Resources on Governance

AAUP Policy Statements and Reports

 Member only content

Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities. 1966.

 The Inclusion in Governance of Faculty Members Holding Contingent Appointments. 2012.

On the Relationship of Faculty Governance to Academic Freedom. 1994.

Statement on Academic Government for Institutions Engaged in Collective Bargaining. 1988

 Faculty Participation in the Selection, Evaluation, and Retention of Administrators. 1981.

 On Institutional Problems Resulting from Financial Exigency: Some Operating Guidelines. 1978.

The Role of the Faculty in Budgetary and Salary Matters. 1972.

Financial Exigency, Academic Governance, and Related Matters. 2004.

Governance Standards in Institutional Mergers and Acquisitions. 1981.

The Role of the Faculty in the Governance of College Athletics. 1989.

 The Faculty Role in the Reform of Intercollegiate Athletics—Principles and Recommended Practices. 2002.

Confidentiality and Faculty Representation in Academic Governance. 2013.

Faculty Communication with Governing Boards: Best Practices. 2014.

Academic Freedom, Shared Governance, and the First Amendment after Garcetti v. Ceballos. (.pdf) February 2011. By Rachel Levinson, Senior Counsel. Presentation for Stetson University College of Law 31st Annual National Conference on Law and Higher Education.

Some Legal Aspects Of Collegial Governance. 2003. By Donna R. Euben, AAUP Counsel. Presentation made to the AAUP 2003 Governance Conference: Making Teamwork Work.

"How Unions Strengthen Shared Governance: A Response to a Chronicle of Higher Education Opinion Piece." By Ernst Benjamin, Senior Consultant.

AAUP Actions & Initiatives

Protecting an Independent Faculty Voice. What faculty can do to protect the faculty voice after the 2006 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Garcetti v. Ceballos that determined government can restrict the speech of public employees when they comment on issues related to their "official duties."

Webinar on Developing Shared Governance. Presented by Hans-Joerg Tiede.

Ralph S. Brown Award for Shared Governance.

Resources on Surveying the Governance Climate

Evaluation of Shared Governance. AAUP. A list of questions designed to allow for the immediate evaluation of the state of shared government at institutions of higher education, for preparation of assessment reports, and for evaluation and enhancement of shared governance.

Indicators of Sound Governance. 1994. By Keetjie Ramo.  A tool for assessing the faculty's role in shared governance.
  • Introduction
  • Survey Instrument (.pdf)

Survey on Higher Education Governance. 2001. By Gabriel Kaplan. AAUP and the American Conference of Academic Deans.  
  • Survey Instrument (.pdf)
  • Survey Results (.pdf)

Resources on Organizing and Running a Faculty Senate

Traits of Effective Senates. By Joseph Flynn. AAHE/National Network of Faculty Senates. A checklist of traits.