Restructured Public Higher Education in Virginia: State Policies and More Institutional Autonomy

• In Event: 31.055 - The State Role in Improving Education: K–12 and Higher Education

Abstract

The scholarship on accountability and governance reform in higher education tends to focus on understanding the policy process that resulted in change, rather than the policy and its impact on higher education institutions. This multiple-case study attempted to fill in this research gap by examining the influences the 2005 Virginia Restructured Higher Education Financial & Administrative Operations Act have had on four public research universities. This study also addresses how the autonomy granted with the performance agreements allowed institutional leaders to have greater responsibility in the implementation and compliance of the Restructuring Act. Findings can contribute new knowledge of how public policy has shaped the autonomy of public institutions, and the management systems and changes in the new governing environment.

Authors

• Bernard D. Schulz

• Mikyong Minsun Kim, The George Washington University