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.

 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.

Joint Statement on Faculty Status of College and University Librarians. 1973.

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

Statement on Intercollegiate Athletics. 1991.

 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.

Legal Round-Up: What’s New and Noteworthy for Higher Education? By AAUP Counsel. These yearly legal roundups summarize and highlight significant court decisions and legal developments on this topic.

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

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

Ralph S. Brown Award for Shared Governance.

Other Useful Links

Faculty Senates, Selected Institutions. Updated September 2014. By Robert V. Labaree.  A tool for finding lists of faculty governance organizations by state.

Colleges and Universities, United States. A list of home pages for American universities and colleges.

Colleges and Universities, International. Links to institutions of higher education worldwide.

Resources on Surveying the Governance Climate

AAUP Policy Analysis

Some Legal Aspects Of Collegial Governance.  2003. By Donna Euben. AAUP.

Other AAUP Resources

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)

Articles on governance from the 1997 September-October issue of Academe, "Behind Closed Doors? Reaffirming the Value of Shared Governance," are available in .pdf format.. 

  The .pdf file contains the following articles:
  • "Reaffirming the Value of Shared Governance." By Larry Gerber.
  • "University Presidential Searches: Exercises in Secrecy or Shared Governance?" By Dennis M. Clausen.
  • "Presidential Search Committee Checklist." By Muriel Poston.
  • "Faculty and Governing Boards: Building Bridges." By James Perley.
  • "Reforming Shared Governance: Do the Arguments Hold Up?" By Keetjie Ramo.

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.