Research On The Operating Mechanisms Of The American Higher Education Association

American society has a long history of developing associations and organizations.The American Association of State Colleges and Universities(AASCU)is a typical representative of the association of American universities,which has different development characteristics in different historical periods.It has the organizational attributes and characteristics of “Buffer Belt”,“Revolving Door”,“Megaphone” as well as “Adhesive”,and it plays an irreplaceable role in the governance and development of American higher education.In the context of the establishment and improvement of higher education governance system in China,it is of great practical significance and reference to explore the operating mechanisms of higher education association in the United States.This paper takes the AASCU as the research object,taking open systems theory,transparent theory and total quality management theory as the theoretical basis,comprehensively using literature research method,historical research method,case study method and comparative research method,with the research logic of “historical evolution-operating mechanisms-problems-reflection-reference inspiration” to carry out an in-depth analysis of the historical context,organizational attributes,characteristics and functions,organizational structure and operating mechanisms of the American higher education association.The study found that :First,from the perspective of the background and historical evolution of the association of higher education,AASCU has experienced three stages of development:focusing on educational equity,focusing on educational performance,focusing on educational quality.Secondly,based on the analysis of organizational structure,organizational attributes and organizational teams,this paper analyzes the political game,information transparency and quality guarantee mechanism of AASCU by sorting out and exploring the operation of practical projects.Thirdly,on the basis of discussing the characteristics and logic of the operating mechanisms of AASCU,a comprehensive operating mechanism of the association is constructed.Fourthly,the development of association organization needs to balance three pairs of basic relations: voluntary and involuntary,self-discipline and heteronomy,internal autonomy and external constraint.And it reflects the association spirit of voluntary,service and professionalism;Fifth,the operating mechanisms of AASCU provides useful references for the governance of Chinese universities and colleges: respecting and balancing the diverse“personality traits” of the university associations;clarifying organizational boundaries and their relationship with government;establishing the normal communication and joint action mechanism between different university associations and developing the community of university associations.