Organising professional support staff at higher education institutions: a multidimensional, continuous balancing act

Abstract

Centralisation is a recurrent theme when the organisational structure of contemporary higher education institutions is on the agenda. This may be in large part because of the unsolicited effects of decentralised organisational structures. The aim of this study is to explore how professional support staff at higher education institutions perceive the organisational structure of support and the rationales for this organising. An analytical framework based on the dichotomy of centralisation/decentralisation was applied in 18 interviews with professional support staff at one Dutch university and one Norwegian university. A common theme in the findings was the consciousness among the professional support staff that there is no one-size-fits-all solution for the organising of efficient and effective support. The issue of centralisation and standardisation was clearly on the agenda, but their focus was on the elements of a well-functioning support structure, not the specific organisational solution. The study also highlights the objection to the trend towards centralisation, and that some organisational changes may be too short sighted to be sustainable. From the perspective of the professional support staff, it can be concluded that organisational structure is a continuous balancing act based on dialogue between the academic and support staff.