Page 220 - Crisis in Higher Education

Government’s Role in Higher Education • 191

9.4 REGULATIONS AND ACCREDITATION
Regulation by government and accreditation by independent agencies are
mechanisms to monitor and control the actions and ultimately the out-
comes of institutions of higher learning. Figure 9.2 illustrates how govern-
ments shown at the top of Figure 9.2, accreditation agencies shown at the
bottom, and potential employers on the right side can work together to
ensure that these institutions create high-quality outputs (i.e., graduates
and research). As shown in Figure 9.2, these outputs are determined by the
process, which includes acts of teaching and advising students as well as
creating and executing research programs. The effectiveness of the process
is determined at least in part by the quality of the inputs, which are faculty,
administrators, facilities, and curricula. Figure 9.2 captures the input, pro-
cess, and output dimensions in the box labeled Colleges and Universities.
The role of potential employers is discussed in Chapter 8, and the roles of
government and accreditation agencies are discussed in this chapter.

9.4.1 Governments: Regulation, Resources, and Outcomes
Regulations are well-intended actions to protect government, tax-
payers, students, and the public from institutions that are providing

Governments:
1. Focus: resource utilization
a. Good stewards of resources
Organizational b. Graduation rate
guidelines c. Completion time
d. Job placements
2. Control: fund or not

Inputs: Process:
1. Faculty and Outputs: Potential employers:
administrators 1. Teaching 1. Graduates 1. Focus: quality of
graduates
2. Facilities 2. Advising 2. Research 2. Control: hire or not
3. Researching
3. Curricula
Accreditation agencies:
Colleges and
universities 1. Focus: quality of program
a. Performance on standard tests
Program b. Quality of job placements
guideline
2. Control: accredit or not
FIGURE 9.2
Government, accreditation agencies, and potential employers combine to determine the
performance of higher education.