Chair Morian called on Chancellor Hobby to outline the options for restructure of the University of Houston System. This organizational structure is not a system model and represents the most decentralized option available. In this model, institutional missions are distinct, decisions regarding academic policies and programs are campus driven, and faculty are members of different but affiliated institutions. Multi-campus systems are organized in various ways. The defining characteristics of any given organizational structure are the functions assigned to the system level and the degree to which control and operations within those functions are centralized.
More centralized operations concentrate power and control at the system level.
At this end of the spectrum, there is a strong system chief executive officer and heads for each component that essentially function as chief operating officers. At the other end of the spectrum, more decentralized operations place more power and control at the campus level. In a highly decentralized system organization, each campus would have a strong chief executive officer and the system chief would function more like an executive director. The configuration of a specific organizational structure within this model normally is highly influenced by the governing board's assumptions regarding legal, fiscal and strategic risk. An academically integrated multi-site university, with a single governing board and chief executive officer.