KSU approved the Institutional Model of Balancing Powers
At the June meeting of the Academic Council of Kherson State University, a matter regarding the approval of the Institutional Model for Balancing Powers at KSU was heard – a document that defines the modern system of distribution of functions and responsibilities among the university's governing bodies.
The First Vice-Rector of KSU, Serhii Omelchuk, provided additional information on this issue. According to him, it is one of the most conceptual management initiatives of the university in recent years, which combines the requirements of current legislation with its own vision for the development of the higher education institution.
"On the one hand, the document regulates legislative norms set out in the regulatory and legal field. On the other – it reflects our vision of which direction to move in and how to systematize and differentiate the functions of decision-making, expert processing, influence, and their implementation. Above all, this should ensure academic democracy as one of the key principles of the KSU Development Strategy, management efficiency, and personal responsibility," – noted Serhii Omelchuk.
The main goal of the model is to achieve a balance between collegiality, effective management, personal responsibility, transparency, and control. It provides for a clear separation of the functions of decision-making, expert processing, influence, and their implementation, which allows combining academic democracy with the efficiency of management processes.
The document defines four levels of decision-making at the university. The first – strategic management, carried out by the rector, which covers operational leadership, personnel and financial decisions, as well as the implementation of university decisions.
The second level – collegial governance, which includes the Academic Council and the Conference of the Labor Collective. They form the university's development strategy, approve regulatory documents, determine educational, scientific, and personnel policies, and exercise control over the rector's activities.
The third level consists of expert and advisory bodies that conduct analysis, predict risks, prepare management decisions, and coordinate activities.
The fourth level – the direct implementation of decisions, which rests with deans, heads of departments, guarantors of educational programs, and heads of structural units.
One of the key principles of the model is a system of checks and balances. It provides that the rector does not head the Academic Council, while the Academic Council itself forms the university's development policy without exercising operational management. At the same time, advisory bodies ensure the preparation of decisions but do not adopt them, whereas heads of structural units are responsible for implementing approved decisions without changing the defined development strategy.
An important role in the proposed model is assigned to the Supervisory Board of the university. It will perform strategic and social oversight, conduct audits of the effectiveness of the model's functioning, and provide findings on whether it ensures real accountability of the university to society.
As Serhii Omelchuk emphasized, the document is the result of more than six months of work. University specialists and external experts were involved in its development. The model underwent scientific, legal, and digital expertise, as well as public discussion with the participation of members of the presidium of the rectorate, the rectorate, and the Supervisory Board.
The proposed model complies with modern trends in the development of university governance and is aimed at increasing management efficiency, a clear distribution of powers and responsibilities, as well as the further development of academic democracy at Kherson State University.
Based on the results of annual monitoring, the Academic Council will be able to make decisions regarding the need for changes to the model in accordance with new challenges and the development needs of the university.
Summarizing the presentation, Serhii Omelchuk emphasized that the proposed model is primarily aimed at forming a new management culture.
"This model is not about any structural changes. This model is about the culture of interaction, the culture of decision-making, their expertise, and taking on responsibility," – summarized Serhii Omelchuk.
KSU Rector Oleksandr Spivakovskyi noted that the document is intended to ensure balanced interaction between the key institutions of the university: the rector, the Academic Council, the Conference of the Labor Collective, the Scientific and Methodological Council, the Scientific and Technical Council, and the Student Council.
"We are forming such a model in which powers, responsibility, and decision-making mechanisms are in a balanced state. This creates the prerequisites for more qualitative, more responsible, and more effective management," - emphasized Oleksandr Spivakovskyi.
Having heard and discussed Serhii Omelchuk's information, the members of the Academic Council approved and recommended the approval of the Institutional Model for Balancing Powers at KSU at a meeting of the university's conference of the labor collective in August 2026.
KSU Press Center