Running head: WHAT IS HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY?

What is Higher Education Policy?

Amanda D. Seals
Georgia Southern University

What is Higher Education Policy?

Defining Higher Education Policy

Throughout the day, the implementation of policy impacts everyone, but some wonder
exactly, what is policy and how does one define it? Whether it is in the workplace or at school
or during volunteer activities, policies are everywhere. Some policies impact a particular group
while other polices touch the citizenry as a whole. Policy is a constant in life. The use of policy
can be traced back as far as the 15th century in Middle England and Middle France. Traveling
forward to the 21st century, Sherri Torjman may have stated it best when she said, public policy
represents a decision made by a publicly elected or designated body, which is deemed to be in
the public interest. (Torjman, 2005) In the realm of higher education, there are several ways to
pinpoint the body that makes the decision to shape post secondary policy. Policy is crafted
locally, which would indicate that a policy is created at the institutional level. A governing
board, such as a Board of Regents or department of higher education, implements policy it
formulates. Through the political arena, where the legislature, a governor or the federal
government comes into play, policy is created. By reviewing the different entities, defining
higher education policy becomes easier.
Institutional Governance
It is a given that students, staff, faculty and administrators make up the composition of a
college campus. The society of an institution follows the policies of the local community while
developing its own sets of policies for the citizenry to follow. At times, the policy making
process is smooth and tranquil, and those impacted by the policies are content with the
implementation. Then there are instances of turmoil reflecting dissatisfaction when unpopular
policy is mandated.

What is Higher Education Policy?

The president of an institution ultimately is responsible for approving any policy that
takes place under his or her watch. In a perfect setting, proposals come to the president through
the constituency of an institution, such as its faculty and staff. It can take years for a policy to
make its way to final approval, but through persistence, action can take place. The University
Council at the University of Georgia has made several attempts over the years to submit
proposals to the president to allow for the offering of domestic partner benefits for its faculty and
staff. In September 2012, a domestic partners benefit proposal passed the council, which is a
mostly-elected legislative body that advises UGA President Michael Adams on academic and
other policy matters (Shearer, 2012). Adams, the outgoing institutional president, has indicated
he will approve the policy and will implement it before the end of the current fiscal year.
Faculty and staff are not the only groups that shape campus policies. The student body
for which the institution ultimately exists is a persuasive force. No matter the campus, the strong
footprint of the student body regarding the molding of policy can be seen. Students often use
forms of protest to try and influence policy through symbolic actions versus using a more
traditional and successful method of policy as logic to achieve the changes they wish to make.
Regardless, the student voice is a loud one and can be heard amongst the masses.
Policy Crafted by a Governing Board
Each state in the union has a different way of managing public higher education. In
Georgia, the Board of Regents, comprised of nonpartisan, layman members appointed by the
governor that serve seven-year terms, govern the public university system. In turn, the members
hire the chancellor who is responsible for maintaining the 35 institutions on a day-to-day basis
through the presidents that report to him. The Board sets the policies that the institutions must
follow ranging from admissions to academics to fees and tuition.

What is Higher Education Policy?

On the opposite side of the spectrum, the governor of the state of Colorado appoints an
executive director of the higher education agency, which is a member of the governors cabinet,
as well as a Commission on Higher Education created by the state legislature in 1965.
Interestingly, the current executive director of the Colorado Department of Higher Education is
the Lieutenant Governor as appointed by the governor in 2011.
In 1985, the Colorado Legislature gave the Commission increased authority and specific
directives through the passage of House Bill 1187, whose responsibilities include developing
long-range plans for an evolving state system of higher education. (CCHE, 2012) The members
of the commission are appointed by the governor and represent political party affiliation. At any
given time, there cannot be more than six members of one political party and the members serve
four-year terms. By law, the governor must select members due to their knowledge of and
interest in higher education. (Title 23, 2012)
Through strategic planning, governing boards have considerable authority over its
institutions. It is a way of setting policy goals and devising a structure to complete the actions
associated with each goal. Often there is a theme throughout the strategic plan increased
access, provide more graduates, maintain affordability and work with other educational agencies
to provide seamlessness just to name a few. In most cases, the governing board creates the
strategic plan from the top and then provides the bottom, which would be the institutions in this
example, with the policies necessary to implement the plan. During plan implementation,
feedback from the institutions is critical in deciding if the strategy is working or if it needs to be
revamped during the implementation.

What is Higher Education Policy?

Policy via Politics

Dr. Durgesh Nandini stated that public policy is not a role of politicians alone, but that
administrators, as well as concerned experts, should be part of the process. (Nandini, 2008) Most
of the time while politicians are in legislative session, the arena of K-12 education reform
through policy implementation takes center stage. However, during the age of increased
accountability and demand for a more competitive, global society, members of state legislatures,
governors and the federal government turn to post secondary education to shape policy to move
the nation forward.
Complete College America is an example of higher education policy that is sweeping the
nation. Started by a collaborative group of nonprofit organizations to assist states with
improving higher education graduation goals, Governors from 31 states have implemented a
Complete College program under their jurisdiction. Through this combined policy program,
governors with assistance from alliances of educational agencies and partners in the state
legislature are forging ahead with new policies to improve the quality of the secondary education
graduate that will move forward with completing a technical or traditional college degree
program. Making the United States more competitive in the international labor market is the end
goal while producing measurable data to chart the progress of the program.
While the Complete College America program is a creation of policy on a collaborative
level, some higher education policies implemented by state legislatures might not be categorized
as such. In 1993, two academics, Glynn Custred and Tom Wood, both leaders of the California
chapter of the National Association of Scholars (NAS), became extremely concerned after the
state legislature narrowly defeated a proposed law which would have required the states public
universities not only to matriculate but graduate classes that had the same ethnic composition as

What is Higher Education Policy?

the states population. (Voegeli, 2012) From this scare, the California Civil Rights Initiative
and Proposition 209 was born. Under a constitutional amendment that passed three years later
with 55 percent of the vote in California, race, gender, ethnicity or national origin could no
longer be used in public higher education or the public workplace for employment, procurement
or other services. In a heated and passionate debate, members of the California general assembly
implemented a policy that has survived numerous legal challenges through out the years and
serves as a model for other states to follow. The citizens of California still struggle with
judgment of the policy and its fairness.
Through symbolic policy actions, many state legislatures attempt to impose mandates on
college campuses that can be viewed through a negative lens. From permitting students to carry
concealed carry firearms in college dorms to ward off intruders to imposing admissions
restrictions on undocumented students, policies viewed by the post secondary academic world as
a threat continue to be introduced. Some states such as Colorado and Georgia boast both victory
and defeat regarding policy measures that have an undesired objective. As each state legislature
gears up for a new session to create what they perceive to be the best policy, advocates for higher
education work diligently to influence political policy makers to collaborate on positive
outcomes versus measures with a negative impact.
No Simple Answer to the Overarching Question
In the opening paragraph of her position paper on defining policy, Sherri Torjman makes
the strong statement, there is no simple answer to this question, what is Policy? (Torjman,
2005) The same could be said regarding the question, what is higher education policy? From
reviewing the entities that influence post-secondary policies, it could be suggested that higher
education policy is a set of rules and regulations that govern the microcosm that composes an

What is Higher Education Policy?

institution. At times, the head of a governing body takes into consideration the greater good
while at other times; only contemplation of political satisfaction. No matter what the method,
policy weaves itself throughout the myriad of facets that make up public higher education, and it
impacts both the missions and the outcomes of the institution.

What is Higher Education Policy?

References
CCHE About the Colorado Commission on Higher Education. Colorado Department
of Higher Education. N.p., n.d. Web 2 Dec. 2012.
http://highered.colorado.gov/cche.html.
Nandini, Durgesh. Introduction to Public Policy -1 YouTube. YouTube. N.p., n.d. Web.
1 Dec. 2012. http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvxjU1fnVEc&feature=related
Shearer, Lee. UGA domestic partners benefits approved by council. Online Athens. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 2 Dec. 2012. onlineathens.com/uga/2012-09-27/uga-domestic-partnersbenefits-approved-council.
Title 23 About the Commission on Higher Education. Colorado Department of Higher
Education. N.p.,n.d. Web. 2 Dec. 2012. http://highered.colorado.gov/CCHE/title2
Torjman, S. (2005), What is policy?, Caledon Institute of Social Policy. Retrieved from:
http://www.caldeonist.org/Publications/PDF/544ENG.pdf.
Voegeli, William. Islands of Representation in a Sea of Freedom, Excellence in Philanthropy,
The Philanthropy Roundtable. The Philanthropy Roundtable, Strengthening Our Free
Society. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2012.