we will provide a foundational understanding of how universities are organized so that you might have a better understanding of how and why they operate in the ways that they do.

This lesson will also provide an overview of different models of university leadership. Specifically, we will review the works of Bolman and Deal as well as Birnbaum which have provided various frameworks in which university leaders operate.

Essential Questions

As you explore the lesson commentary and assigned reading materials, consider the essential question(s) below. They will help guide your learning and ensure that you have mastered the key concepts of this lesson.

1. How are higher education institutions organized?
2. Who makes the major decisions at a higher education institution?
3. How are university governing boards structured?
4. What type of leadership models exist in higher education?

Lesson Readings & Activities

By the end of this lesson, make sure you have completed the readings and activities found in the Lesson 2 Course Schedule.