Changes in University Management since the 1990s from the Perspective of Governance

Abstract

　 This paper examines what kind of changes have taken place in the governance and management of Japanese universities and colleges as a result of the influence exerted by the higher education reforms introduced since the 1990s.

　 The current and future issues that have emerged in higher education institutions (HEIs) as organizations are a major focus of the discussion. When we start to analyze how HEIs have changed in terms of their organizational structure and management as a result of the higher education reforms, we are immediately confronted by the necessity to give a clear definition of the terms and concepts used in governance and management. It is in this context that a theoretical model or framework is developed to underlie an analysis of the structure of HEIs and their decision-making processes, exploring how these processes have been operated and how they have changed the governance and management of HEIs. It is supposed that organizations act and change independently in part, while at the same time being affected by regulatory and juridical systems. The actual operations of an organization sometimes differ from the intended or designated outcomes as a result of reforms and changing policies. An analysis of the changes in HEIs since the 1990s shows that rather than uniformly changing from a “community of knowledge” to a “management body of knowledge”, Japanese universities and colleges have formed a new layer in their organizational structures on the basis of their specific institutional histories.