An Analysis of Student Participation in Governance at Herkimer County Community College with Recommendations for Improvement.

A survey of 50 randomly selected, full-time, day students at Herkimer County Community College, New York, was conducted to identify those areas of college governance that students felt they should be involved in and to determine the percentage of students who actually participated in student government. The students were asked to indicate: (1) their desire for involvement in 27 governance activities, (2) their overall feelings about student participation, and (3) their familiarity and involvement with the college governance structure and its officers. Major findings indicate that while 84% of the students felt that participation in governance "makes a difference," only 2% were actually involved in the governance process. While students did not desire complete control in any area of college administration, they desired at least an equal voice with administrators in 15 of the 27 areas surveyed, including the establishment of degree requirements and the regulation of student conduct. Those areas in which students did not favor strong participation were related to faculty, such as hiring, promotion, and the determination of workload. The study report reviews the literature dealing with student participation in college governance and provides recommendations for increasing that participation. The questionnaire is appended. (JP)