What should boards be concerned about in 2012? What new issues--or old aspects of new issues--are on the horizon that boards should be addressing? What crucial topics should be on their agendas? Nine people who have years of broad and varied experience in higher education and its governance were asked for their views. As members of the AGB…

As the United States moves toward becoming a "minority-majority" country, what more can--and should--college presidents and governing boards do to provide low-income students and students of color with a pipeline to high-quality education? Ongoing discourse about shifting demographics locally and nationally must be built into…

College and university fund raising must be need-driven rather than donor-driven, capable of providing operating budget relief, and integrated with the institution's vision. Priority needs must be developed into a concise list of gift opportunities that, when funded, will clearly advance the institutional plan. Need-driven investments, not…

Before college and university leaders rush to capitalize on distance education, they should be aware that the boom may not last. Although distance education is an attractive option in light of demographic shifts, it is costly and demands may change substantially. An institution's overall technology plan should include a business plan, curriculum…

As campuses grow, they have become more confusing, unwieldy, and expensive. Colleges may have to forfeit a physical face and space for every function of the institution. A unique planning challenge is the interface between physical and virtual realms. As institutions go increasingly online, physical space can be freed for collegial encounters and…

College/university trustees must constantly remind themselves that each resource decision, either near or long term, is connected directly to institutional mission. Annual measures cover too short a time period, and a balanced budget is irrelevant if institutional leaders do not understand mission and future needs. Changing demographics, public…

A college governing board can become more directive without resorting to micromanagement. This requires a strategic plan providing focus and direction, a disciplined monitoring of the plan, a close working relationship between trustee committee chairs and administrative counterparts, and an atmosphere encouraging trustees to ask the right…

Promotional marketing can deliver significant benefits to colleges and universities willing to modify traditional practices to build awareness and recruit students. Emerging college marketing practices focus on service, rely on friends to disseminate information, maximize technology, simplify the message, and are based on knowledge of the…

New Jersey's decentralization of governance in public higher education is examined after one year. The discussion looks at the evolution of the change, its goals, the extent to which increased autonomy in institutional governance serves the public interest, and the ways in which the restructuring affects trustees' views and their exercise of…

This paper examines various ways in which states, colleges, and universities are balancing tensions between demands for greater institutional autonomy and demands for greater accountability to state legislatures. Noted are the states' varying fiscal situations, mixed messages on autonomy given by state governments to institutions, and increasing…

This article argues that California's reexamination of affirmative action policy represents a national trend that could result in fundamental changes in college admissions and employment policy, scholarship programs, and the diversity of college and university student bodies and faculty. The evolution of this situation and points in the debate are…