The Role of Faculty in Institutional Decision Making

Faculty participation in the governance of institutions of higher education is a critical element in the founding structure for American universities. This expectation and willingness to participate has been affected by contemporary factors such as accountability, shifting priorities among teaching, service, and research, corporatization, and retrenchment. Comparing faculty perceptions between Dykes 1968 landmark study and faculty today is important for determining if there has been a change in faculty’s view of their role. The purpose of this study was to explore faculty perceptions of their ideal and actual governance role within higher education and their satisfaction in those roles. The findings of this study of faculty’s ideal role in decisions were in line with those found in Dykes study. Across all five areas of faculty role in decision making, the ideal involvement scores were significantly higher than the actual involvement scores with retrenchment decisions having the largest discrepancy. Based on the findings of this study, it is reasonable to conclude that the desire for faculty to take an active role in institutional governance is present. The barriers to participation continue to be strong and include most prominently an increasing focus on research and the corporatization of higher education.

Final submission