Governance and Funding of U.S. Higher Education

March 28th - April 1st, 2011
North Carolina

Delegation of Finnish University Presidents searched for best-practices in governance and funding of U.S. higher education. Specifically, participants visited institutions in North Carolina to discuss about financial and leadership structures, strategic planning and decision-making processes and the management and governance of the universities. The group learned about the American system from expert speakers and through direct observation at private and public universities. The seminar focused on comparing U.S. and Finnish strategies of university governance and funding and identifying possible applications of the American practice to the Finnish system. There were 14 members in the delegation.
 

 Read the Study Tour report (in Finnish, PDF).

Agenda

Participants travelled to North Carolina for a five-day higher education leadership seminar. The program consisted of a day-long introductory workshop, five site visits to public and private universities in North Carolina, and two debriefing meetings.
 

Links related to the Study Tour 

Background and Current Discussion

• Aligning American Higher Education with a Twenty-first Century Public Agenda By James J. Duderstandt (PDF)
• Changing University Missions and Profiling in the United States: Some Lessons Learned in the New World By James J. Duderstandt (PDF)
• The US Higher Education System: A Brief Introduction for International Students and Scholars By D. Bruce Johnstone (PDF)

Recent Articles in the Chronicle of Higher Education 

• The New Industrial Connectivity By Nigel Thrift (PDF)
• The Move to Openness and Accountability: Evolution, Not Revolution by Joseph A. Alutto (PDF)
• The Corporate Analogy Unravels By Andrew Ross (PDF)

North Carolina, Current Topics

• States Can Reap Rewards by Supporting Research (Chronicle of Higher Education) By Art Padilla (PDF)
• Wake Forest University Leadership Development Program (PDF)

Finances and Funding

• Financing the American Public Research University: Lessons from an International Perspective By D. Bruce Johnstone (PDF)
• Korkeakoulutuksen rahoitus: kansainvälisiä suuntauksia kustannusten jaossa By D. Bruce Johnstone, Kuka maksaa ja miten? Näkökulmia korkeakoulutuksen maksullisuuteen, Tampere University Press (PDF)
• Papers on Higher Education Finance and Governance by D. Bruce Johnstone (PDF)

Recent Articles in the Chronicle of Higher Education

• Flagships Just Want to Be Alone Hard times strain relations between big public research universities and their states By Jack Stripling (PDF)
• Faculty Pay Remains Flat at Public Colleges, Edges Up at Private Colleges By Jeffrey Brainard (PDF)
• Top Fund Raisers in 'Philanthrophy 400' Saw Steep Drop in Donations Last Year By Noelle Barton and Holly Hall (PDF)

Strategic Planning

• A Primer on University Planning By James J. Duderstandt (PDF)
• The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) Strategic Plan 2009-2014

Boards and Presidents

• Harvard U. Overhauls Governing Board in Recession's Wake, a First After 360 Years (Chronicle of Higher Education) By Paul Fain (PDF)
• Getting Used to Being Disliked (Chronicle of Higher Education) By Robert A. Weisbuch (PDF)
• University of Minnesota Board of Regents Policy (PDF)

Examples of U.S. Universities' Organizational Charts

• Cornell University (PDF)
• University of Virginia (PDF)
• University of Florida (PDF)
• University of North Carolina (PDF)
• North Carolina State University (PDF)
• Duke University (PDF)