Individual trustees are often looking for different qualities in a community college president, and it can be challenging for a diverse group of stakeholders to agree on what they want. Boards that function most effectively work together to establish a clear set of criteria at the outset of the hiring process, and they share this list with…

This study involving superintendents from four states sought to identify the nature and quality of help provided by outgoing superintendents to their successors, and to capture data regarding differences in the helpfulness of that support, depending on whether the superintendent moved to a new superintendency, retired from the position, or was…

This document, created by the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), provides guidance for newly opening charter schools. This guide can be used to keep track of MDE deadlines, access the reporting calendar and follow the steps necessary to ensure the utilization of all the resources and revenue available from the state. This guidance document…

Governing boards of universities and colleges are facing an unprecedented tidal wave of change that is creating new opportunities, risks, innovations, and disruptions within and beyond the confines of their campuses. A board's ability to be both reactive to these changes and proactive in response will require that they not only have the right…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to determine the differing ways in which nonprofit charter and traditional public school board members define the concept of accountability in the school or schools they oversee. The findings speak to the governing consequences of shifting oversight of public education from democratically elected bodies to…

Data governance provides state agencies a structure in which to define the roles and responsibilities needed to ensure clear processes for collecting and reporting education data and to ensure accountability for data quality and security. To make informed policy decisions across agencies, such as the state education agency and early childhood,…

In a time of transformation in higher education, "Leading Change: How Boards and Presidents Build Exceptional Institutions" fills a significant void in leadership literature and focuses on the changing level of board engagement. This book examines 18 institutions, across the spectrum of higher education, at which the board played a…

Many institutions develop specific measures or indicators--often called "dashboards"--to inform boards and top administrators about the college or university's current situation and performance and assist them in moving the institution ahead strategically. And, increasingly, institutions are using metrics not only to assess internal…

This dissertation describes how entrepreneurial superintendents of educational service agencies (ESAs) recognize, determine and address common and distinct innovative characteristics within emerging or established regional educational environments. Because internal and external factors assist in recognizing innovative practices, this study…

This chapter describes the system office for community college institutional research for the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. What makes this System Offices for Community College Institutional Research (SOCCIR) somewhat different from the others reviewed in this volume is that the Minnesota system IR office has responsibilities for both…

We explain in this article the need for board training in rural America irrespective of industry or government sector. We discuss how an assessment of training needs has led to the launch of a new project called the National Board Basics Curriculum (NBBC) project. In this project, we have identified four key core competencies that every board…

Achieving high performance in tough times is the most serious challenge facing presidents and trustees during this recession, when the temptation may be to substitute "getting by" for truly outstanding governance. Defining victory as making it through the fiscal year, with little thought to where the institution should be positioned in…

Each year, many community college leaders find themselves, either methodically or haphazardly, making decisions about intercollegiate athletics. There have, however, been few empirical studies on how and why community colleges initiate, expand, or terminate athletic programs. Two studies investigating leaders' perceptions of intercollegiate…

In 2011, the chief executives of the University of Minnesota and Minnesota State Colleges & Universities systems will leave their positions, along with the governor of the state. The state will continue to face fiscal challenges, and the campuses will have to figure out how to do more with less. As "Tribune" columnist Lori Sturdevant…

This document reviews the work of the Higher Education Coordinating Board of Minnesota during the 1987-88 period, highlights trends and conditions in Minnesota postsecondary education, discusses the major policy issues facing Minnesota, and presents the Board's legislative agenda for 1990-91. Board projects included adoption of a vision statement…