Association for Tertiary Education Management (ATEM) Policy Workshop
Brigid Freeman, Manager Policy and Delegations
Who (actually) does what?
Exploring university
delegations of authority
Brigid Freeman
Manager, Policy and Delegations
University of Tasmania
27th October 2011
Who (actually) does what? Exploring university delegations of authority
Association for Tertiary Education Management (ATEM) Policy Forum 27/10/2011
Freeman
Brigid
OK so what are delegations exactly?
Academic hat analogy - Allocation of powers or
authorities, where each academic hat represents ‘powers’
University Council
Vice-Chancellor
Senior exec
Managers
Staff
Who (actually) does what? Exploring university delegations of authority
Association for Tertiary Education Management (ATEM) Policy Forum 27/10/2011
Freeman
What are delegations
documents for?
What does the current
UTAS delegations
documentation look
like?
What was the scope of
the Review?
Brigid
Who (actually) does what? Exploring university delegations of authority
Association for Tertiary Education Management (ATEM) Policy Forum 27/10/2011
Freeman
How did I undertake the
Review?
oLiterature review
oDocument analysis
oInterviews
oWorkshops
oConsultation (UTAS Policy Network)
oBenchmarking
What was the context
for the Review?
Brigid
Who (actually) does what? Exploring university delegations of authority
Association for Tertiary Education Management (ATEM) Policy Forum 27/10/2011
Freeman
Brigid
So, what did I come up with?
Table 1: Snapshot of Proposed Delegations Documentation and Significant Reforms
Who (actually) does what? Exploring university delegations of authority
Association for Tertiary Education Management (ATEM) Policy Forum 27/10/2011
Freeman
Brigid
Table 2: Skeleton Schedule of Financial Delegations
Table 3: Skeleton Schedule of Contract Delegations
Who (actually) does what? Exploring university delegations of authority
Association for Tertiary Education Management (ATEM) Policy Forum 27/10/2011
Freeman
Brigid
Table 4: Skeleton Schedule of Travel Delegations
Table 5: Skeleton Schedule of Human Resources Delegations)
Who (actually) does what? Exploring university delegations of authority
Association for Tertiary Education Management (ATEM) Policy Forum 27/10/2011
Freeman
Brigid
Who (actually) does what? Exploring university delegations of authority
Association for Tertiary Education Management (ATEM) Policy Forum 27/10/2011
Freeman
So, are policy and
delegations of
authority the same?
Governance
instruments
Policy
statements
Delegations
Policy and
Schedules
Figure 1: Comparison: Policy and Delegations Documentation
Brigid
Who (actually) does what? Exploring university delegations of authority
Association for Tertiary Education Management (ATEM) Policy Forum 27/10/2011
Freeman
Brigid
So, is ‘university policy’
the same as
‘delegations’?
POLICY
Policy on Policy
Stable
Umbrella ‘what’
Delegation ‘down’
Aligned
Simple or complex
Monitored (?)
DELEGATIONS OF AUTHORITY
Internal review
Dynamic
Detailed ‘who does what’
No delegation ‘down’ (unless stated)
Drawn from governance instruments
Complex and long
Workflowed via electronic systems
Who (actually) does what? Exploring university delegations of authority
Association for Tertiary Education Management (ATEM) Policy Forum 27/10/2011
Freeman
Brigid
In conclusion, what are the lessons?
Words on paper do not necessarily
mirror or drive practice.
Consultation is imperative to
determine practice.
There are some pre-requisites for
successful implementation.
Delegations are related to policy,
but different.
Writing academic delegations
without academic policy is virtually
impossible.
Who (actually) does what? Exploring university delegations of authority
Association for Tertiary Education Management (ATEM) Policy Forum 27/10/2011
Freeman
Brigid