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Wayland Baptist University
Course Syllabus
The Administration of Higher Education
EDHE 5301
Fall 2010
Mission: Wayland Baptist University exists to educate students in an academically challenging
and distinctively Christian environment for professional success, lifelong learning and service
to God and humankind.
Course number and title: EDHE 5301 Administration of Higher Education
Class meeting times: 100% online, asynchronous communication (students are expected to
possess adequate technological aptitude for use of Blackboard to access course materials)
Instructor:
Jeff Rhodes, Ed.D.
Telephone: 985.215.9461
E-mail:
Jeffrey.Rhodes@wayland.wbu.edu
Address:
www.jeffrhodes.info
Course Description: An examination of the theoretical principles of organizational behavior,
leadership and institutional culture applied to a functional examination of a diverse system of
higher education.
Textbooks:
Birnbaum, Robert. (1988). How Colleges Work: The Cybernetics of Academic Organization
and Leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Schein, Edgar H. (2004). Organizational Culture and Leadership, 3rd. ed. San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass.
Required Readings:
Dill, D. D. (1984). The nature of administrative behavior in higher education. Educational
Administration Quarterly, 20(3), 69-99.
Godwin, G. J., & Markham, W. T. (1996). First encounters of the bureaucratic kind: Early
freshman experiences with a campus bureaucracy. Journal of Higher Education, 67,
660-691.
Hoy, W. K. (1996). Science and theory in the practice of educational administration: A
pragmatic perspective. Educational Administration Quarterly, 32, 366-378.
Kirby, P. C., King, M. I., & Paradise, L. V. (1992). Extraordinary leaders in education:
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Understanding transformational leadership. Journal of Educational Research, 85, 303311.
Mech, T. (1997). The managerial roles of chief academic officers. Journal of Higher
Education, 68, 282-298.
Weick, K. E. (1976). Educational organizations as loosely coupled systems. Administrative
Science Quarterly, 21, 1-19.
Weick, K. E. (1996). Fighting fires in educational administration. Educational
Administration Quarterly, 32, 565-578.
Whetten, D. A. (1984). Effective administrators: Good management on the college campus.
Change, 16(6), 38-43).
Access to WBU Learning Resources: www.wbu.edu/lrc; John Elliott, e-mail – elliotj@wbu.edu
Supplementary Reading:
The Chronicle of Higher Education, weekly publication.
Course Outcomes:
1 Students will develop an understanding of organizational structure and mission for
various institutional types
2 Students will develop an understanding of typical administrative structures in higher
education
3 Students will develop an understanding of governance structures in higher education
4 Students will develop an understanding of the roles of mission and culture in
institutional governance and decision-making
5 Students will develop an understanding of the impact of various leadership theories
and approaches in higher education
6 Students will develop an understanding of the various institutional types in American
higher education
7 Students will develop an understanding of the three missions of higher education
8 Students will develop a familiarity with professional literature applicable to
administration of higher education in the United States
9 Students will demonstrate the ability to critically evaluate the effectiveness of
administrative structures, priorities, and decisions
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Assignments and Evaluation:
Online discussion: The instructor will post discussion questions each week. Every member of
the class is expected to engage each topic in a thoughtful and critical manner, utilizing
her/his own professional experience in higher education, accepted theories of leadership,
existing research, and a logical argument. Personal attacks and racial/ethnic/sexist or
otherwise discriminatory or disparaging comments will not be tolerated. Participation in the
discussion will constitute 20% (20 points) of your final grade.
Interview: Each student will be required to interview an administrator (President, Vice
President, Assistant/Associate Vice President, or Dean) at a postsecondary institution. Each
student will provide a transcript of that interview, as well as an analysis of important
concepts learned from the individual interviewed. The analysis may be no more than five
pages in length. Examples of items to be covered in this interview include (but are not
limited to):
1 Organizational structure of the area supervising and reporting to this administrator
2 Specific responsibilities of this individual and her/his area of responsibility
3 Current issues/challenges for this individual and her/his department/division/area
4 Mission of the institution served
5 Environmental/cultural factors impacting effectiveness of this individual
6 Successes this individual has achieved and contributing factors
7 Failures for the individual and/or institution and lessons learned
8 Unspoken expectations and challenges faced
This project will constitute 20% (20 points) of your final grade, and it must be in APA format.
Case Study: Each student will be responsible for examining the Ward Churchill case from
recent higher education events and preparing a paper outlining the occurrence, responses,
and individuals involved. You will describe your view of the successes and failures of
significant actors within the event, factors contributing to the decisions made, and your view
of what could or should have been done differently. Lastly, you will describe how you believe
this case will impact higher education in the United States in the coming years. Possible
facets to cover include (but are not limited to) institutional mission, racism in higher
education, academic freedom, tenure, and governance. This paper may be no longer than 10
pages. This project will count for 20% (20 points) of your final grade, and it must be in APA
format.
Paper: Each student will write a paper on one of the topics below. Each student will address
a different topic, therefore you must request approval for the topic you desire. The paper
will be no more than 10 pages (excluding references). The paper must follow the style of the
APA manual (6th edition).
1 Some state that a college or university should be run like a business. Do you agree or
disagree? Why? In what ways is an institution like and/or unlike a for-profit venture?
In what ways should an institution be operated in a manner similar to for-profit
organization?
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What leadership style is most appropriate to, and effective in, higher education? Why?
What is the value of tenure to postsecondary education as compared to its cost?
What is the purpose and value of academic freedom?
What is the role of accreditation in determining academic quality?
Many institutions commit considerable resources toward improving their standing in
institutional rankings, most notably those from the U.S. News and World Report. What
is the purpose and value in doing so? Should it be a priority? Why or why not?
7 What is the role of athletics in postsecondary education? How does it complement or
detract from the institutional mission?
The paper will constitute 20% (20 points) of your final grade.
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Final: You will be given two questions later in the semester, which will be similar to those
you will face on the Master’s comprehensive exam at the conclusion of your studies. You will
pick one and write a response that is no more than five pages in length. The paper will be
open book, open note, and you may use other research resources at your disposal. Format
must be consistent with the APA manual (6th edition). The final will comprise 20% (20 points)
of your final grade.
ATTENDANCE POLICY:
Students are expected to read each week’s assigned reading in the text and actively engage
their class members and the instructor in the online discussion each week. Failure to
effectively interact and demonstrate completion of the reading will be considered nonattendance.
METHOD OF INSTRUCTION:
This course is taught entirely online using asynchronous interaction.
UNIVERSITY GRADING SYSTEM:
A
B
C
D
F
90-100
80-89
70-70
60-69
below 60
X
Cr
for Credit
NCR No Credit
I
Incomplete*
W
for withdrawal
WP
Withdrawal Passing
WF
Withdrawal Failing
No grade given
IP
In Progress
A grade of “CR” indicates that credit in semester hours was granted but no grade or grade
points were recorded.
*A grade of incomplete is changed if the work required is completed prior to the date
indicated in the official University calendar of the next long term, unless the instructor
designates an earlier date for completion. If the work is not completed by the appropriate
date, the I is converted to the grade of F. An incomplete notation cannot remain on the
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student’s permanent record and must be replaced by the qualitative grade (A-F) by the date
specified in the official University calendar of the next regular term.
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Disabled persons: It is University policy that no otherwise qualified person with disabilities
be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination
under any educational program or activity in the University. It is the responsibility of the
student to disclose her/his disability and to provide documentation pertaining to the
disability to that appropriate modifications/accommodations may be made.
Academic Honesty: University students are expected to conduct themselves according to
the highest standards of academic honesty. Academic misconduct for which a student is
subject to penalty includes all forms of cheating, such as illicit possessions of examinations
or examination materials, forgery, or plagiarism. (Plagiarism is the presentation of the work
of another as one’s own.
Disciplinary action for academic misconduct is the responsibility of the faculty members
assigned to the course. The faculty member is charge with assess the gravity of any case of
academic dishonesty, and with giving sanctions to any student involved. Penalties may be
applied to individual cases of academic dishonesty. See catalog for more information about
academic dishonesty.
Calendar:
Week of August 16th Introductions – post a brief auto-biographical sketch in the homepage
section of Blackboard that will allow the rest of the course participants
to understand you and your context
Whetten (1984)
Weick (1976)
Birnbaum, chapter 1
Schein, chapter 1
Paper topic requests due by 11:59 p.m. CST, Saturday, August 21st
August 23rd
Birnbaum, chapter 2
Schein, chapters 2 – 4
August 30th
Birnbaum, chapter 3
Schein, chapters 5 – 6
Mech (1997)
Interviews due by 11:59 p.m. CST, Saturday, September 4th
September 6th
Birnbaum, chapter 4
Schein, chapters 7 – 8
Godwin & Markham (1996)
September 13th
Birnbaum, chapter 5
Schein, chapters 9 – 10
Hoy (1996)
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Case studies due by 11:59 p.m. CST, Saturday, September 18th
September 20th
Birnbaum, chapter 6
Schein, chapter 11
September 27th
Birnbaum, chapter 7
Schein, chapters 12 – 13
Kirby, King, & Paradise (1992)
October 4th
Birnbaum, chapter 8
Schein, chapters 14 – 15
October 11th
Birnbaum, chapter 9
Schein, chapters 16 – 17
Weick (1996)
October 18th
Schein, chapters 18 – 19
Final exam questions disseminated
Papers due by 11:59 p.m. CST, Saturday, October 23rd
October 25th
Dill (1984)
Final exams due by 11:59 p.m. CST, Saturday, October 30th