title: Student Involvement in the Governance of Institutions of Higher Education and the Campus Unrest (A Study of University and College Officers' Views of Student Participation in Campus Governance)
Creators: name: Chand, Elliot Alfred
Publisher: name: Utah State University
Year: 1973

description: The purpose of this study was to determine the extent of student participation in various aspects of college and university governance in contrast to the extent to which selected administrative officers would allow them to participate. 1. To determine what the opinion of the university officials is on the general scope of student involvement in university affairs and institutional governance. 2. To determine the extent to which students are and should be involved in areas of administration including general governance, as viewed by the officers included in this study. 3 . To compare the latitude of freedom that students should have in the opinion of the selected officers regarding class attendance, and academic and nonacademic life of the pupils with the extent of freedom that students are allowed under the existing institutional policies. 4. To determine the degree of autonomy that students should have in the opinion of the officers in the sample, regarding use of student activity fund as against the degree of autonomy that is given to students under the present school policies. 5. To ascertain if university officials responding to the questionnaire think that greater involvement in the total institutional governance would reduce tension on college and university campuses.There is a general agreement among the responding officers that students must be allowed to get more involved in a variety o~ curricular and extra curricular activities both on the campus and off the campus. The study found that in some administratively organized important councils and committees, particularly administrative boards (Board of Trustees/Board of Higher Education) and Budget Committees students are not allowed to participate in any recognizable degree. Most school officials in this sample group were willing to give the students more voice in these areas of school administration than the institutions presently allow. The freedom that students have under the present policy rules of these selected institutions with regard to the criteria developed for student performance, planning a field of study and class attendance etc. , is both restrictive as well as limited in many institutions included in this study. The views of the responding officers obtained through the questionnaire revealed that they were willing to give students more voice in these areas of governance. In an attempt to find out the degree of autonomy that students have and should have in the use of student activity fund, it was found that considerable autonomy is provided under the present institutional policies, so that students could use the allocated appropriation with great freedom. There was general agreement on the part of the administrative officers with the existing policies and practices. So far as the reduction of tension around the campus was concerned officials believed that greater overall student involvement in college/university governance would reduce it to some extent, but in no case would this solve the problem of student protest and demonstrations on campus totally.