The governance and management of public higher education institutions in Malta

Abstract

Governing and managing a higher education institution is complex, laborious and dynamic. The way in which governing bodies, academic units, regulatory units and management support units may possibly be compared to an engine that needs to be well-oiled to help institutions operate in the best possible manner. If any part of the engine is not functioning properly, the engine will stop working and could possibly bring everything to a halt. Institutional governance and management function in a similar manner helping institutions to perform efficiently and effectively. Ensuring an effective interlink between context, strategy, governance and management is extremely challenging given that the context changes rapidly, at times faster than the way in which institutions change their governing arrangements and management support. This interlink is further complicated with the influence that external stakeholders have on higher education institutions (HEIs). HEIs deal with a multitude of stakeholders through a dynamic multi-level agency model. This scenario entails that HEIs face tensions and limitations to implement their respective strategies and to perform at a national level and on an international platform. Achieving national and international results entails the coordination of policy frameworks in a continuum of policy areas. The challenge is to capture in a pictorial, factual and practical way a dynamic spheres of governance and management that is triggered by a minor initiative within institutions and ends at achieving national performance indicators. Therefore, this thesis goes beyond the theoretical notion of intertwining governance with management. It seeks details and practice. Performance indicators are to be used with caution and within the background of a series of governing and management institutional initiatives that are not necessarily measured. The universal development of these mentioned models is tested and applied in the laboratory of two main public HEIs: UM and MCAST, in the context of a small island state. The doctoral research provides a detailed analysis of Malta’s higher education governance and management at an institutional level within a national perspective.