Copyright© 2007 by School Services of California, Inc.

                                      Volume 20                   For Publication Date: April 13, 2007             No. 8

Governing Board Accountability 

College governing boards should increase standards and performance in order to prevent any further government intrusion, according to a report released by the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB). 

While overall performance of governing boards in America’s higher education communities is strong, there have been lapses and failures in the integrity and governance of certain areas of education—specifically conflicts of interest, executive compensation, and financial oversight, which have caused a spotlight to be focused and raised questions of concern in these areas.  

According to the report, “increased scrutiny from congressional committees and state officials, and a litigious environment that affects all colleges and universities, call for clear articulation of the principles of autonomy and authority of governing boards.” The report further asserts that boards need to “recognize a sense of urgency about responding to such concerns” about accountability from lawmakers “before rigid external regulation preempts responsive internal action.” 

The report is designed as a road map to new and existing trustees and would serve as a written foundation to board responsibility and oversight. This type of documentation can help boards ward off state and local intervention and focus more on their role in preserving quality education. 

Some of the recommendations of the report include: 

·                    To fulfill its oversight responsibilities concerning management of institutional resources, a board must ensure academic quality, taking into account not only current but future generations. 

·                    Because the board bears ultimate fiduciary responsibility, among its primary concerns should be the cost, price, and quality of education offered by the institution. 

·                    To foster a paramount commitment to integrity in all functions, a board should promulgate a code of trustee conduct and ensure that members meet the requirements of all applicable laws and policies. The board should regularly review principles of fiduciary oversight as well as institutional bylaws and operating policies. 

·                    Each institution should require all new trustees to attend a comprehensive orientation program focused on the duties of trusteeship and the values of and challenges confronting the institution. Records of participants in and the content of such sessions should be maintained. 

·                    Boards should ensure that systematic and rigorous assessments of the quality of all educational programs are conducted periodically, and board members should receive the results of such assessments. 

·                    The board should evaluate the president’s performance on the basis of clearly defined, mutually agreed-upon performance goals. 

·                    The board should base a president’s compensation on explicit and justifiable benchmarks from within and outside the institution. 

The final conclusion of the report asserts that the goal is to better prepare trustees for service and to motivate boards to commit to model policies and practice that warrant public trust and foster integrity. A copy of the full report can be found at  www.agb.org/.

 —Jamillah Moore, Ed.D.