The five institutional issues rated most important for 1994 by college trustees, presidents, and other leaders include tuition policy and financing; planning and budgeting needs and processes; productivity and cost control; establishing and fine-tuning institutional mission and strategy; and directions in charitable giving. (MSE)

The president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (Texas) is the latest in a series Baptist seminary presidents to be fired or resign after conflict with conservative trustees. Critics are concerned about implications for academic freedom; donors are withholding gifts; and an accrediting agency has questioned the firing. (MSE)

Reviews David Cameron's "More than an Academic Question," which summarizes the development of Canadian universities and provides a framework for understanding the relationship between universities and the government, outlining the theme of Canadian federalism and discussing the shifting balance between federal and provincial policies.…

This article discusses the reasons why business leaders join the boards of directors of nonprofit organizations such as universities, as well as their performance on such boards. It argues that board members from the business community need to be just as disciplined in assessing nonprofit organizations as they are in profit-making settings. (MDM)

By focusing on current social and technological change, critics of higher education often fail to see that the greatest challenge is the need to restructure the lower division studies, which are currently simply less-intensive versions of specialized curricula. To address this need, trustees need to bring about change in three areas: curricular,…

Three former senior academic officers, all later to become college presidents, offer best practices for governing board members and chief academic officers (CAOs) on participatory governance, strategic resource planning, and relationships among the CAO, the trustees, and the president. Topics addressed include an effective institutional governance…

Fifteen reasons are offered for limiting the length of college trustees' terms. They focus on safeguarding integrity, fairness, enhancement of productivity and performance, increasing diversity of trustee qualifications and perspectives, limiting personal relationships between board members and staff, promotion of renewal and continuing trustee…

Whether or not colleges should require students to have a computer as a condition for admission is discussed. In determining policy on this issue, governing boards are urged to consider the rationale for such a requirement and whether or not the campus culture and infrastructure are appropriate for the change. (MSE)

Change in the financing of Danish higher education is traced, from item budgeting by the education ministry to a system of institutional block grants. While institutions gain autonomy in academic and resource allocation, they are required to abolish governing boards and place more responsibility on rectors and academic deans. This requires new…

As distance learning brings changes to traditional higher-education institutions and creates new educational providers, the college or university governing board must reexamine issues of institutional purpose, quality, and finance. Outlines questions for boards to ask, and cites a study of current institutional response to trends in distance…

The Clark County Nevada Board of Trustees voted unanimously in April, 2001 to approve a 5-year, more than $35 million contract with Edison Schools to run seven of the district's lowest-achieving schools. Describes the decision process and reports what the board and the superintendent learned. One of their biggest lessons was the importance of…

The lawsuit Channing Club vs. The Board of Regents of Texas Tech University, 1970 has been used as a legal precedent in many student press censorship cases. A thorough understanding of Channing has become increasingly important since Hazelwood and other related decisions. Though Channing has been frequently cited in the literature, comparatively…

Citing scandals in accounting, law, banking, securities and corporations, Candace de Russy, a member of the State University of New York Board of Trustees recently urged college boards to "make ethics a living tradition, a day-to-day reality throughout higher education." If colleges prepare bankers, lawyers, accountants and brokers, de…

The author argues that current corporate government legislation and practice is weighted too much in the direction of "board compliance." It is, therefore, in danger of reducing the risks taken by boards of directors. In the long term this could slow significantly the growth of capitalism. He proposes a rebalancing of the fundamental board…

This paper comprises a brief examination of the approach taken by the Welsh Language Board, as the principal language policy and planning body in Wales, with regard to aspects of prestige planning and the Welsh language. It describes how devolution and the recent, and first ever, national review by the Welsh Assembly Government of Welsh language…