The challenges facing public higher education are placing new demands and pressures on colleges and universities and those responsible for their governance and leadership. As higher education seeks to negotiate these and other 21st-century changes, the role of its "guardians" in stimulating change, supporting purposeful leadership, and…

College and university boards are charged with governance responsibility to ensure that students receive a high-quality education from a well-managed institution that fulfills its mission and actively pursues its vision. The student affairs committee places current and future students squarely at the center of its work and must ensure that other…

In 2010, the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB) surveyed higher education governing boards in the United States regarding board composition and selected policies and practices. AGB has conducted similar research since the mid-1980s. This report summarizes the data and examines trends for independent college and…

The content of this edition of the State Governance Action Report was informed by newspaper reports, online reports, state and institutional Web sites, and conversations with state and higher education leaders. It is current through February 1, 2011. Much of this legislative activity comes at a time when the fiscal conditions of states are…

This publication is part of an Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB) series devoted to strengthening the role of key standing committees of governing boards. While there is no optimum committee system for institutions of higher education, certain principles, practices, and procedures prevail. The best practices…

This paper presents the State Governance Action Report for 2007. Compiled in this report are state policy developments, including legislation, commissions, and studies, affecting the structure, responsibilities, and operations of public higher education governing boards and institutionally related foundations. Governance and governance-related…

The executive board of the college or university governing board has the central purpose of strengthening the board's performance by helping it function efficiently and effectively. Because the executive committee can undermine trustee morale by abusing its authority, the entire governing board must decide the extent of the powers delegated to the…

Responsibilities of the college or university governing board's student affairs committee include representing students' interests in all policy decisions, ensuring provision of adequate financial resources to support a comprehensive student affairs program, ensuring that board policies keep pace with students' diverse and changing needs, and…

The traditional role of a college or university finance committee is to oversee an institution's financial operations, ensure that a viable long-range fiscal plan is in place, and recommend financial policies to the governing board. The finance committee may assume additional responsibilities in response to changing needs and expectations of the…

Nowadays, most colleges and universities find themselves either planning a fund-raising campaign, engaged in one, or having just completed one. Entering a campaign may challenge a board to determine how best to organize itself to meet its long-term responsibility for fund-raising while mobilizing the broader cadre of volunteers needed for the…

The investment committee of the college or university governing board is charged with determining, overseeing, and assessing the policies and processes by which institutional funds are invested. The committee has fiduciary duty to ensure that the terms of investment of donors' gifts are met and to maximize investment returns within an appropriate…

A college or university governing board's development committee (or foundation board in a public institution) has both oversight of and broad responsibility for institutional fund-raising activities. Committee members have an additional role that colleagues on other committees do not--active participation in fund-raising. The committee sets goals,…

The college or university academic affairs committee of the governing board holds the primary responsibility for defining, overseeing, and modifying the "policies" that fulfill the institution's academic mission, including: ensuring that the academic program is consistent with the institution's mission and strategies; ensuring that the academic…

In many colleges and universities the responsibility of the governing board's audit committee is to arrange and oversee regular audits of financial activities, comply with donor restrictions on gifts, adhere to laws and regulations, and conform to established board policies. Membership of three to five is usually sufficient, and while the…

In independent colleges and universities, the committee on trustees is most important to the institution's long-term effectiveness. The charge to this committee should include the following responsibilities: helping the board determine desired board composition; populating the board with able, dedicated trustees and maintaining a candidate list;…