This report represents the latest State Governance Action Report (SGAR) covering current or just recently completed legislative sessions. Among the most important issues being considered are management autonomy, such as relaxed rules for purchasing, procurement, and human resources, and greater fiscal autonomy measures such as carry-over budgeting…

Faculty members, administrators, and board members must work together to find acceptable resolutions of the problems created by under and overproduction if they hope to retain the autonomy of their colleges. Underproduction is illustrated in insufficient attention to community employment needs, inadequate quality control in career programs, poor…

As examples of the trend towards decision-making processes resting on the interaction of various legitimate public sector interests, the author considers outside forces producing operational strictures within the system, including executive orders, lapsing and allotment procedures, accounting requirements, information demands, legal opinions,…

Ever-increasing demands emanating from federal and state governments, regulatory agencies, study commissions, coordinating bodies, and other entities have become a pressing problem for higher education. The impact on the smaller, public community colleges, which lack physical and material resources, is especially devastating. (JDS)

Literature concerning the relationship between higher education and politics is reviewed. Attention is directed to federal, state, and local levels of government and to institutional politics. Federal involvement in higher education, governmental regulation, higher education lobbying, and the emergence of the new Department of Education are…

The relationship between state government and higher education institutions is discussed. It is noted that, by and large, state governments have left colleges alone until the past two decades. State intrusions have taken the form of accountability statutes, budgeting, performance audits, program review, minimum standards, sunset laws, and more…

This document is a three-part compendium of learning resources on community colleges affiliated with the State University of New York (SUNY). It begins with an introduction providing background information on the SUNY community colleges, then provides a collection of articles and reference materials concerning the colleges. Titles include:…

This paper takes a look at the role and function of faculty in higher education from a public policy/public higher education perspective, focusing on the view of faculty not just as an institutional asset but also one for the public good. The paper examines major external challenges currently facing public higher education, faculty activities and…

This status report outlines the progress of the California Community College Finance Project. Working papers, models, and alternative proposals are reviewed in four areas: mission and function, finance, governance, and management. Priorities in mission and function are stated in terms of the characteristics and educational needs of the nearly 1.3…

The role of the federal government in higher education in the United States is considered in an address to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. The federal government is reducing expenditures in education and seeking to limit the government's involvement in developing education policy. The federal support for higher education…

Despite many accomplishments and a widely-praised system, there remain significant challenges to address in higher education in Virginia: (1) Although the state performs well in six-year graduation rates for bachelor degree programs, graduation rates at specific four-year institutions range from the very high end of the spectrum to the very low;…