Roles and functions of university senates in Turkish universities

Abstract

The aim of this study is to understand the decision-making processes in higher education institutions by examining the functions of university senates which is the highest decision making organ in universities. In this study, a mixed design is used. Nine universities located in Istanbul constitute the sample of the study. To collect the qualitative data, document analysis was conducted and the presidents of these universities were asked to send all of the agenda items of the university senate meetings they had held in the 2010-2011 academic year. To collect the quantitative data, the presidents were asked to reply to the open-ended survey that had 2 open-ended questions on the observed functions of the universities. Although university senates are comprised of only academic faculty and described as the academic decision making body by law, the tasks they perform are less limited than it would be expected of the governance models of academic staff observed in some European countries. The results show that university senates mainly assume academic roles and functions; however, many of the decisions they take financial responsibility and accountability, which they do not have. Decisions related with student affairs and institutionalization and strategic direction constitute a very small portion of the discussions held at the university senate meetings.