Some relevant thoughts on university administration
Prof. Wiswa WARNAPALA, Minister of Higher Education
UNIVERSITY ADMINSTRATION: When discussing certain aspects of
University adminstration in Sri Lanka, I would like to distinguish it
from Public Adminstration. Firstly, I would like to ask the question
whether we can make use of the concept expounded by Max Weber to study
administrative structures in the Universities.
The term ‘University bureaucracy’ is used, but the University
bureaucracy is very much different from the public bureaucracy. The
characteristics of the modern bureaucracy, expounded by Max Weber, are
represented within the University bureaucracy.
They include such things as rules and regulations, official duties,
the authority to give commands, qualifications, the principle of
hierarchy, hierarchical subordination, modern office based on written
rules and jurisdictional competency.
In a bureaucratic organisation, the institutions are governed by
competency. The management of the office is based on rules and written
documents, and the position of the official is such that he is engaged
in a vacation.
In other words, office-holding is a vacation. All these features of
the Weberian model of bureaucracy are
represented within the university bureaucracy but it is still different
from the public bureaucracy.
We know that qualifications and training are required for a person to
get into a vacation. In that sense, University Adminstration could be
treated as a special kind of vocation.
The number of persons employed in University adminstration has
multiplied in the recent years, especially in the last forty five years,
and it, therefore, sufficiently justifies a survey of the mature and
conditions of their occupation.
This occupation appears attractive to young graduates who are in
search of a career. University adminstration, according to many a expert
from Britain, offers the prospect of a satisfying career to young
graduates.
University administrator, like a public official, enjoys distinct
social esteem and social respectability. This is primarily because of
the fact that the official is appointed by a superior authority, and the
other fact is that the university, as you know, is a very large
organisation.
Today, the modern world is dominated by organisations. The
University, for instance, contains all the features of a large
bureaucratic organisation. It, in effect, means that University office
work needs special skills; it means that University adminstration is a
special career. It is some kind of an academic civil service.
Since 1942, much has been published about Universities in Sri Lanka,
but little has appeared about their administrative staff. Several
studies are there on the Universities but they referred briefly to their
administrative offices.
There are certain principles on which the administrative service of a
University should be organised, and it was known that the expansion of
Universities and various political pressures from outside had increased
the administrative burden of the Vice Chancellors.
It was this characteristic which demanded a new organisation to
undertake the adminstration of the Universities.
In the case of Britain, the Fran Frank Report on Oxford recommended
the enhancing of the status and responsibilities of the Registrar and
his control over administrative staff. This Report on Oxford argued for
a recognised and receptacle career structure in the areas of University
administration.
It was mentioned that Vice Chancellors need to be relieved of their
numerous responsibilities and allow them to undertake the task of
formulating policy. The control over the entire administration was
accorded to the Registrar.
Each University is a corporate body, established by an Act of
Parliament or under a single Act of Parliament, and University
administration is conducted under statutes made in accordance with such
legislative instruments.
Each University controls its finances, subject to directions from the
Ministry of Higher Education and the University Grants Commission.
In the case of Sri Lanka, the University of Ceylon Ordinance, No. 20
of 1942 laid the foundation for University administration, and the
period 1921 to 1942, University administration was conducted on the
basis of departmental rules.
In fact, the University College functioned as a Government
Department, and this interfered with the expansion of the concept of a
modern University.
The University administered by a Government Department was part of
the colonial model, and it had both advantages and disadvantages. Sir
Ivor Jennings was always critical of this and often complained that the
Executive Committee on Education in Donoughmore set-up interfered in the
administration of the University. There are many references to this in
his autobiography titled “The Road to Peradeniya.”
The University administration is a diarchy - an administration by two
independent authorities. One important segment is the academic body,
usually called the Senate, which enjoys supremacy over academic matters.
Any such supremacy is limited by the powers over finances exercised
by the Council which consists of both academics and lay members. Nearly
30 to 50 per cent of its members are drawn from the senate or other
bodies consisting of academics employed by the University.
The Senates is mainly concerned with matters relating to teaching,
examinations and research. The modern University exists for these
purposes, and such activities need money.
The Council controls the money but cannot spend without the advice of
the Senate. This is confined to certain activities.
Each University, as an independent body, decides what administrative
staff it needs, and what their duties and conditions of employment are
to be.
In this regard, the University Grants Commission can intervene and
prepare a set of guidelines. With establishment of the university Grants
Commission, there came to be established a system of centralized
control.
Such matters come within the purview of the Council. Each university
has developed its own administrative organisation; most Universities
follow the same pattern. But the titles of administrative positions vary
widely as do the responsibilities attached to them.
What I propose to emphasise before this audience is that men and
women who find a career in administrative work follow common vocation
but they are not members of an organised profession. University
administrators cannot be called professionals as there is no specific
entrance qualification.
Though a good University degree is expected, they enter the service
via different routes with. Different levels of qualifications. Yet
another fact is that there is no provision for in-service training.
It would be useful at this stage of discussion to look at the
experience of Britain. The two main Universities, Oxford and Cambridge,
from the middle ages onwards, were self-governing communities of
resident masters.
From the 16th century onwards, those two universities had a small
number of administrative posts, and they were filled by the appointment
of College fellows.
It was towards the end of the 19th century that both Oxford and
Cambridge appointed Registrars who were Teaching Fellows and they
devoted their full-time to administrative work.
With the creation of the University of London, there occurred a
number of changes in the area of administration, and the University had
in many respects the status of a government department.
The University of London Act of 1900 brought in a number of changes,
and a Principal was at the Head of the institution. He was a full-time
officer. It was this innovation which influenced the University College
(1921), and the same concept was exported to all the Universities in the
colonies.
The University of London, from 1900 to 1929, appointed Principals who
were not only administrators of experience but also distinguished
academics. It was our experience as well from 1921 to 1942.
With the expansion of the Universities system in the 19th century,
there developed in Britain a network of provincial Universities and they
owed much to the growth of industry, commerce and local authorities.
They, as innovative institutions, developed their own administrative
organisations and ran the show with a predominantly a lay Council. Under
this system, there was full time Registrar who was responsible for the
administration of the university and the Senate was responsible for the
academic affairs. Some Registrars came from the academic staff.
The same thing was tried in Sri Lanka in the seventies and it was a
total failure. As Universities expanded, the number of University staff
and their functions increased. The famous Robbins Report of 1963 had an
effect on the process of change. People from different services and
professions began to enter the university service, and they belonged to
various specialties.
Universities began to employ accountants. In other words, teaching
fellows gradually gave way to a variety of full-time officers. It was in
this way that University administration was converted into a career.
With this change, the administrative Staff came to be accepted as
colleagues of the academic staff, and this relationship was necessary
for efficient administration. In other words, the administrator was not
treated as a potential bureaucrat.
At one stage, the academic staff showed apprehension about the
influence of the administrative staff, and they wanted them not encroach
on academic control. With a view to attracting good men and women into
University administration, many Universities, both here and abroad, gave
equal status to the administrative staff. It was through such measures
that mutual trust and understanding was built.
What are the main functions of the university administrative staff?
There are common functions to any university, big or small. They are
expected to serve the governing bodies and committees, which transact
the business of the University; arranging of admissions and
examinations, keeping of records of students, graduates, teachers and
the like, making payments, keeping accounts and preparing estimates and
providing buildings and equipments were the other subjects.
On the basis of this distribution of subjects, various classes of
officers came on the scene, and the University administrative
bureaucracy expanded. In this set-up, the Vice Chancellor was not
regarded as the chief academic and administrative officer; he combined
both academic and administrative functions.
His role was that of a chief formulator of policy, and in the
formulation of policy he sought the assistance of the Senate and the
Council. There are other bodies which assisted, and his clout with the
government in power was equally valid and powerful. Therefore, his
control over administration was inevitable.
The Vice Chancellor presides over the Senate and is a member of the
Council whereas the Registrar or Bursar is not a member, though the
Registrar has a special role in the council as its record keeper.
We are primarily concerned with the role of the Registrar and his
staff as they, in my view, constitute the administrative arm of the
University. We know that there is an office and administrative structure
built around the variety of functions at a University, and it is around
this office structure that an ‘academic civil service’ has been created.
One has to keep in mind that the supporting clerical staff which in
the case of Sri Lanka, has been sub-divided into different grades,
contribute a great deal to accomplish the task of administration in the
universities.
They need special skills, and in the performance of their duties they
may be involved in executive decisions with limited discretion. In other
words, clerical staff, which provides an effective supporting service in
the Universities, is organized to provide a common service to all
sections of the administration.
In the case of Sri Lanka, this group of officials, with a plethora of
minor grades, has expanded to such an extent that their trade unionism
has become the main source of de-stabilisation of the Universities; they
could easily paralyse the universities.
In the last three years, this group of non-academics - who are very
much unionized - went on strike for 93 days and the universities had to
spend nearly 254 million to pay their salaries for the days on which
they were on strike.
It is not easy to transfer them to other Universities. Some executive
posts are filled by promotion from the clerical grades; some of them
succeed in becoming Assistant Registrars.
It would be necessary to define the scope of the subjects of
University administration. It is accepted that the success of a higher
education institution depends on the ability to plan, organise and
manage its affairs, and its ability to attract human and financial
resources and use them effectively to realise the objectives of
teaching, research and service to the community.
Therefore, one has to look at the nature of the administrative work
and its increase in recent years. It is in this light that one has to
examine the role of the Registrar - it is a career in University office
work.
Both Needham and Gunawardena Reports on the University of Ceylon have
not given much consideration to the role of the Registrar. The
Universities in Britain always appoint a graduate, who is selecting a
career, as a Registrar, who has to be the ‘real master of affairs’.
The person appointed is one who likes a University atmosphere and one
who had not obtained a University teaching position. No professional
qualification is required for the job.
In the Sri Lankan case, the choice is different as the person is
looking for a job. It would be useful to look at the nature of
administrative work in the Universities; University work is primarily
and essentially committee work, and the University Committees are
academic in membership.
Academic, as you know well, believe that the initiative in University
policy should remain within their domain. The tradition of
administration by scholars began to change after 1945 and a beginning
was made to appoint graduates seeking a full-time career in university
administration.
They need to be men who could collaborate with academics and students
- their primary clientele.
The rank of the Registrar is similar to that of Professor. His role
is very unique because he is expected to deal with educated people -
this is of fundamental importance.
There are numerous social advantages in a University which could be
used to socialise the Registrars into the administrative leadership.
Social advantages include such things as the Senior Common Room, the
Library and the Faculty Club.
Such social gatherings, apart from their role in promoting social
understanding, are centres of intellectual activity and they offer
opportunities for the young graduate in the administration to interact
with the academics.
We need to remember that University jobs are unattractive to men with
ambitions for wealth and power.
No University teacher could become a billionaire through research and
teaching. Such feats are very rare. In the university administration,
the Registrar is the key official who enjoys responsibility without
power.
He is the servant of a body corporate and it is his duty to pose
questions to his masters; it is his duty to supply information but
unlike a member of a Committee, he cannot argue his case or have an
objection recorded.
There was no quality academic staff in these universities and such
factors and issues, in the end, interfered with the process of good
management.
We need to pay more attention to both office organisation and
management. Sri Lanka Universities expanded in the last 25 years, and
there are nearly 10,000 persons employed in the administration of the
universities.
Administrative staff is now a separate organisation. The special
knowledge and skills needed by university office staff has to be gained
through experience and in-service training.
It is here that I recommend the establishment of a formal Conference
of Registrars and Bursars, and such a meeting needs to be held quarterly
or bi-annually to examine the issues and exchange views on University
administration.
It is my view that through this formal organisation, consisting of
Registrars and Bursars, that an efficient system of management could be
organised in the Universities; it would eventually evolve into a
professional system of management and we know that poor governance is
always associated with cumbersome administrative rules and bureaucratic
procedures. Higher Education is an integral part of modern society and
there is an increasing need to strengthen its management.
New approach to University governance and management suggest a new
cadre of managers. It means that Universities need a set -of- full-time
administrators but it does not mean that academics would cease to play a
key role in the governance and management of the universities. |