STUDENTS PARTICIPATION IN ADMINISTRATIVE DECISION-MAKING IN THE GOVERNANCE OF UNIVERSITIES IN SOUTH-SOUTH NIGERIA

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

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