Governance in New Zealand Tertiary Institutions: Concepts and practice

The standard of governance of tertiary education institutions (TEIs) in New Zealand is critical to the success of these institutions. However, enhancing the quality of governance requires careful analysis of the purpose of governance and competent analysis of alternative institutional arrangements. Unfortunately, research addressing governance in TEIs is sparse and there has been no significant research on this topic within New Zealand. This paper provides a background to TEI governance in New Zealand, which is followed by a discussion of key issues. An evaluation of governance practice in TEIs is followed by a description of a survey of current practice in New Zealand TEI governance and an analysis of the results. The paper concludes with a discussion on how governance in New Zealand TEIs may be improved.