This manual is designed for those working with conduct boards composed of students and/or faculty. This manual serves two purposes: (1) To provide the Adviser and/or trainer(s) with guidelines, philosophy, and information so as to better structure your conduct board program (or to create one); and (2) To serve as an actual model for a manual for a…

With all the trials and tribulations, the job of a university president is one of the most rewarding. Yet, like every other aspect of society, the academic presidency has changed over the last several decades. A surprise turn of events gave the author an opportunity to reflect on the "then and now" question. Having served as president of…

Articles about accreditation have moved to the front pages of newspapers, and the supposed shortcomings of accreditation have become the subject of national reports and federal legislation and regulations. All this attention reflects a shift in the role accreditation is now being expected to play as an agent of public accountability for higher…

Boston University (BU) has had a history of contentious relations between administrators and faculty. John Silber, who ran the university from the early 1970s through the late 1990s, gave faculty little say in university governance, and an "us versus them" atmosphere soon developed. In 2004, however, major changes in the board of…

The University of the District of Columbia's problems are so deep and longstanding that some people thought it would take a rocket scientist to figure them out. So a year ago, its board of trustees appointed as president Dr. Allen Sessoms, the former Delaware State University president and Yale University-trained physicist who spent years sniffing…

This article investigates the convergent institutional logics driving decision making at an activist governing board in higher education. Through a case study of policymaking by a state-level coordinating board in Massachusetts, the article identifies four primary logics of action: mission differentiation, student opportunity, managerialism, and…

Today most colleges and universities practice shared governance, where the trustees, the administration, the faculty, and the staff all must have a say in how their institutions should operate. Today's institutions are more complex than those of the past, and the expertise of all of those constituencies should be in the mix for the best decisions…

The author characterizes himself as an experienced corporate executive, an experienced corporate board member, an active volunteer, and a pretty active donor to a number of causes that he thinks are important. But he is not a terribly experienced charitable-board member, so he sees things from the perspective of a new philanthropist and found that…

Last week the Board of Regents of the University of California tabled a faculty proposal to broaden the pool of applicants eligible for admission to the 10 campuses in the University of California system. The regents took the action to allow the university's new president, Mark G. Yudof, as well as regents who were uncertain about the proposal,…

For at least four decades, the University of California has been the international gold standard in public higher education. The system's 10 campuses are magnets for top-notch faculty members and students. With an annual budget of $18-billion, the university includes five medical centers and three national laboratories. And one of every 10 members…

This article examines the factors that influence presidents' perceptions of board effectiveness in relation to their boards' fundraising role. Data from a survey of small college presidents are used to see what factors influence each of four areas of satisfaction: deciding policy, making financial contributions, referring donor prospects and…

Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Council of Representatives (February 22-24, 2008, Washington, DC; and August 13 and 17, 2008, Boston, Massachusetts) and of the 2008 meetings of the Board of Directors (February, June, August, and December) are provided. These minutes are the official record of the actions of the Association taken during the…

Community colleges in America are now very visible and highly respected institutions of higher education. More than 1,000 community colleges in all 50 states now comprise nearly 25% of all colleges and universities in the U.S., with over 6.5 million students, or about 45% of all college students.State and local governance and coordination of…

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…

Few states have established systems for overseeing dual enrollment programs to encourage institutions to align their practices with quality standards. Five states (Arkansas, Indiana, Minnesota, Iowa, and South Dakota), have established incentives or requirements for post-secondary concurrent enrollment providers to pursue the National Alliance of…