Tertiary Education Policy and Management

Subject 460-696 (2009)

Note: This is an archived Handbook entry from 2009. Search for this in the current handbook

Credit Points: 25.00
Level: 9 (Graduate/Postgraduate)
Dates & Locations:

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2009:

Semester 1, - Taught on campus.
Pre-teaching Period Start not applicable
Teaching Period not applicable
Assessment Period End not applicable
Last date to Self-Enrol not applicable
Census Date not applicable
Last date to Withdraw without fail not applicable

Off campus

Timetable can be viewed here. For information about these dates, click here.
Time Commitment: Total Time Commitment: 240 hours commitment
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Recommended Background Knowledge: None
Non Allowed Subjects: None
Core Participation Requirements:

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

Coordinator

Assoc Prof Leo Goedegebuure
Subject Overview: This subject consists of three main parts.

Part A, The Nature of the Tertiary Education Organisation, addresses the question of what makes tertiary education organizations different and what makes them similar to other types of organizations. Key concepts are: the professional organization and professional autonomy, diffused decision-making structures, centralisation and decentralisation, fragmentation and specialisation, organisational culture, power and politics in organizations, managing and leading in a context of ambiguity.

Part B, Comparative Tertiary Education Policy Studies, is strongly based in comparative policy analysis and addresses the core question of how different tertiary education systems and institutions located in these systems have reacted to the complex set of pressures and dynamics that have been characteristic of post WWII tertiary education, including the broadening of access, massification and internationalisation, and the issues of governance, steering and diversity.

Part C, Management and Leadership in Tertiary Education, provides a critical analysis of general theories and principles on effective management and leadership, with a focus on what these mean in the context of tertiary education, and the different leadership and management roles that can be identified in both the administrative and academic domains of the organization. As with the other two topics in this unit, it adopts a strongly comparative perspective, between different sectors as well as between systems.
Objectives: Upon successful completion students will be able to:
  • understand the specificities of tertiary education institutions
  • locate the Australian tertiary education policy environment within the broader international context
  • identify and understand the drivers for policy change
  • understand and analyse the implications of change in terms of the requirements for effective institutional management
Assessment: One on-line multiple choice examination, due prior to first residential school (25 per cent), two syndicate project reports (50 per cent) during first and second residential school, one 2000 word essay due end-of-semester (25 per cent)
Prescribed Texts: Robert E. Quinn, Sue R. Faerman, Michael P. Thompson, Michael R. McGrath and Lynda S. St.Clair, Becoming a master manager; a competing values approach, 4th edition, Hoboken NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2007.
Breadth Options:

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.
Fees Information: Subject EFTSL, Level, Discipline & Census Date
Generic Skills:
  • a thorough analytical understanding of the complexities of tertiary education management and policy
  • ability to work as a team member
  • ability to apply conceptual/theoretical insights on tertiary education policy and management to issues and problems encountered in practice
Related Course(s): Master of Tertiary Education Management

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