Political Appointees vs. Elected Officials - Examining How the Selection Mechanism for State Governing Agency Board Members Influences Responsiveness to Stakeholders in Higher Education Policy-Making

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by acoobca

Through an exploratory comparative case study of two U.S. states (Georgia and Nevada), this study examines how the selection mechanism for state higher education governing agency boards shapes board members’ responsiveness to stakeholders and their role in policy-making. Grounded in the national agenda to improve postsecondary degree attainment and college completion, results indicate that in both states board members prioritized the governor and governing-agency staff’s opinions and goals regardless of selection type. For more localized, on-the-ground decisions, formally involved stakeholders such as administrators, faculty, and students play a larger role, though that influence may be mediated by how board members are selected.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages23

Reading Time58 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Comparative case study focus

Selection mechanism and responsiveness

Stakeholder influence and mediation

| education policy analysis archives
A peer-reviewed, independent, open access, multilingual journal | | | --- | --- | | Arizona State University | | | Volume 29 Number 115 September 13 , 2021 ISSN 1068-2341 | | Political Appointees vs. Elected Officials: Examining How the Selection Mechanism for State Governing Agency Board Members Influences Responsiveness to Stakeholders in Higher Education Policy-Making Paul G. Rubin University of Utah United States Citation: Rubin, P. G. (2021) . Political appointees vs. elected officials: Examining how the selection mechanism for state governing agency board members influences responsiveness to stakeholders in higher education policy-making. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 29(115) . [https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.29.5214](https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.29.5214) Abstract: Through an exploratory comparative case study of two U.S. states (Georgia and Nevada), this study investigates how the selection mechanism to state higher education governing agency boards influences the responsiveness of board members to stakeholders and their role in the policy-making process. Framed around the recent national policy agenda to improve postsecondary degree attainment and college completion, findings suggest that state agency board members in both states prioritized the opinions, insights, and goals of the state governor and governing agency staff, regardless of selection mechanism. However, for more localized issues and on-the-ground decision-making, stakeholders formally involved in the day-to-day operation of higher education, such as administrators, faculty, and students, serve a larger role, though this influence can be mediated by the selection mechanism of board members. Keywords: higher education; governing boards; board members; policy process; stakeholders; stakeholder salience; United States Designados políticos vs. funcionarios electos: Examinar la selección de los miembros del consejo de las agencias estatales y su influencia en su capacidad derespuesta a los líderes en la formulación de políticas de educación superior Resumen: A través de un estudio de caso comparativo exploratorio de dos estados de EE. UU. (Georgia y Nevada), este estudio investiga cómo el mecanismo de selección del consejos de las agencias estatales de educación superior influye en la capacidad derespuesta de los miembros del consejo a las partes interesadas y su papel en el proceso de formulación de políticas. Enmarcados en la reciente agenda de política nacional para mejorar la obtención de títulos postsecundarios y la finalización de estudios universitarios, los hallazgos sugieren que los miembros del consejo de agencias estatales en ambos estados priorizaron las opiniones, conocimientos y objetivos del gobernador estatal y el personal de la agencia gobernante, independientemente del mecanismo de selección. Sin embargo, para cuestiones más localizadas y toma de decisiones sobre el terreno, las partesinteresadas que participan formalmente en el funcionamiento diario de la educación superior, como administradores, profesores y estudiantes, desempeñan un papel másimportante, aunque esta influencia puede verse afectada. mediada por el mecanismo deselección de consejeros. Palabras-clave: educación superior; consejos directivas; miembros del consejo; procesode políticas; partes interesadas; prominencia de las partes interesadas; Estados Unidos Nomeados políticos vs. funcionários eleitos: Examinando a seleção dos membros do conselho da agência governamental estadual e sua influência em sua capacidadede resposta aos líderes na formulação de políticas de ensino superior Resumo: Por meio de um estudo de caso comparativo exploratório de dois Estados Unidos estados (Geórgia e Nevada), este estudo investiga como o mecanismo de seleção para os conselhos de agências governamentais de ensino superior influencia a capacidadede resposta dos membros do conselho às partes interessadas e seu papel no processo

FAQs

What is the study’s main question?

How the selection mechanism for state higher education governing agency board members influences responsiveness to stakeholders in higher education policy-making.

Which states are compared in the study?

Georgia and Nevada.

Do board members prioritize stakeholders differently depending on the selection mechanism?

In both states, board members prioritized the governor and governing-agency staff’s opinions and goals regardless of the selection mechanism, while stakeholders involved in day-to-day operations had a larger role for localized issues, with that effect potentially mediated by selection.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by acoobca