AGB Commission Calls For Strengthening College And University Boards To Face Heightened Challenges

WASHINGTON, Nov. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- American higher education faces many challenges, from rising costs and questions about the value of a college degree to growing tensions among constituencies about how to balance institutional self-interest with public purpose. The National Commission on College and University Board Governance,  established by the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB), calls for measures to address the challenges ahead by improving the vital oversight function of the 50,000 trustees who serve on the boards of the nation's postsecondary institutions.

The report, Consequential Boards: Adding Value Where it Matters Most, finds that despite the pace of social, economic, and political change affecting much of higher education, most college and university boards continue to approach governance as they did 50 years ago – often focusing on narrow, near-term tactical matters instead of providing long-range strategic direction and policy. Recognizing the crucial role that boards can and should play in guiding colleges and universities, the report provides a series of recommendations to help boards engage in their distinct role more substantively and effectively in the years to come.

Given the increasing importance of higher education to individual achievement, the nation's economic growth and competitiveness, and public life, the report outlines seven immediate steps boards should take to improve institutional value through more effective governance:

1. Boards must improve value in their institutions and lead a restoration of public trust in higher education itself. 
2. Boards must add value to institutional leadership and decision-making by focusing on their essential role as institutional fiduciaries. 
3. Boards must act to ensure the long-term sustainability of their institutions by addressing changed finances and the imperative to deliver a high-quality education at a lower cost. 
4. Boards must improve shared governance within their institutions through attention to board-president relationships and a reinvigoration of faculty shared governance.  Boards additionally must attend to leadership development in their institutions, both for presidents and faculty.
5. Boards must improve their own capacity and functionality through increased attention to the qualification and recruitment of members, board orientation, committee composition, and removal of members for cause. 
6. Boards must focus their time on issues of greatest consequence to the institution by reducing time spent reviewing routine reports and redirecting attention to cross-cutting and strategic issues not addressed elsewhere. 
7.  Boards must hold themselves accountable for their own performance by modeling the same behaviors and performance they expect from others in their institutions. 

"College and university boards of trustees can play more of a leadership role in advancing the value proposition of higher education and leading our institutions to a stronger future," said Richard Legon, AGB President. "It's clear a postsecondary degree and higher education itself are extraordinarily valuable – not simply leading to careers for graduates, but also advancing the public good."

The commission is asking higher education leaders to adopt and implement the report's recommendations and commit themselves to a sharpened concept of board fiduciary responsibility.

"Higher education in America has a distinguished history, but its business model is broken," Phillip Bredesen, former Tennessee governor and Chair of the commission, said. "College and university boards are an accomplished, dedicated group of citizens, and they must drive their institutions' public purpose. Our hope is this report will help to focus board members on the solutions and provide them tools to work with."

"Most college and university governance structures are ill-aligned to deal with current and future challenges facing higher education," Bredesen continued. "At a time when our institutions are facing difficult decisions about admissions, tuition, campus amenities, student misconduct, and graduation rates, we need boards to step up and provide greater leadership and guidance for college and university administrations, communities, and higher education as a whole. This report offers a blueprint for urgent reforms."

Formed in 2013 by the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB), the commission was charged with reviewing current governance practices and recommending changes it believes could help boards better meet the financial, educational, and legal challenges that confront higher education.

The Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges is the only national association that serves the interests and needs of academic governing boards, boards of institutionally related foundations, campus CEOs, and other senior-level campus administrators on issues related to higher education governance and leadership. See www.AGB.org.

SOURCE The Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges

Related Links

http://www.agb.org