The limits of North American forms of university governance

By Emily R Miller and Richard A Skinner. The latest round of international rankings of universities have been announced and they are now subject to the close scrutiny of academic leaders and national government officials. Much is at stake for both groups since conventional wisdom holds that these rankings speak to the strength and wellbeing of institutions and also reflect similar aspects of the nations themselves.
As a result, governments increasingly focus on the quality of their universities, the degree of access they provide, research and the production of new knowledge and its applications, and the extent to which graduates’ knowledge and skills are aligned with workforce needs and aspirations. Many have ambitions for their universities to achieve international excellence within the near future.
But as Professor Jandhyala BG Tilak cautioned in his 19 August commentary in University World News, there are risks involved in trying to “fast track to international excellence”, particularly with respect to granting universities more autonomy, as is sought in India with the passage of the Universities for Research and Innovation Bill 2012.