Students participation in administrative decision-making in the governance of universities in south-south nigeria

Thesis Overview

<p> </p><p><strong>INTRODUCTION</strong></p><p><strong>Background of the Study</strong></p><p>Decision making is a process of selecting from among a set of alternatives<br>in the light of given objectives. It can be viewed as a mental process resulting in<br>the selection of a course of action among several alternatives (Burker and Miller,<br>1999). Decision making is also defined as a judgment, a process of formulating<br>and implementing decision a conscious selection among alternatives and a process<br>of problem solving. The process of decision making includes the use of complex,<br>logical and mathematical process (Okeke, 2007) Decisions are classified into<br>policy decisions, administrative or managerial decisions and operational or<br>executive decisions. Ogbonnaya (2002) defined policy decisions as decisions<br>made by public officials which give direction to public policy actions. While<br>administrative decisions are decisions which determine the means to be used in<br>achieving organizational goals (Obi, 2003). Operational decisions according to<br>Okeke (2007) are decisions which are made on daily basis a cases arise. He added<br>that executive or operational decisions are concerned with the ways in which<br>different programmes of the institutions are carried out.</p><p>Administration is a process of coordinating the efforts of human and<br>material resources systematically to achieve set goals (Ezeocha, 1990) while<br>management is defined by Peretomode (1996) as a social and interactional process<br>1<br>14<br>14<br>involving a sequence of coordinated events planning, organizing, coordinating and<br>controlling or leading in order to use available resources to achieve a desired goal<br>in the fastest possible way. Administration and management are related because<br>both involve the coordination of human and material resources to achieve set goals<br>in any organization. However management is more embracing in the sense that it<br>involve planning, organizing, controlling, leading among others while<br>administration involve more of the coordination of human and material resources<br>in the process of implementing programme (Ejiogu, 1990). In this study, however<br>management and administration mean the same thing.</p><p>Administrative decisions making in educational institutions are normally<br>embarked upon by university administrators, provost, or principals for the day to<br>day running of their institutions (Obi, 2003). In the universities in particular<br>administrative decisions covers such areas as regulation of teaching and learning<br>activities courses assigned to faculty staff, promotion of research, admission of<br>students, students discipline, welfare of students, and the regulation of their<br>conduct, budgeting and spending (Okeke, 2007). These decisions are made by<br>university administrators and staff. However administrative decision-making for<br>students participation in this study covers students representation in the<br>disciplinary committees of their universities, students participation in formulation<br>of rules and regulation on students’ union government, students participation in<br>administrative decision-making on accommodation matters, students participation<br>15<br>15<br>in decision-making on internally generated revenue like tuition fee development<br>fee, examination fee, library fee, and students participation in administrative<br>decision-making on the selection of students leaders.</p><p>In his decision making theory called competencies decision making theory<br>Abbot (1974) taught that leaders should identify and differentiate between types of<br>decisions in an organization, determine the type of information needed for the<br>decision and consider the involvement of all stake holders in the institution in<br>making decisions in order to avoid the negative consequences of taking decisions<br>without the consideration of some stake holders in organizations. The researcher<br>therefore anchored this study on Abbot competencies decision-making theory and<br>on Hodgett and Altman (1979) bounded rationality decision making theory which<br>seek to identify and select the best alternative from different organizational<br>temperament and experiences before a decision is made.</p><p>It should be noted that the desire of the federal and state governments to<br>provide higher education for her citizens has led to the establishment of<br>universities in all parts of Nigeria. The major aims of which are to produce high<br>level manpower for overall national development, to inculcate the best values for<br>the survival of individual and society, to develop the intellectual capacity of<br>individual to understand and appreciate their local and external environment<br>among others. (FRN, 2004).</p> <br><p></p>