%0 Thesis %1 basinger_small_1991 %A Basinger, Rebekah Burch %D 1991 %K ADMINISTRATION EDUCATION, Higher, %T The small college board at work: An analysis of trustee actions at selected colleges in Pennsylvania, 1964-1989 (Private colleges) %X The activity of the lay board of trustees is examined through an analysis of trustee actions at four private colleges in Pennsylvania. Trustee actions were codified according to subject matter and level of policy decision. In addition to the minute records from the years 1964 to 1989, data sources included trustee handbooks, by-laws, and other organizational materials used by the four boards to guide their activities. The study was a replication of a 1972 project by James Paltridge and associates in which the minute records of nineteen public college boards were analyzed and codified. The most significant finding was that private college boards have delegated considerable authority to the campus community for routine administrative detail. While the Paltridge study found public boards little inclined to delegate authority for operational decisions, retaining the privilege of vote on almost 80 percent of the items presented to them, the private college boards received close to half of all items without formal action. Although private college boards continue to vote on large numbers of routine matters, particularly in the areas of personnel, business and finance, and physical plant, overall the number and range of items on which the private college trustees voted was considerably less than generalizations from the Paltridge study would have implied. Private college boards, it seems are more comfortable than their public college peers with acting as monitors rather than managers of administrative activity. The study also raises questions about the way in which the findings of research on governing boards is interpreted and applied and suggests that researchers must be open to approaching the data with fresh eyes and open minds. It might be, for example, that board involvement with routine matters allows trustees to approach planning or policy discussions with greater awareness of the current institutional situation.

@phdthesis{basinger_small_1991, abstract = {The activity of the lay board of trustees is examined through an analysis of trustee actions at four private colleges in Pennsylvania. Trustee actions were codified according to subject matter and level of policy decision. In addition to the minute records from the years 1964 to 1989, data sources included trustee handbooks, by-laws, and other organizational materials used by the four boards to guide their activities. The study was a replication of a 1972 project by James Paltridge and associates in which the minute records of nineteen public college boards were analyzed and codified. The most significant finding was that private college boards have delegated considerable authority to the campus community for routine administrative detail. While the Paltridge study found public boards little inclined to delegate authority for operational decisions, retaining the privilege of vote on almost 80 percent of the items presented to them, the private college boards received close to half of all items without formal action. Although private college boards continue to vote on large numbers of routine matters, particularly in the areas of personnel, business and finance, and physical plant, overall the number and range of items on which the private college trustees voted was considerably less than generalizations from the Paltridge study would have implied. Private college boards, it seems are more comfortable than their public college peers with acting as monitors rather than managers of administrative activity. The study also raises questions about the way in which the findings of research on governing boards is interpreted and applied and suggests that researchers must be open to approaching the data with fresh eyes and open minds. It might be, for example, that board involvement with routine matters allows trustees to approach planning or policy discussions with greater awareness of the current institutional situation.}, added-at = {2018-06-19T15:20:34.000+0200}, author = {Basinger, Rebekah Burch}, biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/202be620a9c9d286dc8aa342024078986/prophe}, interhash = {093ed46711925c5cd5d0d3c4d509ec4c}, intrahash = {02be620a9c9d286dc8aa342024078986}, keywords = {ADMINISTRATION EDUCATION, Higher,}, school = {Temple University}, shorttitle = {The small college board at work: {An} analysis of trustee actions at selected colleges in {Pennsylvania}, 1964-1989 ({Private} colleges)}, timestamp = {2018-06-19T15:20:34.000+0200}, title = {The small college board at work: {An} analysis of trustee actions at selected colleges in {Pennsylvania}, 1964-1989 ({Private} colleges)}, type = {{PhD} {Thesis}}, year = 1991 }