Locus of authority : the evolution of faculty roles in the governance of higher education / William G. Bowen and Eugene M. Tobin. [print]

"Locus of Authority argues that every issue facing today's colleges and universities, from stagnant degree completion rates to worrisome cost increases, is exacerbated by a century-old system of governance that desperately requires change. While prior studies have focused on boards of trustees and presidents, few have looked at the place of faculty within the governance system. Specifically addressing faculty roles in this structure, William G. Bowen and Eugene M. Tobin ask: do higher education institutions have what it takes to reform effectively from within? Bowen and Tobin use case studies of four very different institutions--the University of California, Princeton University, Macalester College, and the City University of New York--to demonstrate that college and university governance has capably adjusted to the necessities of the moment and that governance norms and policies should be assessed in the context of historical events. The authors examine how faculty roles have evolved since colonial days to drive change but also to stand in the way of it. Bowen and Tobin make the case that successful reform depends on the artful consideration of technological, financial, and cultural developments, such as the explosion in online learning. Stressing that they do not want to diminish faculty roles but to facilitate their most useful contributions, Bowen and Tobin explore whether departments remain the best ways through which to organize decision making and if the concepts of academic freedom and shared governance need to be sharpened and redefined. Locus of Authority shows that the consequences of not addressing college and university governance are more than the nation can afford"--

Introduction Historical Overview, Part 1, From the Beginnings to World War II. Antecedents in Europe and Colonial America ; The Emergence of the Research University ; Control of Faculty Personnel Decisions and Issues of Academic Freedom ; World War I and the Interwar Years Historical Overview, Part 2, World War II to the Present. World War II and the Growth of Sponsored Research ; The "Red Scare" and the Loyalty Oath Controversies ; The Explosive Expansion of Higher Education, Leading to the "Golden Age" of the 1960s ; Protests and Rebellions ; Retrenchment in the 1970s and Subsequent Ups and Downs ; The Real Estate "Bubble" Breaks and Fiscal/Political Realities Take Hold (or Do They?) ; The Impact of Experiments with Online Learning ; The Pathways Initiative at CUNY Faculty Roles Today and Tomorrow, Topical Issues. The Selection and Tenure of the President ; The Faculty Appointment Process : Criteria and Decision-Making Authority ; The Role of the Faculty in Giving Advice of All Kinds ; The Role of Faculty in Staffing Decisions and the Rise of Non-Tenure-Track Faculty (the New Majority) ; Faculty Responsibility for Maintaining Academic Standards in Admissions, Curricular Content, and Student Performance ; Control over New Teaching Methods : Online Learning Overarching Challenges. Confronting Trade-offs and the Need for Upfront Consideration of Costs ; Aligning Roles and Responsibilities ; Coping with an Ever-Changing Academic Landscape ; Clarifying Notions of "Academic Freedom" ; Rethinking "Shared Governance" ; Case Studies. Introduction to the Case Studies ; The University of California ; Princeton University ; Macalester College ; The City University of New York.

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