Acting within a complex authority structure marked by shared governance, the governing boards of higher education institutions serve as the legal body holding ultimate responsibility for the institution's identity, mission, and institutional health. The past and current experience of Protestant theological schools has revealed institutional…

This chapter reviews social and organizational theories that influence governance to contextualize new ways to think about the roles of boards of trustees. This chapter discusses how various organizational theories help define the roles of boards of trustees, the CEO, and other stakeholders with respect to governance. Using this backdrop, reforms…

Community college boards of trustees are not highly visible, but they play a vital role in college and student success through governance and oversight of the mission of open access higher education. The stakes are high as community colleges compete for scarce resources in state budgets making the local and state-level trustee/governing role as…

Community college leadership, including governing and foundation board members, must have an ethical framework while using philanthropic fundraising to increase revenues available for community colleges to realize their heroic mission.

This guide outlines the careful considerations and illustrative cases that help board members and campus leaders better understand the flash points surrounding freedom of speech, academic freedom, and the tensions between these free expression rights and diversity, equity, and inclusion in the present campus environment. It offers governing boards…

Historically, Australian higher education has been statist, uniform, and secular. Indeed, up until 1989, even communist Poland had more Christian universities than Australia. Only in the last 3½ decades have eight different Christian universities and colleges emerged. This article first explores the origins of these new institutions and the…

Academisation of schooling in England is a significant development with consequences for the disavowal of the role of community and democracy in education at the local level and wider resonance for geo-policy jurisdictions where neoliberal education reforms play out. This study analyses the operation of power and control of Multi Academy Trust…

Accreditation is a critical tool for quality assurance and accountability for higher education, signaling an institution's commitment to academic quality and fiscal integrity. The Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB) and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) published this statement to help board…

Multi-campus public higher education governance systems exist in 44 of the 50 U.S. states. They include all the largest and most influential public colleges and universities in the United States, educating fully 75 percent of the nation's public sector students. Their impact is enormous. And yet, they are largely neglected and as a tool for…

The Accountability Plan is an annual report that is closely aligned with the Board of Governors' 2025 System Strategic Plan. This report enhances the System's commitment to accountability and strategic planning by fostering greater coordination between institutional administrators, University Boards of Trustees and the Board of Governors regarding…

The skill set asked of today's top educators is demanding, with higher education boards of trustees targeting versatile leaders able to raise funds, speak to the media and serve as an institution's academic authority, all while maneuvering among constituent groups seeking their time and attention. Community college presidents, in particular,…

This report is the seventh publication in a series of informational briefings developed as part of "The Guardians Initiative: Reclaiming the Public Trust," an effort to educate and engage trustees as advocates on key issues in higher education. The report shows how academic research generates technological, educational, and cultural…

The Land O' Lakes Statement set the stage for dramatic changes in the life of Catholic colleges and universities. Not least among these changes was the introduction of primarily lay-led boards of trustees. In the 50 years since the statement's publication, these institutions have faced dwindling numbers within their sponsoring religious orders, as…

The origins of innovation is the ability to identify global trends and to assess their relevance for development. The first area of mapping could include a better understanding of these trends in higher education and innovation around the world. The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of mission and vision on organizational performance…

As highlighted in the report of the McMillan Group in 2016, "University Knowledge Exchange (KE) Framework: good practice in technology transfer" (ED574177) there is no single profile of knowledge exchange that is appropriate to all universities. What is best for a given university is very context driven through the discipline portfolio…