Throughout the world, the modern university system has shown a variety of characteristics.Among the diversity, there is also a common point, this common point is the legal person-board system.
In this regard, the United States has developed more maturely.The legal person-board system of American universities is a multi-form university system that fully reflects the autonomy of university students, not a simple system template.The history of American universities begins with the land-grant colleges during the colonial period, and the management system of the nine colleges during the colonial period is largely divided into two types:
One is Harvard University's "dual meeting system."When Harvard University was founded on August 23, 1636, it was illegal to establish Harvard College.According to English law, only kings could create corporations.In 1637 the local council decided to set up a committee of twelve, half of whom were government officials and half were priests.Although the commission had a great deal of power at the time, it was generally considered a quasi-board of directors, but it was reorganized in 1642 due to a lack of legitimate grounds.At that time, Parliament gave it the power to administer property and the affairs of the College.This committee later evolved into the Supervisory Board and was the first governing body to determine its legal personality.The supervisory board members are from outside Harvard College, where only one president is a member, and the main task of the college is to maintain discipline.As the school grew in size, management problems became more serious, and the rights of teachers and students needed to be upheld, so in 1650 the Massachusetts Colony issued a charter and established a new "corporate" body, the Board of Trustees.The Board of Trustees consists mainly of members from within the School, including the Principal, Treasurer and five Councillors.Since then, there have been many twists and turns.Harvard's earliest supervisory board had stipulated that school personnel could not serve on the supervisory board, but it did not specify how the board of directors would be composed.After encountering many contradictions, it has gradually become a practice that all members of the board of directors, except the principal, are appointed by non-school personnel.As a result, Harvard developed a "two-session" system, with both a board of directors and a supervisory board.The Board's main task is to make regulations and own the property of the College, including the appointment of the President; the Supervisory Board cannot create rules, but the provisions of the Board, especially important ones, must be effective.Harvard's characteristic "two-way system" or dual management system has been maintained since 1650.
The second is a single "expert board" system represented by Yale University.Yale University was founded in 1701 and became a truly independent corporation under the charter in 1745, and established a single board of directors as a governing body, thus forming its single board of directors system.Yale's early board members were all from off-campus, including the president, who was also hired from off-campus.Since then, the university management system with special characteristics has been established, that is, the "expert board system" of legal persons.
Most American universities follow Yale's management system and implement a single board system; only a few universities such as Harvard University have a "double-session system", and American university teachers are more like employees.European universities, on the other hand, are run by teachers, the president is elected by professors, the regulations are made by professors, and in practice, "professors govern schools."The advantage of the lay board system of American universities is that it ensures the university's connection to the outside world.The composition of the board of directors, initially primarily clergy, has since been gradually adjusted and now includes mainly businessmen, lawyers, professors or students.The President plays an important role between the Board of Trustees and the University's faculty and staff, who are appointed by the Board of Trustees and accountable to the Board of Trustees, but also to the School as a representative.Therefore, the headmaster has a very special position and very great power.And Europe's university presidents are nothing more than a symbol, especially in Britain, where they have little real power.
The college board system is its basic system, which has led to many conflicts and conflicts, especially conflicts between teachers and students and the board of directors, and even developed into lawsuits.So there is a question of how to divide the management authority within the board of directors, the supervisory board, and the university.Harvard took the lead in developing a new set of regulations in 1826.The university's authority is clearly divided into external and internal control, which is vested in the board of directors and the supervisory board, and internal management is entrusted to the president.The division of internal and external authority clarifies the various power relationships of universities and plays an important role in the development of American higher education.
The complete modern American university system also includes professors within the university and the external American Association of University Teachers, established in 1914.
From the above, it can be seen that the modern university system is an institutional system, and to study it we must grasp its spirit, grasp its whole, and grasp the key of legal person-board of directors.If you take a melon and a half scale to decorate, it will be self-defeating and difficult to be effective.(The author is a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Education Sciences)