Regional Co-operative Programme in Higher Education for Development

in Asia and the Pacific

MANAGEMENT EDUCATION AND TRAINING FOR ADMINISTRATORS OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

Report of a Regional Workshop 21 - 26 October 1991

UNESCO PRINCIPAL REGIONAL OFFICE FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

Bangkok, 1992

0 UNESCO 1992

Published by the UNESCO Principal Regional OffKe for Asia and the Pacific

P.O. Box 967, Prakanong Post Office Bangkok 10110, Thailand

Printed in Thailand

nie designations employed and the presentation of material throughout the publication do not imply the expression of any opinion wliaisoever 011 the part of UNESCO conceniing the legal status of arty countty, tem'toly, cis, or area or of its authorities, or coiiceming its frontiers or boundaries.

B KHE/92/M/336-500

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chap ter Four

Chapter Five

Appendices

Appendix A

Appendix B

Introduction 1

Some Problems and Issues 7

Management Education and 19 Training Needs

Programme Framework: 39 Proposals for Follow-Up Actions

Conclusions and Recommendations

Agenda

List of Participants

47

51

52

Chapter One

INTRODUCTION

Background and Rationaïe of the Workshop

The Regional Workshop on Management Education and Training for Administrators of Higher Education Institutions was organized as an activity under the UNESCO Sub-Programme 1.2.5 - Higher Education and the Changing Needs of Society and within the framework of the UNESCO Regional Co- operative Programme in Higher Education for Development in Asia and the Pacific. The Workshop arose out of concern about the need to stimulate management education and training activities within higher education institutions (HEIs) as a means to improve their functional efficiency and effectiveness. It is well recognized that HEIs play a key role in the social, cultural and economic development of a nation. But the degree to which higher education can contribute to development is directly related to its effective and efficient management and administration. The management aspect of higher education, however, has been neglected somewhat in the region, with various enrichment programmes being directed mainly at the teaching, research and service functions of higher education.

Both the traditional functions and n e w tasks performed by HEIs can be successfully accomplished only in a dynamic, creative and well-run organizational environment. The presidents, rectors, and vice-chancellors of universities and other top level administrators are now being required to play a much more active role than was the case in the past in charting the future directions of their

Mariageinciif Edircation and Training

institutions. They also need highly developed skills in resource allocation, industrial relations, and performance appraisal. The faculty, school or department is the focus of a range of budgetary and administrative decisions which may impact on the whole institution, yet deans or heads of these units often have little or no management training. Deans and heads also need skills in strategic planning, staff appraisal, research project management, and human relations. In a climate where resources available for higher education are clearly limited, specialized management skills are required equivalent to any that are demanded in the business sector.

Many higher education institutions are extremely large, managing budgets equivalent to those of large business organizations. Growth and change in higher education has been accompanied by growth in both complexity and size of central administrations. But at the same time, tight budgetary conditions have increased pressure for more effective accountability and the allocation of new tasks - such as participation in adult literacy programmes, efforts to secure outside funding for research and development activities, continuing education and various service functions - means that institutions are finding it necessary to adopt new approaches to institutional management.

HEIs are accountable to governments, employers, students and the community, and their managers are required to show strong leadership through fostering efficiency, setting priorities, promoting a client orientation and undertaking corporate planning and review, Strategic planning, reviews of administrative structures and processes, regular staff appraisal and institutional evaluation are becoming regular activities of higher education management. To meet these challenges, managers

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I II t rod it ct ion

require a wide range of specialist skills, knowledge and training. Management education, more appropriately phrased as human resource development for managers, can greatly assist HEIs to more effectively achieve their goals and aims and to better serve the community.

Objectives, Agenda and Outcome

Against this backdrop, the Regional Workshop devoted itself to

1. identification and analysis of problems and issues in the management and administration of higher education institutions;

2. assessment of management education and training needs of higher education administrators: aqd

3. formulation of a programme outline on management education strategies and actions to be pursued with the support of the participating institutions.

The participants of the Workshop also undertook a field visit which took them to the Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok. The agenda of the Workshop is given at Appendix A.

The Workshop produced a report as its immediate outcome on the basis of the Workshop deliberations, theme paper and participants' papers broadly following the above agenda. The report appears in the following chapters.

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Managemeil t Edtr cat ion and Training

Organization

The Workshop was held at the UNESCO Principal Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (PROAP), Bangkok during 21-26 October 1991. It was attended by key senior higher education administrators from Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan and Pakistan, UNESCO personnel and a former staff member of UNESCO who acted as a resource person. A complete list of participants is given at Appendix B.

Mr. Hedayat Ahmed, Director of the UNESCO PROAP, opened the Workshop. In his opening speech, he emphasized the need for inter- institutional co-operation in the region for the purpose of socio-economic development, preservation of the environment and promotion of peace. He thought the deliberations of the Workshop would provide important elements towards developing an inter-country programme in higher education management, with the possibility of support from other sources besides UNESCO.

The Workshop was conducted by Prof. G.J. Pareshan Khattak (Pakistan) as its Chairman in co- operation with Dr. Yoshiya Abe (Japan) as Vice- Chairman and Prof. Grant Harman (Australia) as Rapporteur. The last session was held on Saturday 26 October 1991 in which the Workshop report was finally adopted.

The participants of the Workshop expressed their thanks to UNESCO for convening this important meeting and assured UNESCO personnel of their full co-operation in any follow-up activities.

4

Introdi4ction

This report was prepared by Prof. Grant Harman (who also presented the theme paper) and D r M. Selim (Resource Person).

5

Chapter Two

SOME PROBLEMS AND ISSUES

The Workshop noted the important and creative role of higher education in the Asian/Pacific region. Universities and colleges in the region must be viewed as being indispensible in achieving social and economic development, peace and cultural enrichment, human resource development, and protection of the natural environment. Universities in particular constitute a most valuable intellectual resource that needs to be utilized to the fullest extent possible in order to achieve maximum benefit for the people of the region.

The Workshop devoted considerable time to pin-pointing some of the burning issues and problems facing the management of higher education institutions today, and to exploring some of the factors that appear to produce current problems. The participants identified problems based on the experiences of their own institutions and the higher education systems of their countries. The problems and issues were reviewed from the standpoint of the perspective of management, management tasks and management processes. It was recognized that considerable variations were to be found among the institutions and systems represented at the Workshop, but at the same time participants considered that common concerns move across various aspects of the management of higher education throughout the region.

This chapter considers the particular challenges facing management in higher education today in the countries of the region, and then

Mariageirzeiit Ediicatiori arid Tiainirig

considers a number of particular problems and issues identified by participants.

T h e Management Challenges Today

The most difficult challenge faced today by managers of higher education institutions throughout the region, particularly universities, is to encourage the more efficient and effective use of resources and to uphold the reputation and image of higher education institutions as centres of excellence in research and teaching. The task of managing higher education institutions clearly is a complex and difficult one. It appears that the degree of complexity and difficulty has increased decidedly over the past two decades and continues to increase. This is true across various countries in the Asia and Pacific region. Further, the complexity and difficulty of the task is experienced much more in universities than other levels of higher education institutions.

The Workshop was of the view that the task of management in higher education institutions is complex and difficult for a number of reasons. Five particular reasons stand out in importance: the unique characteristics of higher education institutions as complex organizations; the growth in the size of higher education institutions; the range and complexity of their functions; the new pressures on financial resources; and special problems in relations between higher education institutions on the one hand, and government and the broader society on the other.

Higher education institutions, particularly universities, constitute a special form of modern complex organizations. On the one hand, they have many organizational similarities to other modern

8

Soine Problem and Issues

organizations such as government departments or business firms. For example, they too need well- developed organizational rules and procedures in order to operate efficiently. They need able, efficient and well trained managers. There are major problems to be overcome in internal communications and in communicating the goals of the organization to all employees. In addition, there are special challenges in making sure that the services being delivered by the organization meet the needs of particular clients or customers.

On the other hand, it must be recognized that higher education institutions are distinctively different in a number of respects, but particularly because they are knowledge-based organizations in which high level expertise and professional autonomy play a major role. Associated with this are long- standing traditions about the need for a considerable degree of institutional autonomy if the university is to operate effectively, about the need for academic freedom for academic staff in their professional work, and about the desirability of academic staff playing a significant role in the governance of the institution. It is crucial that senior managers in higher education understand these traditions and the distinctive organizational qualities of higher education institutions. This suggests that the management of higher education demands somewhat different approaches to that required in other types of modern complex organizations and requires a kind of leadership at the top that is different to that required in other organizations.

The Workshop recognized that the growth in the size of higher education institutions and in the range and complexity of functions carried out by them have had an important effect on management tasks. Throughout the region, higher education

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Management Editcation and Training

institutions have expanded rapidly in terms of student enrolments and enrolment growth today continues in many countries at impressive levels. This means that many higher education institutions are hard pressed in coping with constant growth. It also means that many higher education institutions are very large institutions, with extensive campuses, hundreds of employees and thousands of students. In a number of countries, multi-campus institutions are becoming increasingly common, thus adding an additional layer of organizational complexity.

Associated with this rapid growth has been new demands on higher education institutions, such as to increase the supply of highly trained personnel in an increasing range of different specializations, to strengthen teaching programmes particularly at advanced levels, to broaden access to higher education courses, and to strengthen research programmes. Apart from this, higher education is expected to play an expanded and stronger role in economic and social development, and thus to serve society even more directly in both traditional and a variety of new ways. New tasks include active participation in adult literacy programmes, in programmes to achieve universal primary education and in efforts to protect the natural physical environment, and responsibilities in helping with the renewal of the whole education system.

The financial pressures on higher education institutions are particularly pressing in most of the countries of the region. In fact, the Workshop participants considered that, of all the problems facing higher education institutions and systems today, the most difficult and the most severe relate to securing adequate financial resources in relation to the tasks to be carried out. Institutional budgets have been adversely affected by fluctuations in national

10

Soine Problems aiid Issues

economies and by new demands from other public sector activities. Also in many cases there has been increased competition for scarce resources from other areas of education.

Finally, higher education man age m e nt at institutional level is particularly difficult today because of the special character of the relationships required with government and with the broader society. Sometimes academic staff talk as if higher education institutions, in fact, were totally autonomous. Yet the reality is that autonomy is limited even for private higher education institutions. Further, higher education institutions of necessity must establish close working relations with industry and business.

In their relations with government and society inevitably there will be tensions. Colleges and universities are expected to respond to the needs of the society of which they are a part, while at the same time they need a substantial degree of discretion to carry out their work without undue interference. This places major responsibilities on institutional leaders. Their challenge is to develop and maintain appropriate and effective but delicate working relations with government and industry, without giving up such independence that is necessary to ensure that teaching and research of a high quality, Apart from this is the fact that in many countries the nature of the society and the economy as well as national government policies are rapidly changing. For example, in a number of countries higher education institutions are being asked to adjust and contribute to privatization initiatives and to policies to cope with increased urbanization. In others, there are major changes in policy from centrally planned economies to market economies. Further, HEIs are expected to play new roles in

11

Mariagetneiit Editcation atirf Training

efforts to contribute more effectively to the reduction of illiteracy, the promotion of adult education, and the achievement of universal primary education.

Key Issues and Problems

The Workshop identified a large number of separate issues and problems facing administrators of HEIs. Some of these problems have arisen primarily because of the influence of factors external to institutions, but in other cases the problems arise from internal factors or influences, such as inadequate institutional procedures or approaches to meet today's needs. Some problems have arisen relatively recently, or have become much more serious over the past decade; for example, this appears to be the case in a number of countries with particular problems associated with student discipline and student misconduct. But in other cases, current problems are well rooted in the past and arise largely from inadequacies or deficiencies which have been long recognized by senior administrators.

To facilitate analysis, issues and problems have been clustered into eight major problem areas. Each is dealt with briefly:

Student affairs and student employment: A number of Workshop participants expressed considerable concern about a series of closely related problems concerning student discipline, student motivation and attitudes, student achievement, and the appropriate employment of university and college graduates. Student political activities are having an adverse effect on the efficient management of many institutions throughout the region. Violence at times is serious and there is particular concern about

12

Soriie Problems and Issides

threats to the efficient conduct of examinations. Senior administrators often are subjected to considerable political pressures from students and student organisations. As a direct consequence of the lack of job opportunities for graduates, in a number of countries student unrest is widespread. In many cases, there is a clear mismatch between the production of graduates and job opportunities and many institutions have inadequate services for course counselling and career guidance and job placement.

institutional efficiency and effectiveness: The Workshop participants expressed concern about the need to achieve increased efficiency and effectiveness in the use of resources. By resources they meant not only financial resources, but resources in terms of personnel, physic al facilities, and ins tit u t i o n al reputation and standing.

In the Workshop discussions, an important distinction was made between efficiency and effectiveness, Efficiency refers to the achievement of the maximum output possible from each unit of investment in operating costs, whereas effectiveness refers to resource use in terms of the institution's overall objectives and goals. Thus, it is possible for an institution to operate efficiently but not effectively if it reduces operating costs per output unit, while this is achieved at a major sacrifice towards meeting institutional goals. For this reason, both efficiency and effectiveness are of key importance.

The papers presented by participants documented various concerns such as inadequate administrative procedures and administrative systems, poorly motivated staff, lack of effective communication, lack of adequate staff development mechanisms, tension and conflicts between academic staff and administrators, and lack of appropriate

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Manugeinent Edircation and Truiiiing

support mechanisms for administrative tasks. The papers also highlighted the need for HEIs to achieve increased efficiency and effectiveness in a time of severe financial resource constraint.

Inadequate resources: Above all else, administrators of HEIs are concerned about the inadequacy of resources. In many countries, there have been budget cuts since most national economies have been badly affected by recent economic fluctuations. Apart from this, with a clear trend towards greater self-sufficiency of public sector organizations and towards privatization, new pressures are placed on senior administrators of HEIs. In China, for example, universities now receive operating funds from a number of sources including government grants, training fees paid by employers for their staff, training fees paid by students and parents, and donations and grants. Thus administrators in many HEIs across the region not only have to operate with declining budgets per student unit, but are required to be proactive in attempting to identify and attract new sources of funding.

Quality and relevance of programmes: The teaching and research programmes of HEIs not only have to be of high quality, but they must be relevant to the current needs of society. Further, increasingly societies are demanding that appropriate quality assurance mechanisms be established to demonstrate to governments, employers and professional bodies that courses are of appropriate academic standards, that they are being reviewed carefully at regular intervals, and that course content is relevant to current needs of the workplace.

These demands about quality and quality assurance place very considerable responsibilities on

14

Soine Problems and Issues

vice-chancellors, presidents, rectors and other senior administrators. To achieve high quality of teaching programmes requires high quality classroom teaching, highly motivated and well-qualified academic staff, stringent procedures for course review and accreditation, and appropriate student assessment methods.

Quality and quality assurance are major issues in all the countries represented at the Workshop. For example, in Indonesia a very high priority is being given to consolidating and promoting high quality teaching and to ensuring that courses are relevant to national and local needs . Considerable efforts are being made to review existing courses and develop new courses to meet emerging needs. Enrolments will be reduced in courses having a surplus of graduates compared to job opportunities. To take a further example, in Australia the Minister for Higher Education recently has announced that major emphasis will be given by the Federal Government to the quality of teaching and research programmes and that from 1994 a new policy of allocating additional funds to institutions on the basis of performance will be implemented. In 1994, a sum of $70 million will be available for such allocation.

Planning capacity: A major need identified relates to the planning capacity of both higher education systems and institutions. The capacity for effective planning needs to be strengthened in order to make efficient use of resources and to ensure that higher education is able to meet changing and emerging needs. In a number of countries. particular problems were identified - the mismatch between the output of graduates and job opportunities, the need for increased flexibility in planning, the need to adjust as in China to increased use of market mechanisms within the society and in Japan to

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Managemetif Edircatiotz and Training

de regulation of institut ion al and e duc ati o n al standards.

In a number of countries universities and other HEIs are being given increased responsibilities in planning and see the need to develop specialized expertise in strategic planning. In Australia, the Commonwealth Government expects all universities to develop their own detailed strategic plans for future development. In Japan, there is a need for institutions to be able to cope with likely changes in enrolments patterns over the next decade, arising from a projected fall in the size of the 18 years of age cohort. The number of 18 year olds in Japan will reach its peak in 1992 at 2.05 million, but will then decline sharply to an estimated 1.51 million by the year 2000.

Better utilization and training of personnel: Personnel constitutes one of an institution's most important resources. Hence it is crucial that institutions should have clear and appropriate policies to ensure that personnel needs are met and that all personnel employed are used to maximum advantage for the benefit of the organization, Such policies should include articulation of approaches and procedures covering recruitment and selection of staff, induction, job specification, staff appraisal, staff development, and retraining, Institutions also need mechanisms to ensure that personnel policies are faithfully implemented.

While important progress has been made in many countries of the region, participants identified a number of pressing problems concerning personnel. These included problems with motivation of existing staff, with in-breeding and lack of outside recruitment, with particular staff recruitment and

16

Some Probleins and Issires

selection procedures, and with lack of appropriate staff development mechanisms.

Leaders hip: Leadership is of great importance in successful management in any complex organization. Participants expressed concern about a number of features in the qualities and skills of leadership at different levels in HEIs and considered that efforts are urgently needed to ensure that all key administrators have appropriate leadership qualities, skills and expertise.

Ail the desirable qualities of leadership are not easy to define, but clearly successful leaders in HEIs need not only particular skills in policy development and implementation, in planning and evaluation and in financial management, but they also must be persons of vision and be able to articulate and effectively communicate their vision and enthusiasm to others.

Research activities: In a number of countries there is concern about research activities within universities. Research is seen to be a key activity in universities, yet high level research is very expensive to support and not all academic staff currently are considered to have the necessary expertise to pursue and lead such activities. Further, there are difficult policy questions facing many universities such as in achieving a desirable balance at institutional level between basic, fundamental and applied research.

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Chapter Three

MANAGEMENT EDUCATION AND TRAINING NEEDS

After identihng major issues and problems in the management of HEIs, the Workshop tackled the difficult task of specifying particular education and training needs for administrators. The rationale adopted was that specification of such needs should be based first, on an understanding of changes in the external and internal environment and in work roles and second, on identification of major issues and problems.

Various approaches to needs specification for different administrative personnel were considered. In the end, the approach adopted was to consider the various groups of administrative personnel in HEIs and then to identify a small number of key areas or topics for education and training that the Workshop considered should have a high priority for education and training programmes for management generally. Finally, the Works hop con si d ere d appropriate mechanisms to address management education and training needs for administrators.

Who are the Administrators?

The question posed here is of utmost importance in any discussion of education and training needs for HEIs administrators and in programme planning and formulation. One common mistake is to equate higher education administrators with vice-chancellors, presidents or rectors.

Management Edircatioii and Training

However, the Workshop took the view that this was a far too limited approach and that administrators should be defined in a much broader way so as to include all administrative staff of at least middle level rank and above who exercise a reasonable amount of discretion in carrying out their work.

The Workshop identified six levels of authority in higher education systems, going from the academic department at the bottom, through the faculty or division, the single campus or institution, the multi-campus institution, the state or regional higher education system, and finally the national higher education system. Four of these levels in particular concerned participants - the department, the faculty, the single institution, and the multi- campus institution. At each level, those who have major policy and administrative tasks legitimately may be regarded as managers.

This view may be somewhat surprising as the group includes staff who are appointed to management positions (e.g. vice-chancellor, rector, registrar) as well as staff elected or nominated (such as heads of departments or deans of faculties in some institutions). It also includes staff who are career administrators and who generally have followed a career path in administration, as well academics who take on management roles after spending considerable periods in academic work. In many countries of the region, those with an academic background generally include vice-chancellors, deputy vice-chancellors, deans, and chairmen or heads of departments, while those with a career administrative background generally occupy positions such as registrar, deputy registrar, controller of examinations, bursar, faculty secretary and administrative officer. Apart from the more general administrative/management group, the modern

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Manageinetit Ediicatiori and Training Needs

university in addition has a large number of specialist managers concerned with such areas as management information systems, planning, institutional research and evaluation, student services, student housing. distance education, the computer centre and the library.

Viewed from another perspective four particular groups of administrators may be distinguished at institutional level. First, there is the chief executive (vice-chancellor, rector, president) and other very senior officers. Second, there are the heads of major academic units, especially deans of faculties and heads of academic departments. Third, there is a large group of middle level to senior career administrators, immediately below the level of the chief executive officer and his or her senior colleagues. Fourth, there are the heads and senior officers of specialist units, such as the library, the computer centre and the student services unit.

The Workshop participants thought that, if this broad definition of managers is accepted, it will be appreciated that management roles in higher education differ very significantly, as do training and further education needs. Some managers combine management roles with other roles and this has major implications for their education and training needs. For example, the chief librarian needs to be an expert in managing a large and expensive resource, but he or she also needs to be a specialist in various areas related to academic and research libraries. Or again, the head of an academic department needs to be an efficient manager of academic and other resources. But he or she also needs to be an active academic in a particular discipline or field of study.

The idea of viewing the head of department or dean of a faculty as a manager may be regarded by

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M a nagein en t E di4 ca t io n and Training

some, particularly in the academic community, as surprising. This is because academic culture understandably places a high emphasis on the scholarly aspects of acadeaic work and the collegial nature of academic governance. Hence, according to this more traditional view, the task of head of department or dean tends to he regarded very much as temporary and part-time, and one not requiring any particular training or expertise. However, in large universities, especially with devolved systems of management and budgeting, the head of department unquestionably performs a key management role. H o w successful this work is carried out will have a major affect on the efficiency and success of not only individual academic units but of the whole institution.

The Workshop recognized the various management roles and positions in higher educational institutions. Clearly their character differs significantly one from another, as does also their training needs . Many share a number of similar characteristics and presumably similar training needs, but each at the same time has unique or specialist characteristics or needs. Ideally, a sensible approach to training and in-service needs, either at institution or system level, would be t,o study and then specify the key tasks performed by different sets of managers, estimate the relative importance of each task, then move on to speciwing particular training needs and priorities among these, and finally to develop strategies for meeting these needs and evaluating their success.

The theme paper for the Workshop drew attention to the international scholarly literature on various management roles in higher education. By far the most studied are chief executives, particularly presidents of American colleges and universities, vice-chancellor s of British and Brit ish- d erive d

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Managernerit Ediication arid Training Needs

universities and rectors of European institutions . Such literature may serve as an important stepping stone for in-depth studies of chief executives and other senior manager roles in the higher education institutions of the region.

One particular need for detailed study is the role of heads of departments and deans of faculties because of the growing importance of their work within many institutions. Some participants noted that recent studies draw attention to the different dimensions of academic leadership at this level. The head of department or dean not only has to take responsibility for efficient day-to-day administration, developing and implementing long-range plans, for encouraging good teaching, and serving as an advocate for the department or faculty, but he or she also must often try to bring warring factions together and guide and inspire colleagues to strive for excellence and the highest standards of professionalism.

Priority Areas

The Workshop identified a small number of high priority areas or topics for management education and training. These are dealt with in this section, but it should be emphasized that the approach adopted here is a selective one and the list presented is not meant by any means to be exhaustive. At the same time, the Workshop saw the need to draw attention to the importance of attempting to prioritize needs. Out of the large number of current needs that can be identified in any one country or institution at any one time, realistically only small number can be given proper and detailed attention in the short term. Consequently, a selective approach is desirable,

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Managenient Educatiori mid Traijiiiig

giving priority to topic areas on the basis of such criteria as their relative importance, their urgency, the feasibility of formulating and implementing appropriate programmes, and the likely benefits to be gained in relation to the costs likely to be incurred. Further, at institutional level was agreed that some form of participatory activity is desirable in the identification of needs and the formulation of strategies. The particular needs identified and strategies formulated will be more readily accepted if the managers themselves have been substantially involved in the processes of needs identification and strategy formulation.

Management information systems (MIS) In any large organizatjon, it is essential that managers have available to them, for the purposes of policy development, decision-making and monitoring performance, detailed information relating to all key aspects of the work of the organization. Such information must be accurate, readily and easily available to managers, and capable of being reordered and analysed so as to provide information in a suitable form to assist with particular policy or administrative decisions. In any complex organization, as far as possible key decisions of managers should be based on the analysis of detailed and up-to-date information.

In the past, higher education institutions in many countries have had less sophisticated and less well-developed data and information systems than many government agencies and business corporations. But this is now changing and in many countries higher education institutions are acquiring, or at least recognizing their need of, modern computerized management information systems. A number of participants reported significant developments in their institutions and systems, For

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Mmzageinent Ediication and Training Needs

example, it was reported that Aligarh Muslim University in India is currently introducing a major MIS system, with its three major components being based on the sections headed by the Controller of Examinations, the Registrar, and the Controller of Finance. Another example reported was the development in Indonesia of the National Information System for Higher Education. This aims to develop a national information network to meet the needs of management at both system and institutional levels.

Ideally, a modern computerized management information system for a large university should include data on the following areas and variables:

(i) students - enrolments by units and by courses showing details of whether study is full-time, part-time or by distance education; progress with study and results of examinations; completion of graduation requirements: age and gender; other key social characteristics, such as place of residence, ethnic group, and any special disadvantage suffered.

(ii) staff - rank/position; level and category of employment; length of contract for non- tenured staft eligibility for leave and periods of leave actually taken; summary of appraisals of performance; career history in organization; likely retiring age.

(iii) major activities - teaching (showing units offered by semester, class sizes, completion and success rates): research and consulting (field of activity, sponsoring or contracting body, amount of grant or contract, contractual obligations especially with respect to furnishing of progress reports and final report, outside funds attracted, publications, and likely future

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Ma nagerneri f E h cut ioti arid Training

output in terms of publications, patents or other intellectual property rights).

financial data - sources and amounts of all funds received for teaching, research, consultancy and other activities; expenditure by cost centres, and by teaching and research programmes.

(iv)

(v) physical facilities - details on lecture theatres, other classrooms, laboratories; staff offices; specialized facilities; usage of each according to time and day and type of activity (e.g. teaching, research, consulting, administration).

With any highly sophisticated computerized management information system, it is essential that different variables should be easy to relate for analysis to one another - for example, to be able to readily relate unit costs per course unit according to discipline so as to be able to speciw the unit costs in producing an educational graduate compared to a science graduate, or the costs incurred in teaching first year classes compared to final year classes. Also, such systems ideally should be user friendly. This means that no highly specialized training should be necessary in order for a manager to master basic types of usage, and that all managers should have access to the system, preferably via his or her own office terminal.

Financial management: Since higher education is a highly expensive activity, it is most important that resources should be used efficiently and effectively. One means to assist in achieving efficient management is to ensure that senior officers have high level skills in financial management. Many areas of financial management are of crucial importance,

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Manageinerif Educatiori aiid Training Needs

but two areas identified particularly by participants are cost analysis and resource allocation.

Cost analysis is a sophisticated form of relating costs of particular units or activities in a higher education institution to particular cost objectives, with the aim of achieving increased cost efficiency. By operating more efficiently, it may be possible for a higher education institution to reduce operating costs per student unit and so resources can be saved. In turn, resources saved can be put to other uses, such as enabling the institution to enrol additional students without any corresponding increase in teaching resources, to improve the quality of teaching, or to divert some resources to improving student services or funds available for research.

Cost analysis at a sophisticated level requires a MIS system and particular techniques for pooling costs into well-defined cost-centres and in turn attributing the costs incurred in each cost centre to particular cost objectives. The purpose of this analysis is to allocate costs to appropriate cost objectives and their outputs so as to allow the calculation of unit costs for various specified activities .

Resource allocation poses a major problem for all higher education systems and institutions. The key problem is to find equitable and widely accepted principles by which to allocate financial and other resources among different institutions within a higher education system, and within individual institutions how to allocate resources to different purposes and different academic and non-academic units. The problem is difficult because different kinds of higher education institutions perform somewhat different mixes of functions and to carry out these various functions requires different resource levels. For example, a comprehensive research university

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Management Edircation arid Trainirig

has different costs to carry out its work compared with a teachers' college, Similarly, within an institution, different departments have different resource needs: generally commerce and law courses are relatively inexpensive both in operating and capital costs compared to medical or veterinary science courses.

The Workshop took note of the various models that have been in use, or are proposed, for resource allocation within higher education systems to institutions. Broadly these are the line item budget (where all major items of expenditure are specified in budget documents), the block grant (where institutions receive a single grant as operating income, thus allowing discretion in its expenditure), formula funding (where institutions are funded on an agreed formula), the performance/incentive model (where funding is based on previous demonstrated and measured performance) and the market model (where institutions compete with one another in some fashion for available resources). The above methods are sometimes combined; for example, block grants frequently are allocated by an agreed formula. Also, within different models, there can be substantial variations; for instance, block grants are sometimes allocated with a minimum of restrictions, but more commonly today when the block grant method is used grants carry various conditions about their use and above the overall institutional policies to be followed. Performance/incentive models require the use of performance indicators to measure levels of performance, such as in research output or in graduation rates. Increased interest is being shown in market-type models. One approach is for governments to 'buy' a specified number of student places from each institution and so create a quasi- market: another approach is as in the UK is for institutions to bid against one another to take

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Mariagelnerit Edircatioti and Training Needs

additional funded student load at a specified tender price.

Strategic planning: The Workshop considered that a high priority should be given to the development and strengthening of expertise on strategic planning at institutional level. The idea of strategic planning is one of the key management concepts that higher education recently has borrowed from business management. In essence, strategic planning is a form of planning activity that views organizations as open systems interacting with their environment and hence planning must take account of current and likely changes in the environment. Professor R.G. Cope, in his book, Opportunity from Strength: Strategic Planning Ciargied with Case Examples, has defined strategic planning as

... an open system approach to steering an enterprise over time through uncertain envir on m en t al waters. It is a problem-solving behaviour directed externally at conditions in the environment and a means to find a favourable competitive position in the continual competition for resources. Strategy is driven by a vision of a favourable future state. Its primary purpose is to achieve success with mission while linking the institution’s future to anticipated changes in the environment in such a way that the acquisition of resources (money, personnel, students, reputation) is

29

Management Edircation and Training

faster than the depletion of resources.

In Japan one identified current major need in management training is to help administrators become more sensitive to changes in the external environment and to be more able to relate changes in the environment to institutional planning,

The Workshop identified four broad elements for effective strategic planning for higher education institutions:

External environmental assessment or scanning (to identi@ trends or potential changes to the environment and their implications for the institution).

Institutional assessment (to clarify strengths, weaknesses, internal problems and pressures, and capabilities of the institution).

Values assessment (to consider values, aspirations, and ideals of various constituencies connected to the institution and the responsibilities of the institution to them and the larger public).

Master plan creation (to devise a strategic pattern, design or direction for the institution on the basis of the first three elements).

Each of these steps is essential for a successful attempt at institutionai level strategic planning.

Human resources planning and policy: In recent years, the basic approach to personnel matters in a number of higher education institutions

30

Management Ediicatiorr aiid Training Needs

in the region has changed from one concerned with a number of discrete aspects of personnel to one emphasizing an integrated human resources approach. The Workshop favoured strongly this new approach and considered that efforts should be made to provide detailed information to institutions in the region on particular aspects of human resources planning and management as well as on the particular philosophy of this approach.

Specific areas identified by the Workshop as suitable for education and training initiatives in this area relate to recruitment policies, staff selection procedures, job design, career planning and staff appraisal. Ail these areas demand specialist expertise in order to achieve desired goals.

One area where the Workshop expressed considerable interest is staff appraisal. This is not, surprising in view of the major emphasis in many higher education systems today on accountability, the use of performance indicators, and quality assurance. A modern staff appraisal system requires the development of a systematic approach to evaluation and measurement of staff achievements that has the support and confidence of both administrators and staff being appraised.

In Australia, a number of universities recently have introduced appraisal schemes for academic, administrative, technical, and support staff. These schemes place the major emphasis on regular self- evaluation by individual staff members in relation to agreed goals, on formally reporting this evaluation in writing, on discussion of the written evaluation report with the head of department or unit, and on setting new goals for the next 12 months on the basis of the review of past performance. Recently academic staff appraisal has become a major issue in

31

Managein en t Ed 11 cat io II arid Train in8

salary determination for academic staff, with both the academic unions and universities agreeing that appraisal should be introduced, but differing on whether appraisal should be compulsory, and whether it should be used solely for the purposes staff development or for a number of purposes including determination of salary increments.

Evaluation capacity: The Workshop identified a major need as assisting with the development and extension of the evaluative capacity of institutions and systems. This need stems from both the concern of governments and institutions of the region about accountability and quality assurance, and also from the perceived need of managers to be able to use evaluative data for their own planning and management decisions.

Participants noted a number of mechanisms in place or being developed to evaluate performance of academic standards. One important mechanism is accreditation of institutions and courses. In Indonesia, the Director ate- General of Higher Education is preparing to establish the Higher Education Accreditation Board which will have responsibility for both institutional accreditation and academic accreditation. Academic accreditation will cover both academic staff and the curriculum. Other mechanisms in use internationally include academic audit units (as in the UK). disciplinary reviews (as in Australia), staff development for heads of departments relating to course design and student evaluation (as at Aligarh Muslim University in India), a university inspectorate (as in the Netherlands), and performance indicators.

Performance indicators evaluation instrument developed

are a specialized over the past decade

32

Manageinent Editcation and Training Needs

or so and now are in wide use. In essence, performance indicators are a form of evaluation which attempts to measure outputs not easily quantified, such as quality of teaching or research. A recent Australian study has suggested use of the following basic indicators at institutional level.

Teaching and Learning

O Quality of teaching - Perceived teaching quality (Indicator 1)

O Student progress and achievement - Student progress rate (Indicator 2)

Mean completion time (Indicator 4) Research higher degree productivity rate

Programme completion rate (Indicator 3)

(Indicator 5)

- -

O Graduate employment - Graduate employment status (Indicator 6)

Research and professional services

O Research publications and other original works Number and value of research grants

Average publication rate (Indicator 8) Productivity rate of other original works

- (Indic at or 7) -

- (Indicator 9)

O Professional services - Paid consultancy rate (Indicator 10)

1 1 ) - Professional service activity (Indicator

A number of countries in the region are experimenting with performance monitoring and

33

Management Ehcation arid Trainiizg

evaluation systems. In Indonesia, for example, a project has been under way since 1984/85 with the aim of developing a 'monitoring and evaluation system'. In 1988/89 this was extended to all forty- three government run universities.

Leadership: During the Workshop considerable discussion focused on leadership and the particular needs of leadership in different administrative roles, Participants agreed that at both system and institutional levels a great deal depends on the competence, vision, dedication and particular skills of leaders.

Leadership is a complex concept and the various dimensions and qualities of leadership are not easy to define precisely. Further, there is the complication of whether leadership qualities are essentially viewed as characteristics innate to the person concerned as opposed to skills which can be learnt and developed through training. However, participants were firmly of the view that certainly some leadership skills can be learnt, that all leaders can further develop their skills and effectiveness through appropriate staff development opportunities, and that a major thrust of management education and training programmes should be in the area of leadership,

Programmes on the topic of leadership can take many forms. In some cases, a most successful approach is to promote the opportunity for very senior managers from different institutions to exchange views and reflect on their own experience. Other approaches include consideration of different theories of leadership and leadership styles, development of particular leadership skills, and the

34

Mariagerrient Editcation aiid Training Needs

introduction of modern specialized leadership techniques.

Management Programmes and Their Evaluation

Management education and training for higher education administrators can be pursued by a number of different means, and no one means is clearly preferable to all others. What is a highly desirable approach for one institution or system may not suit another. Thus, programmes and their means of evaluation should be carefully planned, taking into account perceived needs of particular groups, agreed priorities among the various identified needs, and availability of expertise and resources for programmes and the prospects for successful programme implementation.

The Workshop noted that programmes can be classified on the basis of type of programme in the following manner:

Programmes leading to formal University awards (e.g. leading to a graduate diploma, or masters degree);

Short intensive full-time courses (e.g. of, say, a week to four weeks in duration);

Part-time programmes spread over a number of weeks; and

Special programmes which, for example, provide opportunities for specialists to work together on a cooperative project.

Programmes leading to formal awards in higher education management may not be readily available at

35

Managernent Education and Training

present in many countries of the region with the exception of Australia and New Zealand, but this situation may well change quickly if a clear demand is evident and demonstrated. Outside the region such programmes are widely available in the United States and Britain.

Short intensive full-time courses have particular advantages in that, free from normal work commitments, participants can concentrate on the programme, and valuable interaction between participants, often from different institutions, provides add-on value to the programme. In a number of countries, such short full-time programmes have been popular for senior managers in both public and private sectors.

Part-time programmes spread over a number of weeks inevitably will be a popular means of training, especially because of cost considerations. But such programmes have disadvantages: sessions are spread out over time and impetus thus can be lost; staff from remote institutions could be involved in extensive travelling; and absences from sessions are often common because of immediate work pressures.

Special programmes including co-operative projects have considerable advantages in that staff can gain new and important skills through working together. Cooperative projects have been most important in Europe over the past decade, especially those organised under the OECD Programme of Institutional Management of Higher Education. But cooperative projects need secure and appropriate financial support and also effective coordination.

Finally, any programme of in-service education and training should have built in from the outset specific mechanisms for review and evaluation.

36

Manageinent Edircation and Training Needs

Unless review and evaluation are an integral part, programmes will lack the essential mechanisms to monitor progress and judge success, and to modi@ directions and emphasis over time.

Already important progress in terms of management education and training for higher education administrators is being made in a number of countries of the region. For example, in Pakistan the programmes of the National Academy of Higher Education include short term training courses for senior university administrators with resource persons drawn from foreign universities, while the Academy has now established staff development units in all universities. In addition, specialized courses are provided in particular aspects of managment education and training by the Academy of Educational Planning and Management, the Pakistan Institute of Management, and Allama Iqbal Open University. In Japan, programmes are offered by the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, by major associations of private universities, and by voluntary associations. To take another example, in Australia education and training for administrators covers formal programmes leading to University awards, short intensive full-time courses (such as those sponsored by the Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee), part- time programmes (such as those run by professional associations e.g. the Australian Institute of Tertiary Education Administrators), and special intensive workshops and conferences (such as those run by private firms, professional bodies and universities).

These various programmes demonstrate that a useful basis already exists for the development of new initiatives throughout the region. The challenge is to identify high priority needs and to use existing expertise and resources more fully and effectively.

37

ChapterFour

PROG- FRAMJ3WOR.K: PROPOSALS FOR FOLLOW UP ACTIONS

The Workshop was of a strong view that, in spite of the fact that higher education institutions of different countries or even within the countries vary in their size, precise functions and stages of development, they face a range of common problems and issues in terms of management. Many of them operate in environments which are undergoing rapid changes, with new demands for accountability, continuing student enrolment pressures, and scarcity in financial resources and the need to secure additional funding. At the same time, there is growing societal expectations that higher education should promote development in general and educational development in particular, aimed at not only increasing economic activity and social well- being of the people but at preservation and improvement of the environment and fostering peace. There also are demands for increasing specializations within academic fields of study and new demands in terms of specialized equipment and library resources. In many countries there is a clear expectation that higher education institutions will do more to chart their own futures and to do so within a deliberate policy context of increased market competition between institutions.

Operating in such an environment calls for senior administrators with leadership qualities and sophisticated skills in management strategies, strategic planning, and human resource management and development. These conditions pose challenges of considerable proportion to higher education

M a riagern eri t Edrica 1 iorr and Training

management. The Workshop participants were unanimous in their thinking that increased co- operation between individuals scholars, institutions and systems throughout the region is essential in order to ensure that avail able management expertise is shared effectively and that there is mutual benefit from each other's experiences. While there could be a wide variety of contexts and fields for such cooperation, the Workshop specifically focussed on three aspects described below in view of their importance and their prospect for attracting support from individuals, institutions, national governments and international agencies. For each topic a particular project or projects is proposed.

Management Information Service (MIS)

In any large, complex organization, managers depend on various support mechanisms. Perhaps the most important mechanism is reliable, detailed and up-to-date information on which overall strategic policy can be developed and deliberate policy and management choices made. For modern higher education institutions which are becoming increasingly large and complex, it has become all the more necessary to have sophisticated management information systems. These can, for example, produce and analyse statistical data relating to a wide range of key areas of an institution including student enrolments, examination results, financial information, data on space availability and utilization, library resource inventory and use, and contractual research and other projects.

The Workshop recognized that there are institutions in the region with well established and elaborate MIS, whereas in some others MIS is at a developing stage and there are others still which are

40

Prograinine Framework: Proposals for Follow-up Actions

yet to make a start. It would therefore be of immense value to develop and undertake implementation of a project in this area, the main objective of which will be to assist a selected number of institutions to establish and/or develop a MIS through the application of computers.

The activities of the proposed project will primarily involve training of key personnel in system design, development and adaptation of software, and in system operation. Such training could be accomplished through a series of carefully tailored training courses, through attachment of personnel to institutions having a well-developed MIS system, through study visits, and through the provision of other technical support to the needy institutions. Because of the rapid developments currently being made in software innovation for management information systems, provision of information on such developments would be of great help to institutions. One of the participating institutions may be willing to take responsibility for initiating a project of this nature, with the support and co-operation of other participating institutions and UNESCO.

Directory of Training Needs and Management Expertise

The Workshop emphasized the need for training of key higher education administrators at national as well as regional locations. It also took note of the fact that training activities are currently carried out at various institutions, but often on a random and ad hoc basis. A rational approach to addressing the training problem, however, is first to assess the training needs of particular groups of administrators in the context of planning of institutional, national and regional strategies of

41

Management Edilcation and Trairiing

actions including training workshops for them. While the Workshop identified some broad areas of training needs, it should be admitted that needs assessment is a specialized aspect of modern approaches to management education and training and often involves surveys based on particular well-defined methodologies. On the other hand, it was also noted that many institutions in the region are endowed with intellectual resources and management expertise which can be exploited to the advantage of common goals. But precise information about these resources and expertise often is not readily at hand. The second stage of a project logically will be to ascertain the availability of management training expertise throughout the region.

In the context of the above considerations, the Workshop proposed that a co-operative project, aimed at determining the specific training needs and what professional resources could possibly be harnessed to assist in any future training programmes, could be initiated to the advantage of many institutions. The guidelines provided in chapter three of the report could serve as the broad parameters for the proposed project while the specific details would have to be worked out. The project will primarily involve designing of data gathering instruments, collection of data and compilation of reports. It would entail preparatory visits to selected institutions in the process as well as consultative meetings. For operational purposes, it would be ideal to locate the project in one of the participating institutions, although others would make their contributions as specified and agreed upon. The role of UNESCO PROW should be seen as that of a catalyst and facilitator.

42

Prograiiiine Fraineruork: Proposals for Fol/o7u-iry Actions

Catalogue of Training Courses and a Newsletter

The Workshop noted that information on existing material resources relevant to the training of higher education administrators is not well disseminated throughout the region, and even perhaps within countries of the region. especially those having very large systems of higher education. It was considered that greater use should be made of available training courses and training materials in order to minimise duplication of efforts and cost. At the same time with such a strategy the knowledge base in the region could be expanded and updated and so an important contribution could be made to meeting the need for sustainable training and staff development programmes in various institutions.

The Workshop felt strongly that it would be extremely useful if a project could be undertaken, keeping in view three particular aspects i.e. (1) preparation of a systematic and annotated catalogue of training courses that are currently in use and distribution of such a catalogue to institutions in the region: (2) development of new packages of modular management training courses for different groups of administrators, with the flexibility to use the latest programme delivery approaches in distance learning mode; and (3) publication of a newsletter on current activities in higher education management, The catalogue should list both credit courses leading to awards and non-credit courses, and provide essential detail about the particular focus and objectives, topics covered, length of course, fees, and availability of places. The packages of modular courses should cover a variety of key topics of major current interest to different groups of higher education administrators. Possibly a small number of such courses should be developed first on an experimental basis. The proposed newsletter could concentrate in

43

Mariageinerit Educatiort and Training

particular on news of management education and training initiatives and on issues and innovations of interest to administrators.

The responsibility for the different components of the project could be shared by the participating institutions according to their interests. The Workshop also thought that co-operation from open universities, particularly for instructional design technology of the courses, would be vew useful, The UNESCO PROW may again play the role of a catalyst and facilitator.

Strategies for Action

The Workshop agreed that strategies for actions in respect of the proposed project ideas imply that the projects in essence will be developed, implemented and evaluated by the co-operating institlutions. The UNESCO PROM can act as the central co-ordinator and facilitator in view of the given priority to higher education management in UNESCO's second Medium Term Plan and of UNESCO's global involvement in educational programmes. The proposed projects will complement and supplement the PROAP's Regional Co-operative Programme in Higher Education for development in Asia and the Pacific that has been in operation for the last ten years.

It is apparent that the activities within the various proposed projects will basically include surveys, preparation of documentation, information dissemination, development of exemplar training materials, on-site training, national and regional workshop s, consultative me e ting s , inter - country study visits, and personnel attachment programmes.

44

Programme Framei.uork: Proposals for Follow-irp Actions

The proposed projects will require additional funding support from UNESCO and other international agencies besides the contributions, mostly intellectual, from the co-operating higher education institutions.

45

ChapterFse

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The broad objective of the Workshop was to help strengthen and enrich the management of higher education institutions, particularly universities, in the Asian and Pacific region as a means to improve their functional efficiency and effectiveness. The Workshop recognized that HEIs play a very important role in the social, cultural and economic development of each nation. But the extent to which they can contribute positively to development and to economic and social growth is directly dependent on effective and efficient management of resources and institutions. This presents a major on-going challenge for administrators of HEIs and means that management education and training is of utmost importance.

With this need in view, the Workshop was able to (a) identify and analyze major problems and issues in the management and administration of higher education in the region; (b) assess management education and training needs of higher education administrators in the region: and (c) formulate a number of projects on management education strategies and actions to be pursued with the support of participating institutions. The programme of proposed projects was based largely on the presentation and discussion of a theme paper and country, papers and culminated in the production of this report.

One important sustainable outcome of the Workshop is the decision of participant:; to establish

Management Edircation and Training

an ongoing consultative group composed of themselves, which in time may lead to a formal consortium. The main purpose of the consultative group will be for members of participating institutions to meet together as appropriate, to follow up on action proposed in this report, and to plan further activities, It was agreed that the Chairman of the Pakistan University Grants Commission (Prof. G.J. Pareshan Khattak ) should act as a focal point for this consultative group in order to co-ordinate and initiate activity in cooperation with UNESCO, PROM.

The Workshop recommends that UNESCO provide support for the development of a series of national and inter-country projects as part of a management education and training programme. Three key projects have been recommended:

(a) Training of key personnel in MIS system design, in development and adaptation of software, and in system operation.

(b) Assessment of specific training needs and of available professional resources to assist with future training programmes.

(c) Preparation of a systematic and annotated catalogue of training courses currently available in the region; development of new packages of modular courses for different groups of administrators, available for delivery by traditional and distance education methods; and distribution of a newsletter on current activities and initiatives in higher education management.

The Workshop recommends that Asian and Pacific universities contribute more effectively to national and regional programmes aimed at reducing

48

Conclrrsions and Recoininendations

illiteracy, and promoting adult and primary education and that UNESCO extend support to new initiatives by universities in this regard. It also recommends support to efforts to strengthen management education and training related to the achievement of these particular objectives.

The Workshop recommends that national governments support the actions needed to develop and implement the projects proposed in the report.

49

A y p e n dices

Appendix A

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

AGENDA

Inauguration of the Workshop and other preliminaries.

Introduction of the theme of the Workshop presentation of the keynote paper and discussion.

Presentation and discussion of participants' papers.

Identification and analysis of problems and issues in higher education management.

Assessment of management education and training needs of higher education administrators.

Formulation of a programme framework on management education strategies and actions to be pursued as a follow-up to the Workshop.

Visit to a University in Bangkok.

Consideration and adoption of the Workshop report.

Closing of the Workshop.

51

Ma nagein en t Edit ca t ion a rid Training

AUSTRALIA

Appendix B

LIST O F PARTICIPANTS

Prof. Grant Harman Chair, Academic Senate Department of Administrative, Education Studies The University of New England Armidale, 2351 NSW, Australia

CHINA Prof. Huang Shenhua (People's Republic of) Vice President

Guangdong University of Technology 723 Donfeng Road E. Guangzholl, P , R . China

INDIA

INDONESIA

Prof. M.N. Faruqui Vice-chancellor Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh, India

Dr. Mohamad Nur Vice Rector I, IMP Surabaya Surabaya, Indonesia

52

Append ices

JAPAN

PAKISTAN

Prof. Yoshiya Abe Aichi Gakuin University Aichi-gun Aichi-ken 430-01, Japan

Prof. G.J. Pareshan Khattak Chairman University Grants Commission Islamabad, Pakistan

RESOURCE PERSON Dr. M u h a m m a d Selim 4 Harrow Place Endeavour Hills Melbourne, Victoria 3802 Australia

UNEÇCO PROAP Mr. S. Iizawa Deputy Director

Mr. M. A. Qureshi Programme Specialist

53