UNIVERSITY AS ORGANIZATIONS: A RESEARCH APPROACH.

This paper provides a test of the usefulness of a formal organizational model in studying the structure of universities. Nondenominational universities in the United States were researched by sending mail questionnaires to administrators and faculty members. The findings reported here concern goals, their relation to the power structure, and to other characteristics of universities. There is consensus on the pan of administration and faculty on what the goals are and on what they should be. According to both faculty and administration, the highest goal is and should be protecting the faculty's right to academic freedom. Most of the top goals are support goals rather than output goals, and only one of them involves students. In contrast, three of the four bottom goals refer to students. Protecting academic freedom is more emphasized as a goal in private than in state universities. In the former, the goals revolve around student-expressive matters, but the latter are snore likely to emphasize preparing students for useful careers, assisting citizens through extension, and doing applied research. Student expressive goats are also related positively to the prestige of the institution, whereas emphasis on student instrumental goals and under-graduate instruction are related negatively to prestige. The biggest difference in goal structures arises where legislatures and state governments are perceived as having greater power, relative to administrators and faculty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]