Masters Theses

Date of Award

6-1960

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Major

Educational Administration

Major Professor

Galen Dowry

Committee Members

Ira N. Chiles, Elbert C. Henson, Orin B. Graff, Lawrence M. DeRiddler

Abstract

Higher education institutions began with simple organ­ ization and were limited in scope and purpose. Naturally, the entire teaching load and administrative details could be carried on by a few individuals. None of the administrative jobs demanded the entire attention of one person. The ad­

ministrative head of the institution had to assume the re­ sponsibility for several of these jobs. He determined who would be admitted, collected fees, found living accommoda­

tions for students and staff members, taught classes, re­ corded student progress, served as placement director and ad­ ministered the business affairs of the institution.

As the institutions grew in size they became more complex resulting in the need for administrative ass istance . Customarily the president reduced his teaching load and con­ tinued his administrative duties . As the institution became larger he was forced to emplo7 someone in his office to whom the burden of correspondence, records, and other details could be shifted. This clerk wrote some of his letters, collected student fees, recorded student progress, and did other routine office work. In other institutions a secretary of the faculty was appointed. Reeves and Russell said this about him:

This man performed the functions now performed by both deans and registrars. In some of the institu­ tions the secretary of the faculty later developed into the office of college dean.l

As institutions continued to. increase in size and com- plexity they demanded the full-time assistance of individuals for many of the jobs thus far discussed in this paper. As these new staff positions developed within the philosophy, scope, and purposes of a university, duties and responsi- bilities were shifted among various personnel to obtain a reasonably equitable dis tribution of labor . An unlimited number of variations in organizational structures resulted a.s universities matured under these varying circumstances. To attribute to the organizational structure of any one of these institutions the distinction of being an ideal plan would be foolhardy. Arnold E. Joyal supports this thesis with the following statement about organizational patterns:

There is no one best plan or pattern for the organization of all colleges or universities. A plan will depend on many factors and conditions. One factor is the peculiar interests and abilities of the personnel involved. It must be remembered that an organizational plan or an administrative chart is merely an aid in effecting the task of those persons who must work together in carrying out an educational program. No two groups of people will be exactly alike and no two institutions are likely to be exaetly comparable .

The lack of conformity to a set pattern in administra­ tive organization has presented difficult problems to anyone interested in studying the top echelon of academic adminis­ tration. In order to determine the inner working of uni­ versity administration students have had to concern them­ selves with studies of administration in general, with studies of speeific areas of administration, for example, finance, instruction, plant and facilities, and personnel, and with studies of some key positions, for example, Presi­ dent, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, Dean of Men, and Registrar. Therefore there has been no clear definition of the responsibilities of the Administrator or Academic Affairs nor is there much uniformity of thinking. The title, Admin­ istrator of Academic Affairs, as used in this study may represent any· one or many titles in actual practice. Some of the more common titles are Academic Vice President, Dean of Instruction, and Dean of the Faculties.

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