State policymakers and the public at large have a vested interest in the successful governance of their higher education institutions. The citizens who are appointed or elected to serve as board members of a state's colleges and universities oversee valuable public assets that they hold in trust for the state and for current and future…

The long history of volunteerism in America has its roots in colonial religious and educational enterprises. From the beginning, colleges and universities have been independently governed rather than subject to national or state control. This autonomy is a uniquely American tradition. Over the centuries, the work of academic governing…

This revised edition updates Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges' (AGB's) list of governing board responsibilities, emphasizing board accountability, academic quality and board member conduct. Especially useful in the formal orientation process for new board members, and as a refresher for returning board members. A list…

School board members usually have great power but little training. The literature supports the need for orientation and inservice training. A survey of a random sample of newly elected board members and superintendents in Illinois revealed a difference between the two groups in perception of training. Apparently superintendents believe that more…

A new Kentucky law requires school board members to undergo 15 hours of training annually, of which 10 are provided by the Kentucky School Boards Association without state funding. A new Georgia law provides funding for required orientation training and encourages further training. Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas also mandate training. (PGD)

Strong relationships between presidents and boards are built on communication, education, transparency, and accountability. Boards that are well educated and informed, involved in establishing policy and strategy, and fully aware of new initiatives will support a president through difficult times. This paper offers a comprehensive, knowledgeable…

New school board members need orientation and training as an ongoing process to function effectively as team members. Offers general principles and specific suggestions. Includes 10 guidelines for board behavior and demographic data about board members. (MLF)

Since principals are chiefly responsible for school improvement and effectiveness, professional development opportunities must be provided throughout their administrative careers. Research has identified certain behavior patterns causally related to principals' effectiveness. Since the summer of 1984, the North Central Regional Staff Development…

This study presents an analysis of a previous evaluation conducted by the Malawi (East Africa) government of the usefulness of long-term, off-shore (mostly in the United States) graduate education and results of a recent survey comparing career attitudes of participants and non-participants in a pre-departure orientation program. Following a…

This guide is the first of three documents that make up a Professional Development Package for Educational Systems Design. Together, the documents constitute an integrated package designed to help educators and others accomplish specific purposes relative to a communitywide systems design effort. The orientation guide is ideally used in a 1-day…

This guide is intended to provide assistance in developing, organizing, and operating vocational instructional program (VIP) advisory committees. It is designed to be useful for secondary or postsecondary programs that offer training for an occupation or cluster of occupations. The guide is a compilation of suggestions, illustrations, and…

This book was designed to help school board members work together to create an effective school board. Guidelines are based on the premise that organizational effectiveness depends on individuals having the ability to recognize others' frames of reference and to utilize multiple frames. The four frames commonly used by leaders include the…

Area Education Agency 4 in Sioux Center, Iowa, provides the 18 school districts it serves with information and training in board development. Includes a checklist of 10 hypothetical issues that board members label as either a policymaking issue or a superintendent's responsibility. Each item becomes an occasion for discussion about roles and…

Local school boards bear the responsibility for goal-setting, policy-making, hiring, firing, construction, curriculum, and budget allocations. Competent boards need to become and remain informed about emerging, continuing, and future issues. School boards are turning to annual inservice programs to improve their decision-making skills. A sample…

This guide is designed as an aid for the adult education administrator in the pursuit of continuous excellence and quality improvement in adult education programs in Texas. The Acknowledgments section provides an introduction, background, history, and overview of the adult education National Reporting System (NRS); overview of the NRS measures and…