Student Participation in Academic Governance of Colleges and Universities

FAIN: AO-10047-70

University of California, Berkeley (Berkeley, CA 94704-5940)
Leland L. Medsker (Project Director: December 1969 to present)

Project to examine and describe what representative institutions are doing in response to student pressures for involvement in governance of these institutions. ABSTRACT: The most widely used approach to the problem of student participation in academic governance of colleges and universitys today is disruptive mas student protest. This form of influence is costly and risky for the persons and institutions affected. Many students and others are looking urgently for more widely accepted, regularized and less costly forms of student influence. Project to examine and describe what representative institutions are doing in response to student pressures for invovlement in governance of these institutions. Three to six case studies in different geogrphic, cultural and institutional settings to be examined; emphasis in data-gathering will be on structured personal interviews and documentary materials. Attempts to be made to gather data on characteristics and attitudes of campus groups as well. Aim of project to provide information to potential experimenters of the problems and opportunities they face in present social and cultural contexts, enabling them to guide their efforts more intelligently. Study may also suggest promising avenues of future research on ways to preserve human values and stimulate democratic participation in large, formalized and impersonal institutions throughout society. Study will be coordinated with Kerr Carnegie Commission and O.E. to insure minimum of overlap with other studies being done on the same issue.