Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Alleviating the Policy Paradox through Improved Institutional Policy Systems: A Case Study

  • Published:
Innovative Higher Education Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Institutional policies and policy systems are vital to the well-being of institutions of higher education. While many institutions dedicate time and resources to the development of key policies, the establishment of a well-designed and well-functioning policy system is often neglected. We refer to the discrepancy between the importance of institutional policy systems and the lack of time and resources devoted to them as the policy paradox. This article chronicles Utah Valley University’s policy improvement initiative as a guide for institutions of higher education interested in improving institutional policy systems.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. The institution became Utah Valley University on July 1, 2008. The research described in this article occurred prior to the change in status, but UVU is used in this article for consistency with the current institutional name.

References

  • Achtemeier, S. D., & Simpson, R. D. (2005). Practical considerations when using benchmarking for accountability in higher education. Innovative Higher Education, 30(2), 117–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alstete, J. W. (1995). Benchmarking in higher education. ASHE-ERIC higher education report No. 5. Washington, DC: The George Washington University Graduate School of Education and Human Development.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beckham, J., & Dagley, D. (Eds.). (2005). Contemporary issues in higher education law. Dayton, OH: Education Law Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bender, B. E., & Schuh, J. H. (Eds.). (2002). Using benchmarking to inform practice in higher education. New directions for higher education, 118. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blobaum, P., Ford, T. M., Hippchen, T., Petersen, R., & Spellacy, P. (2005). ACUPA: Exploring the campus policy process. Retrieved from http://process.umn.edu/acupa/projects/ACUPA_ExploringCampusPolicyProcess.doc

  • Brown, V. J., & Howell, M. E. (2001). The efficacy of policy statements on plagiarism: Do they change students’ views? Research in Higher Education, 42(1), 103–118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bruhn, M., & Petersen, R. (2003). Policy development for information security. In M. Luker & R. Petersen (Eds.), Computer and network security in higher education: EDUCAUSE leadership strategies 8 (pp. 59–71). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dennison, G. M. (2003). Privatization: An unheralded trend in public higher education. Innovative Higher Education, 28(1), 7–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maxwell, J. A. (2005). Qualitative research design: An interactive approach (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • McLendon, M. K. (2003). The politics of higher education: Toward an expanded research agenda. Educational Policy, 17(1), 165–191.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, K. A. (2009). What’s yours is mine: An investigation of current copyright policies of education journals. Innovative Higher Education, 34(1), 3–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mills, M. R. (2007). Stories of politics and policy: Florida’s higher education governance reorganization. The Journal of Higher Education, 78(2), 162–187.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petersen, R. J. (2004). A framework for IT policy development. EDUCAUSE Review, 39(2), 54–55.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yin, R. K. (2008). Case study research: Design and methods (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgement

The authors thank Lynn England, T. Michael Ford, Kathy French, Rodney Petersen, and Jeff Torlina for their valuable feedback on an earlier draft of this article.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Steven C. Clark.

Additional information

The authors were members of the taskforces mentioned in this article. Cameron K. Martin was also the Institutional Policy Administrator.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Clark, S.C., Griffin, R.A. & Martin, C.K. Alleviating the Policy Paradox through Improved Institutional Policy Systems: A Case Study. Innov High Educ 37, 11–26 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-011-9182-z

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-011-9182-z

Key words

Navigation